For Beartooth’s fifth album, lead vocalist and mastermind Caleb Shomo wanted to go in the opposite direction of 2021’s Below. Where that album is dark and depressing, The Surface is full of positivity. Where Below’s front cover is black and ominous, The Surface’s cover is bright pink and hopeful. The dramatic shift comes from Shomo’s decision to quit drinking and move from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, to Los Angeles. The result is possibly the metalcore band’s poppiest album to date. “This album is a story of change,” Shomo tells Apple Music. “This album is a story of growth. At the end of the day, it’s about doing what it takes to be happy. That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to me being happy is chasing what I love with every ounce of my being. This record is me manifesting that and speaking it into existence.” Below, he comments on each track. “The Surface” “It’s me trying to describe the manic high I had when I first quit drinking alcohol. It truly felt like I had unlocked something that was going to change my entire life. I felt invincible in that moment.” “Riptide” “This is the first song I wrote for this album. I wrote it a week after I quit drinking and realized that I wanted to do something different with this record. ‘Riptide’ is really the mission statement of this whole album, and hopefully every album to come.” “Doubt Me” “It’s about when people doubt what you’re doing, doubt your vision, and don’t see the bigger picture that you see. Sometimes you have to just trust that you know what’s best for you, and that you need to do whatever it takes to be true to yourself and get done what you need to get done.” “The Better Me” “This is simply about making that change in your life that you know you need to make. I think everyone has those moments when you look in the mirror and know there’s something that could make us happier or healthier, whatever that may be. This song is about chasing that.” “Might Love Myself” “It’s about the first time I felt self-love. That’s something that was very unusual and confusing, but absolutely amazing. So I tried to just put it into words and turn it into a song.” “Sunshine!” “This is about me realizing that my seasonal depression is getting out of hand and I really need to make a change. I ended up moving to Los Angeles about seven or eight months after I wrote that song, and never looked back.” “What’s Killing You” “This is about dealing with loss. Throughout the process of this record, I went through a very significant loss in my life. It’s something that we all deal with in this world, so this song was just me trying to put those emotions into words.” “Look the Other Way” “It’s a song about speaking out into existence that you need help with something. There were a lot of things in my life that I was dealing with and hiding. They were killing me, and not good in the slightest. This song is about the moment that I told somebody that I want to change those things in my life for the first time.” “What Are You Waiting For” “It’s about doing whatever you gotta do to be the best version of yourself and not making excuses and just going for it. Sometimes the only way to make big changes in your life is to take a leap of faith and go for it.” “My New Reality” “This is another song about manifesting what you want out of life. For me, it’s understanding that I still have a whole life ahead of me that I can do anything I want to with—and I need to take advantage of that.” “I Was Alive” “This was inspired by the last conversation I had with my late grandfather. He talked about how he lived a life that he was happy with, and he was ready to go. He was one of the most amazing and inspiring people in my life, and this song is—as many of these songs are—me manifesting the best version of myself that I can possibly be for the rest of my life.”