Beartooth Interview: Ex-Attack Attack!'s Caleb Shomo Reemerges with a Sharper Bite

When Caleb Shomo quit Attack Attack! last December he was in the darkest year of his life. "Having thousands of people tell you you're a 'fat piece of shit' isn’t exactly the easiest thing to deal with at 17," he said in his farewell post. Haunted by inner demons, panic attacks and mental breakdowns put Shomo in a downward spiral for much of 2012. "I had a lot of stress in my life," he added in his departure note, "and in no way wanted to face it head on and deal with it."

Here we are several months later where time away from the now disbanded AA! has proven quite therapeutic for the 20-year-old frontman. His sabbatical gave him much needed space to strategize a new attack, and today he's reemerged with a sharper bite in his new band Beartooth. Far from any crabcore stigma that plagued AA!, Beartooth is a band rooted in DIY ethics. With numerous house shows and DIY gigs under their belt since their debut performance earlier this year, the point, says Shomo, is to have fun and create music that's "honest." But more on that below.

Next week Beartooth kicks off a tour with City Lights. And if you're looking to check out Shomo's EDM project Class -- he'll be DJing at the South By So What?! Fall Edition in October.