Pure Ecstasy

“Making this record is what got me to the point where I was ready to come out,” Beartooth mastermind Caleb Shomo says of <i>Pure Ecstasy</i>. In May of 2026, Shomo announced on social media that he is a “proudly gay man” after months of speculation about his sexuality following the February release of the song <b>“Free”</b>. “That was absolutely not the plan when I started writing this record, but it was definitely the outcome,” Shomo tells Apple Music. “During the creative explorations of the initial writing sessions, I was just allowing these parts of myself to really flow. It led me to the point where I felt it was time to dive into this shit and see what it really means in my life. For the most part, Beartooth records are generally a snapshot of the most difficult things that I’m dealing with on a personal, emotional level.” He points to the aforementioned ballad, “Free”, which he wrote with <i>Pure Ecstasy</i> co-producer Jordan Fish, as the catalyst for that process. “That was the first song that I wrote that was really addressing what’s going on in my life,” Shomo says. “If the whole point of a Beartooth record is to give me space to explore that, then that’s what I need to do.” The leadoff track, <b>“Pure Ecstasy”</b>, sets the album’s tone with an emotional anthem that balances the angst and newfound freedom of Shomo’s personal reckoning. “That song is just a very unashamed, honest piece of music,” he says. “It’s such a raw and intense and emotional song compared to some of the others, which are maybe a little more vague [lyrically]. We wanted to just lean into it on track one. It’s a little more moody and slower than most of the stuff on the record, but it’s heavy as hell and it’s fun.” At one point, Shomo considered calling the album <i>Fuck This, Fuck You</i>. “At the same time that I was experiencing these really high highs of me finally dealing with this stuff and being more comfortable with the truth about who I am, my life as I knew it was falling apart,” he says, referring to the end of his 14-year marriage. “What does this mean for my job, my life, for everything? So, I had this choice: Do I name [the album] something expressing the joy or the despair?” Obviously, Shomo went with joy. But that doesn’t mean <i>Pure Ecstasy</i> is all positivity. On <b>“B******t”</b>, he’s not necessarily calling out society’s prejudices or even another person. “That song is such an exploration of the original Beartooth formula,” he says. “Which is this kind of musical setting I would create to lash out. I keep writing this type of song because I’m frustrated with myself, my life, and I’m sick of being a bullshitter. I’m sick of the bullshit I’m putting other people through. It’s a very juvenile expression of anger, and it felt good to let it out.” Shomo cites <b>“Eyes Closed”</b> as his favourite song on the record. “I think that really is the ultimate tone of the album as a whole,” he says. “To me, it’s very rooted in the old-school Beartooth sound, where it’s about guitar riffs and big pop hooks and then a big old breakdown. But at the same time, lyrically, it’s a very good way to wrap up the whole mood of the record, where I was trying to use this avenue of making music to find a way to get through. And I just did not know how the fuck that was going to be possible for me at that time. But I just had to shut my eyes and take the fucking leap. And that’s what this whole record is.”