Beartooth Open a New Chapter with ‘Pure Ecstasy’ and European Tour

Beartooth have released their sixth studio album Pure Ecstasy, marking both the beginning of their relationship with Fearless Records and another shift in a band that has spent more than a decade stretching the boundaries of modern metalcore.

Released on 28 August, Pure Ecstasy follows 2023’s The Surface and arrives at a point where Beartooth are operating on a considerably larger scale than the basement project Caleb Shomo started in Ohio in 2013.

That growth will be particularly visible in Europe this month. Less than three weeks after the album’s release, Beartooth begin an extensive European and UK headline tour with Silverstein and Kingdom of Giants, including shows in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

A first album with Fearless

Pure Ecstasy is Beartooth’s first album for Fearless Records following the band’s long association with Red Bull Records.

The move comes with musical change rather than a simple switch of label.

Beartooth’s earliest records were built around Shomo turning depression, anger and isolation into abrasive metalcore. That foundation has gradually expanded, particularly on The Surface, where brighter melodies and a more openly positive outlook began sitting alongside the breakdowns and heavy riffs.

Pure Ecstasy continues that movement without completely abandoning the aggression that established the band.

Fearless describes the record as both reinvention and evolution, moving between ferocity and vulnerability. More importantly, it puts Beartooth in a position where their identity is no longer tied exclusively to the conventions of metalcore.

That evolution makes sense for a band now playing rooms far removed from the smaller venues of their early European tours.

From new record straight into Europe

The timing means European audiences won’t have long to wait before Pure Ecstasy reaches the stage.

The European and UK tour begins at Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt on 17 September, followed the next night by one of the largest dates of the run at Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen.

After Hannover, Beartooth head into the Low Countries for two consecutive shows: Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on 21 September and 013 in Tilburg on 22 September.

Berlin follows on 25 September at Uber Eats Music Hall, with Munich, Vienna, Milan, Zurich and Paris completing the mainland European routing before the tour reaches the UK.

For LOUD[FRAMED], the Brussels, Tilburg and Oberhausen dates make this album cycle particularly relevant. They also underline how far Beartooth have moved beyond being another name on a metalcore package.

These are headline rooms.

Silverstein and Kingdom of Giants join the run

The support bill keeps the tour firmly connected to the heavier alternative scene.

Silverstein bring more than two decades of post-hardcore history to the package, while Kingdom of Giants represent a more contemporary strand of melodic metalcore.

It creates a three-band bill covering different generations of the scene Beartooth emerged from, even as the headliner continues moving beyond its original boundaries.

The combination should also give the new material an immediate test.

Albums can signal a change in direction, but for a band whose reputation has always relied heavily on physical live shows, the more interesting question is how those changes translate once older songs and new material occupy the same set.

Europe gets that answer first.

PURE ECSTASY EUROPE + UK TOUR[FRAMED]

17 September: Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
18 September: Rudolf Weber-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
19 September: Swiss Life Hall, Hannover, Germany
21 September: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
22 September: 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
24 September: SaSaZu, Prague, Czech Republic
25 September: Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin, Germany
26 September: Zenith, Munich, Germany
27 September: Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
29 September: Fabrique, Milan, Italy
30 September: Halle 622, Zurich, Switzerland
1 October: Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France
3 October: O2 Academy Brixton, London, UK
5 October: O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
6 October: Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK

Silverstein and Kingdom of Giants join Beartooth across the European and UK run.

Pure Ecstasy therefore arrives as more than another record in an increasingly substantial Beartooth catalogue. There is a new label behind them, a sound that continues to move beyond their early metalcore framework and a European headline tour starting almost immediately.

The next chapter is already underway.