The 10 records that changed my life: Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo

Press shot of caleb shomo

**THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS…
**

AC/DC - BACK IN BLACK [1980]

“The first album that I ever bought with my own money was Back In Black by AC/DC. It’s just such a sick album. I remember saving up all my money and buying it, and I absolutely fell in love with it straight away. It’s still an absolute classic to this day, one of my favourite records. I still love that album.”

THE ALBUM I WISH I’D MADE IS…

BEARTOOTH - DISGUSTING [2014]

“That I wish I’d made? I don’t know about that. I don’t really want to have made someone else’s album, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got, so yeah, Beartooth, ha ha!”

A KID ASKS ME WHAT METAL IS. I HAND THEM A COPY OF…

METALLICA - METALLICA [1991]

The Black Album by Metallica. It’s just so huge. It has so many essential metal songs, so many metal guitar tones, metal drums… basically, if you want anything badass in metal, it’s on that album. It’s a classic, so I’d definitely pick that one for that kid!”

NO ONE WOULD EVER BELIEVE I OWN A COPY OF…

HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS - SOULSVILLE [2010]

“Well, I don’t think anyone would know that I just got a copy of a Huey Lewis And The News album. I don’t actually know if your readers would know about Huey Lewis And The News, maybe it’s not a cool band to like, but I think they’re sick. I fucking love Huey Lewis And The News.”

THE ALBUM I WANT PLAYED AT MY FUNERAL IS…

CITY AND COLOUR - THE HURRY AND THE HARM [2013]

“An album to play at my funeral?! Wow. I’d probably go with The Hurry And The Harm by City And Colour. It’s a really, really good album. It’s really chilled out but very emotional, so I think that would set the tone.”

THE BEST ALBUM ARTWORK IS…

AC/DC - HIGHWAY TO HELL [1979]

“For this one I’m gonna go back to AC/DC again, but I’m gonna choose a different album – Highway To Hell! I choose this one just because that photo is still so iconic, it’s just really simple but really badass and it’s a great album, too. It still looks and sounds amazing today. AC/DC rule.”

THE ALBUM I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR IS…

BEARTOOTH - AGGRESSIVE [2016]

“Oh man, I don’t know… hopefully I haven’t written it yet! I want to just keep writing better records than I have, so I can’t pick one yet. Oh, I have to? Then Aggressive ’cause it’s the most recent, but I wanna write an even better one next time.”

THE ALBUM THAT MAKES ME BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT IS…

MOTÖRHEAD - BAD MAGIC [2015]

“I would have to say a Motörhead album. I’m going to go with the last one they released, Bad Magic. I remember when I first heard that record, I was flying through a bunch of backroads and looking back I probably nearly got myself killed in my car. It was a really good time, though! So yeah, I would definitely go with Bad Magic.”

THE ALBUM THAT REMINDS ME OF SCHOOL IS…

ANBERLIN - NEVER TAKE FRIENDSHIP PERSONAL [2005]

“I was really young when I first got that record, and it reminds me of going to school because I used to play it on the way in there all the time. It’s just a really good pop-rock record – there are so many good songs on there.”

THE ALBUM I’M JAMMING RIGHT NOW IS…

METALLICA - HARDWIRED… TO SELF-DESTRUCT [2016]

“An album I’m loving at the minute is Hardwired… by Metallica. That new album is one of the most badass metal records that’s come out in years.”

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Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He is also probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.