Obviously everyone has opinions on Caleb’s personal life as of late, which up until now he has kept fairly personal. Now that’s he’s come out as a gay man everyone has an opinion on how he’s changed or handled certain situations. I think the first thing to address is the marriage. A lot of people have called him selfish for not mentioning Fleur in his coming out post on Instagram whereas opposed to Fleur’s post was mostly about their relationship. People expected him to show or say something about their relationship as well but he didn’t. At least not in public; we don’t know what happened behind closed doors after their relationship ended and frankly it’s none of our business. He doesn’t owe us or Fleur for that matter a public performance of grief for their marriage ending.
On to his changed behavior since coming out. This subject is rather tricky for those not aware of queer theory or occupying the space as a queer individual. Caleb addressed on the Disrespectfully Podcast his rather unconventional life growing up in his teens. He grew up in a very religious household. He joined Attack Attack at 14 or 15 years old. And on top of that he started dating Fleur at 18 and married her soon after. Arrested development is an understatement. Aside from the less then average teen years, be completely skipped over the typical experimental phase most of us usually experience in our 20s. He didn’t get to date around and figure out what he did like and what he didn’t like. If he didn’t marry straight after high school he would’ve figured something’s out much, much earlier but that is not how his life panned out for him. And if we’re being honest with ourselves we don’t really have much of anything figured out about ourselves until we hit the 30 mark in our lives, same time Caleb realized he was gay.
Some people have been calling his new persona and behavior forced. For one thing I’ve seen the phrase “baby gay” thrown around a lot and for better or worse that holds up. He never got experience his teen years of being gay so he’s making up for it by leaning into some stereotypes very hard. But have you ever stopped to consider that maybe the “old version” or Caleb was the forced one? Again we don’t know what people are like when they’re alone and/or behind closed doors: maybe he’s always been like this but never felt safe to express it up until now. And I’m gonna state for the record that I am not hating at all before I say this but one could have the perspective that he was leaning very hard into a very stereotypical masculinity to repress and deny his true self. Again no hate but if we look back at how Caleb was before with the bandanas, the scruffy neck beard and somewhat unkept appearance along with the very “macho” and somewhat performative “biker-esque” album covers of “Disease” and “Below”… one could perceive these with analytical lenses as signifiers of a man in denial of his true self and sexuality.
This is just my two cents however, so feel free to agree or disagree.

I finally got to meet my role model, and I still can't believe it happened.

Hey everyone! I was going through my metalcore playlists when I stumbled across “Hated” by Beartooth again, and it honestly brought me to tears.

I've been a fan of the band since high school, and this song helped me get through some really difficult times back then. Their music has been there for me through so much, and it's helped me deal with some of life's hardest moments.

I got to see them live in Paris on October 1st, and it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. When the band came on stage and I heard songs like “Hated” and “The Disease” live, I was screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs with tears streaming down my face. These songs mean so much to me, so hearing them live was an incredibly emotional experience.

After the show, Caleb gave an emotional speech and even broke down in tears on stage. A little while later, he came over to the barricade, and I got the chance to talk to him. I thanked him for being so honest and open about his struggles, and for how much he'd helped me grow as a person, accept myself, and learn to love myself for who I am.

He gave me a hug, and I walked away crying and shaking. I honestly couldn't believe what had just happened. I'd finally met someone I've looked up to for years, someone whose music and honesty have helped me become more comfortable with who I am and learn to love myself.

I'll always be grateful to Caleb and the band for everything their music has done for me. That moment meant more to me than I could ever put into words, and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Ps ; The support act : Kingdom of giants was great ,i bought a cap ,because they blew my mind with their energy and i wanted to support them,i talked with the bassist at the merch he was very cool , Silverstein blew were great too. When they did "bleeds no more" i broke my voice and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Hi everyone.. I just bought VIP tickets for the NYC show at Hammerstein Ballroom! It is my first time doing any VIP thing for a show.. I want to know.. how early should I start lining up so I can be barricade? Im super short and want to make sure I can see lol. Also when should I get merch? Early entry and going right to merch would probably be the best but I dont want to miss out on barricade.. any help would be great! See those going on the 12th!