Album Review: Cartoons Can't Die - Rebirth
- Stuart Ball
- 57 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Written: 5th February 2026
Cartoons Can’t Die style themselves as shiftcore and without doubt there is a wide diversity to their music: it runs the gamut from deathcore and death metal to metalcore, and moments of progressive metal to hard rock. This variety is unsurprising given the band’s attitude to the songwriting for new album, Rebirth, as vocalist Mac Gaisford explains, “The record has been put together in the very best way — every song feels different, but it all connects. There’s no single genre running through it, just whatever felt right in the moment. It’s intense, sometimes weird, sometimes straight-up brutal. That’s the point, it’s supposed to feel alive.”
Rebirth is the story of Catherine, a survivor of ruined world. Opening with the title track, Cartoons Can’t Die waste no time in laying down their apocalyptic vision. Creepy and disturbing, Rebirth begins with the sound of distorted music box and a twisted nursery rhyme style chant. Together with the pulse of cardiac that gradually increases in speed to become a continues note, it makes for an extremely unsettling start to the album. As the drums, bass and guitars unite in an avalanche of deathcore style riffs, Mac Gaisford roars a commanding growl to the protagonist. Wake up! / Breath / Breath in / Breath out / Sever the chords. Feral and unrelenting, Gaisford's abrasive vocals echo the brutality of Catherine’s awakening and the realisation that violence is her new clarity. As the track progresses, they battle with second vocalist Maria Megally who half-speaks, half-sing lyrics in a relentless collision with Gaisford. This is only the start of the end / Eyes glowing red with the intent to kill / Trapped in this immortal shell / Hellfire resurrection together. It is a punishing introduction to the album but even here, the band show the different sides to their music. A quieter, melodic middle with an ever moving bassline takes us to another place and atmosphere entirely. Concluding the song, the musical box returns showing us that nothing is resolved.
Second track Kinslayer begins with a throbbing bassline and each instrument gradually joins. Another genre blending song, it is mainly steeped in traditional heavy metal style riffs but throws in moments of hard rock via post-hardcore and hints of metalcore. Undeniably, it shows the diversity that Cartoons Can’t Die were determined to bring to their music but this means it can occasionally feel it never really settles on what it wants to be. However, repeated listens to the album do lessen the sometimes jolting changes and as we become more familiar with what the quartet are trying to achieve, these sudden departures make more sense. Lyrically, it furthers the sense of chaos and conflict and introduces the determination to hunt the ‘Kinslayer’ and sharpens grief into purpose. Black steel, the sword of my father / His spirit guides my hand I will defeat you demon / Take your head and rend your heart.
5AM features sharp, angular riffs from Dan Berber and a seismic salvo of drums from Ryan Shepherd. Sombre harmonic undercurrents heighten the tension and an atmosphere that reflects Catherine’s psychological breaking point: sleepless, drowning in intrusive thoughts, the collapsing world outside illustrating her inner decay. Nevertheless, there are segments of quite that in reality, mask anguish and torture. An excellent dark but melodic guitar solo builds towards the track’s conclusion where Berber unleashes rapid-fire riffs that serve to create a moment where the album excels.
This is followed by On A Mission, a cover of the song by British singer Katy B, the inclusion of which I find a little baffling. Lyrically, it could be argued that its inclusion serves as a reminder of what Catherine lost, its tonal mismatch sharpening the surrounding brutality by contrast. However, musically, the track is a confusing mish-mash of dance, industrial metal and metalcore – complete with the occasional bleugh! Where previously, Maria and Mac’s vocals work well in combination, here they clash and collide in confusing, overlapping phrases.
Fortunately, following this dip, The Loss of Something Dear brings the album back on a more even keel. Stomping, groove laden riffs move with Gaisford’s bleak and monolithic vocals, the repetition in the lyrics mirroring Catherine’s obsession and despair. However, a muted, contemplative interlude allows us to join with her in calcifying her resolve. What the band should be praised for is the commitment to the story they are telling and some of the different atmospheres they create. Bodysnatchers opens with the sound of a DJ playing late night jazz but delivering a chilling message. This relative calm is shattered as Cartoons Can’t Die unleash a track that takes their story into the suffocating and warped world of mutilators and possessors who warp human bodies into obedient vessels. Delving into the realms of grindcore, this is the most consistently aggressive and merciless track on Rebirth. It is contorted and grimy, a ruthless barrage that suits the track’s warped aesthetic and lets Maria Megally demonstrate she can inject the band with distinctive vocal techniques.
For the first few seconds of final track Godless, I am reminded of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack before the song, this time far more successfully than On A Mission, traverses a wide range of musical territories. Nu-metal stylings, moments of pure death metal, shape-shifting electronics and towering riffs all contribute to one of the most enjoyable tracks here. Catherine rejects faith, hope, and any illusion of cosmic order; the lyrics become her revolt against false gods and corrupt powers. It serves as a fittingly forceful final chapter to an album defined by its unpredictability.
Rebirth certainly delivers on the promise to be “intense, weird and brutal”; the genre‑switching works better in some songs and sections than others but the band deserve credit for keeping nothing off‑limits and refusing to water down their intent. It is a record that rewards effort more than immediacy. However, even after several listens, On A Mission still feels like a jarringly out‑of‑place detour, whose club‑metal collage temporarily threatens to undercut the album’s solidity, though its sheer oddness will have its champions. The flashes of Rammstein, Lamb of God, Periphery and Whitechapel will attract listeners from across the heavy spectrum, though its shiftcore philosophy may feel too sporadically scattershot for others. As a whole, Rebirth delivers enough to admire and some genuinely effective moments which outweigh its missteps, even if the journey remains challenging.
Rebirth is out now.
Cartoons Can't Die online
