British band Cartoons Can’t Die fuse everything from groove, death metal and metalcore to industrial, prog and electronic elements in a fascinatingly diverse and experimental sound that they summarise as “Shiftcore.” The sound is designed to shift and change styles as and when the song demands it, and they describe it as “aggressive, cinematic and unpredictable.”
Cartoons Can’t Die first started out in 2011, as a project based in Aylesbury before moving to Guildford and releasing an album called Catherine. But they took a few years off and revived the project in 2022 with a new lineup. Now, the quartet of Mac Gaisford (vocals and sound design), Maria Megally (vocals), Dan Berber (guitar) and Ryan Shepherd (drums), who are spread across the UK, are on a mission to develop “a more ambitious creative direction that mixes heavy music with storytelling and dynamic vocals.”
On the sound they’ve crafted, the band told us: “We describe it as Shiftcore because our sound shifts constantly based on emotion and impact; groove, death metal, metalcore, prog, djent, industrial, electronic elements, anything goes. We write based on emotion and impact, not genre rules.
“Imagine the aggression and precision of Whitechapel, Jinjer, Lamb of God and Periphery, mixed with modern metalcore hooks, industrial pulses, big grooves and two vocalists who switch between harsh, melodic, clean, rap-influenced and layered atmospheric lines. It’s heavy, hook-driven, technical when it wants to be, and unpredictable by design.”
Our latest taste of this is Cartoons Can’t Die’s new single Kinslayer, which is packaged up as an album of recent single releases. The epic seven-minute-long Kinslayer opens up with lively guitars, before Maria’s big cry gives way to a powerful opening verse. A funky little guitar lick takes over and repeats several times before dropping into stabbing guitars that support Maria’s engaging vocals. The intensity increases with screamed vocals before handing the baton back to Maria, then dropping back into another cool little guitar lick that feeds into a fun chorus.
The pace continues through a building verse that feeds into another lively chorus, which ends with a stabbing guitar lick and heavy guitar chords and drums. A vicious scream takes us into chugging guitars that continue alongside a piercing guitar solo, and the pace slows to tee up a final blast of the chorus.
As mentioned, that’s the latest in a string of single releases, including On A Mission, their take on the classic hit by Katy B. It opens up with light synth and drums giving way to Maria’s engaging vocals, before distant screamed vocals and heavier instrumentals and a building guitar, before a “bleugh” sound blasts into low-tuned guitars and the delicious chorus vocals. Dual screamed vocals take over in an intense second verse that feeds into a powerful chorus driven along by huge drum support. Mac’s guttural screams take centre stage over all manner of wild instrumentals, before the pace slows with a mellow guitar lick giving way to a pulsing synth sound. It takes a little key change before a brutal conclusion to a superb cover of a classic.
On the track, they told us: “The reception has been incredible. It is our heaviest take on a song people instantly recognise because On A Mission is a cover of the Katy B classic. There is that moment of familiarity, but then we flip it into something far heavier and far more intense.
“We kept the catchiness of the original and rebuilt everything else with industrial synths, huge riffs, dual vocals and a completely different atmosphere. People have been loving the contrast and it got even more surreal when Katy B herself liked the video. Expect bounce, power, layered vocals, electronic momentum and a chorus that hits with nostalgia and weight at the same time.”
Those singles build up to the release of their new album Rebirth, which is released in February. “We’re massively excited,” the band told us. “This album is the clearest example yet of what Shiftcore means to us – big stylistic jumps, emotional highs, brutal lows, melodic moments, industrial edges and a lot of personality. Expect heaviness, hooks, experimentation, and a sound that constantly moves without losing its identity.”
From the album, they told us one of their favourites is 5AM, which is: “One of the rawest and most emotional tracks on the record. It shows our melodic side without losing the intensity behind it.” And they also called out Godless, which they say is: “A dark, industrial, groove-driven track with a strong sense of atmosphere. It blends heavy riffing with progressive movement and has become one of our most defining songs in terms of tone and identity.” You can check out the latter below, and we also firmly recommend checking out the really intense Rebirth.
As we alluded to, the Cartoons Can’t Die sound draws influence from a wide range of sounds, including groove metal, industrial, electronica, deathcore and prog. And the band mention the likes of Whitechapel, Lamb of God, Spiritbox, Periphery, Jinjer, Gojira, Rammstein, Tremonti and Skunk Anansi as key influences.
And on what inspires them to write music, they told us: “Emotion and storytelling are the biggest influences. A lot of our writing comes from lived experience and transformation. Anger, identity, loss, moving forward, resilience and the moments in life where you have to rebuild yourself.
“We also take inspiration from cinematic sound design and world building, and that feeds into the atmosphere and texture of the music and live performance.”
There’s plenty more to come from Cartoons Can’t Die, starting with Rebirth being released on 6 February. The band is pushing for festival places and support slots wherever possible as they look to take Rebirth on the road. They already have shows lined up in Sheffield, Birmingham, London, Southampton, with more to come.
And the band added: “If you enjoy heavy music that evolves, surprises you and hits just as hard melodically as it does rhythmically, we are your band. We love experimentation, we love the heavy music community, and we’re only just getting started.”
You can follow Cartoons Can’t Die on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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