Written By Kevin McSweeney
It is with immense regret and sincere contrition that we acknowledge our tardiness in reviewing the debut full-length album by Derby’s modern metal/deathcore crew, The Cartographer.
So, with apologies for the delay, let’s get into our The Collapse of a Bitter End album review and see what thirteen years of waiting has produced.
The Collapse of a Bitter End was released independently on September 18th, and we really should have got round to it by now. I can only apologise and resolve to do better in future.
Actually, it seems the boys from England’s East Midlands have been fairly tardy themselves, as they first formed in 2013. This debut album has been thirteen years in the making, therefore.
The Cartographer debut album arrives after more than a decade of buildup, expectation, and evolution.
According to drummer Josh Woodhouse: “We’ve been waiting for the right time to begin the next chapter, bigger and better. That time is now.” It’s an impressive level of dedication to wait so long for the right time. It must have felt like waiting for Brigadoon to emerge from the Highland mist. Anyway, it’s here now, so let’s see if we can map out the tracks for you.
This The Cartographer review takes a track-by-track look at a debut album thirteen years in the making.
I’ll get my coat.
The Collapse of a Bitter End Album Review: Track-by-Track
Blood
The album’s opening track, and first single, Blood certainly does what it says on the tin, as there are numerous references to the vital fluid throughout its gory lyrics. They’re difficult to decipher by way of lughole alone.
The vocals are either heavily distorted or highly aggressive. It’s a mid-paced, industrial-tinged metalcore mauler for the most part, with all the screechy Code Orange noises – technical terms abound! – in all the right places, as well as ominous futuristic sounds à la Fear Factory. In fact, those screechy bits bring The Last Outlaw Jeff Jarrett’s theme to mind even more than Code Orange.
That industrial edge gives The Cartographer metalcore a colder, more mechanical character than much of the genre.
There are times when the track resembles Electric Callboy, only minus the laughs, when the lines between the man-made and the machine-generated blur, which I guess brings us back, thematically at least, to the aforementioned Fear Factory. I’m confusing myself. Let’s move on.
Snake Tongue
The last track concluded with a massive breakdown, which was not entirely unexpected. However, Snake Tongue opens with a synth riff that could have been tinkled upon the eminent ivories of the seminal German electronic band Kraftwerk. I certainly wasn’t expecting that.
Heavily distorted vocals over a nasty little beat bring us into the kind of massive staccato riff for which deathcore is renowned. The track is described in the press release as a “groove-laden rager”, and it’s hard to disagree.
It’s one of the clearest examples of The Cartographer deathcore sound on the album, heavy on groove, distortion, and sheer physical impact.
It’s a dark number as well, in which vocalist Jake Roberts reflects on harrowing personal experiences. The line: “I’d rather choke than have to feel your soul again” sums it up succinctly.
It gets you in the guts, this one, with the breakdown seeming like the soundtrack to a stroll through the darker recesses of the memory.
All Things Rot in Silence
Next up is All Things Rot in Silence, and I’m tempted to sing the title to the tune of All Things Bright and Beautiful.
Actually, I can’t help but be reminded of another modern deathcore band, Cabal, whose last album was titled Everything Rots. (The Exorcist-themed “Rot Girl” shirts are as amusing as they are chilling!)
The talk in the lyrics of lands being plagued with lawless terrors gives it a flavour of scripture, and it’s here that I note that the last track shares a name with the second book of the Old Testament.
There’s a nü-metal flavour to the riffs of Dan Gorman and Josh Pearson on this one, though I must stress that it’s the Slipknot/Mudvayne end of the spectrum, rather than Linkin Park.
The breakdown is both ominous and immense, though I can’t help feeling that they’re overusing the technique somewhat at this stage. They’ve all been perfectly in keeping with the vibe so far, but it would be no bad thing if restraint were to be applied as we proceed.
Apparitions
Lyrically, Apparitions reads like bleak, confessional stream-of-consciousness poetry. It depicts depression and suicidal ideation as dark, malign external forces – possibly wraith-like figures such as the Dementors in Harry Potter or the Nazgul in Lord of The Rings.
It’s a powerful and unsettling image. The talk of it being: “not long until I pull the plug out,” and of how it: “distorts my eulogy,” is harrowing indeed. Please reach out to someone if you can relate to these thoughts. Help is available.
Musically, it’s a faster blaster than most, with blast beats from Woodhouse and a particularly acerbic vocal performance from Roberts. It’s like an opening track from an early Slipknot album in many respects. I’m thinking something like (sic) or People = Shit. Again, there is a resort to the use of a breakdown, and it’s definitely getting a bit much now.
Dirt
Dirt is not a cover of the Alice In Chains song from the album of the same name. The press release references their: “penchant for dense, moody atmospherics”, and we hear just that in the slow, eerie beginning of this song. The lyrics are certainly eerie, containing lines such as:
You hear the voices calling out your names
Illusive whispers, choke the silence
Screams heard from the grave
It’s all very scary stuff – made all the more so by the fact that the quoted lyrics are softy spoken, in contrast to the usual bestial roars.
I don’t know if the end of the track is technically a breakdown, as it’s at the same pace as the rest of this relatively slow and sinister number, but it ticks all the other boxes. I have to highlight the tasty little polyrhythm from Woodhouse towards the end. Danny Carey would approve.
Soul Chamber
I was hoping that Soul Chamber would sound like a cross between De La Soul and Coal Chamber.
Needless to say, it doesn’t. Actually, the intro had me thinking it was Welcome to The Jungle for a moment, before a dirty little animal of a bass riff from Tom Broadhead allayed any fears of Axl Rose waltzing out in a kilt and/or bicycle shorts, sounding like, to borrow a phrase from Classic Rock Review, someone buggering a cat.
We get the industrial elements coming to the fore again, as well as a good bit of variety in terms of pace. There’s strong Slipknot vibes again, with Roberts very much channeling the spirit of Corey Taylor, and few other nü-metal bands were comfortable with a blast beat.
Also the lyric: “I’d rather spit/not chew/every time I think of you”, could well have come from Mr Taylor’s pen. There is, of course, a breakdown. It’s an absolute bastard of a breakdown, but it’s definitely becoming excessive all the same.
Griefworn
Griefworn was the second single to be taken from the album. The title is very Fear Factory, it has to be said. It actually starts off like a Fear Factory song with that foreboding fade-in and mid-paced riff that reminds me of something likeFreedom or Fire.
There’s some lovely intricate snare work just prior to the chorus, and the melody deployed during the chorus is all the more effective for its scarcity. I guess that’s why they chose it as a single. There’s some horrifying images in the lyrics:
It’s hard to breathe
When it feels like sands
Running down the back of my lungs
I wish it had only been sand running down the back of the legs of that HYROX athlete recently. Once again, matters are concluded with a breakdown.
Into The Gloom
Get Into The Gloom, boys, you’ve got to prove… never mind Madonna. She’s no use to us now. According to the press release: “No track really captures the vibe of the record” quite like this one.
It describes it as: “A sincere and pensive acknowledgement of one’s own faults,” and a “…mental tug-of-war between trying to become a better person while feeling like it’s not enough.”
Melody is actually more in evidence on this song than in its predecessor, taking it much more in the direction of metalcore and further from deathcore than any track hitherto. Having said that, we’re not exactly talking Spiritbox here.
The vocal delivery is menacing with nary a hint of clean singing as always. The staccato riff around a minute from the end tears at the underbelly and acts as a counterpoint for the melodic lead. It ain’t exactly a pop song, but it’s the closest we’ve come so far. Still not anywhere near close, mind!
Exodus
As I alluded to earlier, I do appreciate the chutzpah involved, not only in giving a song the same name as a Bob Marley classic, but naming the concluding track after one of the earliest books in the Old Testament.
It is an Exodus from the album, I suppose, and the time building up to its release must have felt like 40 years wandering in the wilderness.
The track is referred to as “haunting and hopeful” in the press release. I’ll be honest; I’m not seeing the hopeful bit, though it is undoubtedly haunting.
Its intro initially reminds me of White Zombie’s More Human Than Human. The industrial elements manifest themselves once again, and the synths are eerie. The lyrics are dark and confessional, as has been the case throughout.
The melody is particularly effective for being used with such restraint. There’s even a hint of a four-chord progression in there to bring both track and album to a close.
It reminds me of Rammstein’s version of Depeche Mode’s Stripped. Ultimately, it’s good to hear that not every song has to end with a you-know-what.
So, here endeth The Collapse of a Bitter End, a highly promising debut album that offers a heady blend of metalcore minus the pop, and deathcore minus the pork. (I love a good pig squeal, mind you!)
I have to knock off a point due to excessive use of breakdowns. I know it’s customary in metalcore and deathcore, but less is sometimes more.
They were always hugely effective when deployed by, say, Pantera, when they brought to an end tracks such as Domination and This Love precisely because they were used so infrequently.
It’s a tiresome technique when it becomes a matter of routine. But that’s a relatively minor quibble, and there’s a lot of good stuff to make up for it. Was the album worth such a lengthy wait? I’d say it probably was. I only hope we can say the same about the review.
Metal Lair awards The Collapse of a Bitter End by The Cartographer four devil horns out of five.
Stream on Apple Music HERE
Tracklisting:
1. Blood
2. Snake Tongue
3. All Things Rot in Silence
4. Apparitions
5. Dirt
6. Soul Chamber
7. Griefworn
8. Into The Gloom
9. Exodus
Line-Up:
Jay Roberts – vocals
Dan Gorman – guitar
Josh Pearson – guitar
Tom Broadhead – bass
Josh Woodhouse – drums
The Cartographer Online:
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
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