Inspired by fellow concept lovers, Coheed and Cambria and My Chemical Romance, Birmingham’s metalcore sensation, Cauldron, has released their debut concept album, Suicide In The City.
Based on a novel that vocalist, Frazer Cassling is still writing Suicide in the City focuses on a group therapy session run by the main character, Tristram St. Claire. While the album focuses on themes of anxiety, self-worth, grief, and mental struggles, it also conveys an underlying message of hope.
On the album, Frazer says,
I started writing it during lockdown, essentially just a thing to do to bypass the boredom, but it was also during a very difficult time. I’d just moved back from Birmingham to Worcester to live with my parents because I was depressed to the point where I was bedridden – I couldn’t eat, couldn’t shower, couldn’t take care of myself, so I had to move back in with them so that they could do all of those things for me.
As the ropes of depression started to fray, Frazer further explains,
Really it’s an allegory for everything going on at the time, and there’s so much in it that’s a mirror image of what was happening in my real life, not directly but through metaphor. It was a way for me to channel some of the things I was feeling and going through in a way that wasn’t so scary to deal with. It was much easier to process things through a series of characters than it was to actually have to just verbalise these things myself and say ‘this is how I’m feeling’.
Joining Tristram St. Claire are his group of patients are:
- John Doe, a man who hopes to restore his memories of his past
- Rosalie Begum, a domestic abuse survivor who creates fantasy past lives
- Emelio Mendoza, involved in a suicide pact and a string of robberies
- Grace Hunt, whose life takes a drastic turn after her parents’ divorce
- Michael Forthright, a burns victim more affected by his infidelity than his injuries
But is their enigmatic therapist a friend or foe?
Each track on Suicide In The City serves as a chapter in this intricate narrative, exploring the lives, struggles, and interconnected stories of the characters. From moments of intense desperation and conflict to introspection and reflection, the album takes listeners on a tumultuous journey of self-discovery and redemption.
While it’s a standalone track, closing track, “Kingdom” not only serves as a heartfelt ode to Frazer’s bandmates, I found it to be the beacon of hope that the cast of characters searched for through out Suicide in the City.
While characters of Suicide in the City may be fictional, they share a camaraderie and unique experience, just as Dec Breckon (guitar), Jess Webberley (guitar), Perry Wattis (bass), and Zak Jenkins (drums, vocals), and Frazer does.
Suicide in the City is a metalcore masterpiece of emotion and storytelling.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: entire album in order
