Cancer Bats Dish Out Details On Hail Destroyer Album

Toronto's Cancer Bats have dominated the Canadian punk/hardcore scene over the last couple of years and, after taking a very brief break from a demanding tour schedule, they've returned with a new album that's sure to appease fans looking for more of the band's signature "death 'n' roll" style of punk.

According to vocalist Liam Cormier, the new record showcases an even bigger, badder side of the Bats than before.

"It's fucking blowing my mind! I'm so stoked for it. The album is gonna be called Hail Destroyer, which is also the title track of the record. This album is definitely heavier, but, at the same time, it's a lot more stoner rock, and a bit more dancey, and way more punk. I am a lot more pissed-off, definitely screaming a lot more. Everyone who's heard it has said my voice sounds a lot more gnarly and a lot more pissed-off."

For a breakthrough band in the Cancer Bats' position, it would be tempting to make their sound a bit more palatable to mainstream fans. But instead, Bats 2.0 seem to be moving in an even more intense direction.

"Everything we loved about Birthing The Giant we just pushed to the next level," Cormier explains. "A lot of people who hear it say it's a natural progression for the band.

"It's not like we're making any huge departures. It's more like, where songs needed to get heavier, we made them heavier. Where songs needed to be fast, we made them faster. If we had stoner aspects, we'd ride that home. I feel that we made a conscious effort with this to follow through more on what we wanted to do as a band than with the last record. I feel like this is our band coming together. Hopefully other people will think that. Or maybe everyone will hate it. Who cares?"

Guitarist Scott Middleton has become a respected axeman since the release of 2006's Birthing The Giant, and fans of his pumped-up riffs will be happy to know that he's added a number of guitar solos to the mix this time around.

"The guitars on this record fucking shred," the singer boasts excitedly. "I feel like Scott, in an amazing way, really stepped up to the plate. A lot of people will come up to him and praise his playing, and I think he really took it to the next level and was like, 'I really wanna step up as a guitar player.'

"On my end, I hate a lot of guitar solos because I have a punk rock background, and he comes from metal. We had to do a bit of compromising, but I feel like the solos on this album fuckin' rip, and they aren't ridiculous. They're ridiculous in the sense that they blow my mind, but they aren't like fuckin' Dragonforce. It's all about using the power of the riff."

On the lyrical front, Cormier maintains the rallying calls from the last album, but also incorporates more of a personal edge to the songs.

"The whole record is about sacrifices that you put up in your life," he says. "With this whole thing, we've put everything in our lives into this band.

"In a lot of ways, that's destroyed a lot of things, like the familiarity of being home and connections with friends you never see. On the other side, it opens so much more in your life. The sacrifices we make, like money, or a stable relationship, all of that is a sacrifice where, in the end, we get to tour full-time. I get to see amazing people and amazing cities for a living. If that means that I have to eat oatmeal every day to balance that out, then so be it."

Here are the Cancer Bats' tour dates:

Feb. 5 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club w/Gallows
Feb. 6 Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electrique w/This Is Hell
Feb. 16 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
Feb. 20 Kingston, ON @ Time To Laugh Comedy Club
Feb. 21 Sudbury, ON @ Jubilee Centre
Feb. 22 Thunder Bay, ON @ Kilroy's
Feb. 23 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
Feb. 24 Saskatoon, SK @ The Bassment
Feb. 26 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
Feb. 27 Red Deer, AB @ The Vat
Feb. 28 Calgary, AB @ The Underground
March 1 Lethbridge, AB @ Medicine Tree Centre
March 3 Medicine Hat, AB @ The Doghouse (free)
March 4 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat
March 7 Victoria, BC @ Element (all-ages early show)
March 7 Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
March 8 Vancouver, BC @ Ukrainian Hall