Background
Cancer Bats originated in May 2004 with singer
Liam Cormier and guitarist
Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto
heavy metal band
At The Mercy Of Inspiration.
[2] The two wanted to form a project that combined their favorite parts of bands like
Refused,
Black Flag,
Led Zeppelin and
Down, among others. The lineup was rounded out with the addition of
Andrew McCracken on bass and
Joel Bath on drums. The four-piece wasted no time writing and recording songs for a self-released demo that saw light in January 2005. The story is that the band considered the names
Cancer Bats
and
Pneumonia Hawk
after deciding that a combination of illness and animal name would give the best band name,
[3]
Soon after,
Mike Peters replaced Bath on the drums and the band began playing throughout Southern
Ontario, playing live shows with bands like
Billy Talent,
Every Time I Die,
NORA,
Alexisonfire,
Haste the Day,
It Dies Today,
Bane,
Comeback Kid,
Buried Inside,
Attack in Black,
Misery Signals and
This Is Hell,
Rise Against,
The Bronx and
Gallows.
On
June 2,
2006, the band took part in a short interview and then played a free CD release show at The Edge 102.1 (
CFNY-FM) and then on the 6th
Birthing The Giant was released into major record stores. The album includes guest vocals by George Pettit of
Alexisonfire. On
June 7,
2006 they hosted
All Things Rock, a show on MTV Canada, and had their own video played at the end of the show.
[4]
In the summer of 2006, they were on tour all across Canada, playing with
NOFX and
Silverstein. They also played the
Rock The Mill festival with other bands such as
The Fully Down and
Shotgun Rules.
Bass player
Andrew McCracken left to concentrate on his design company Doublenaut. His spot was filled in by
Jason Bailey (Former member of bands
Figure Four and
Shattered Realm) for most of 2007 after which he was replaced by
Jaye R. Schwarzer, who is formerly of
Left Behind
,
Hope To Die
,
Minesweeper
,
Kover
, and currently a
Reefer Cathedral
member alongside Cancer Bats guitarist Scott Middleton.
The band released their second studio album called
Hail Destroyer
on
April 22,
2008. The album features guest vocals by Wade MacNeil of
Alexisonfire and
Black Lungs, Tim McIlrath of
Rise Against and Benjamin Kowalewicz of
Billy Talent. The release was held at the Mod Club in downtown
Toronto with
Liam Cormier singing for the band, along with drumming with
Black Lungs.
On
May 17,
2008, Cancer Bats were put on the cover of
Kerrang!, which gave their album
Hail Destroyer
a KKKKK review (highest possible) as well as a 5k Live review on their headlining UK tour. Cancer Bats were also nominated for 2008 Album of the Year for the 2008 Kerrang! awards.
Cancer Bats have performed at the
Download Festival in 2007,
Groezrock 2007 and at both
Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2007 and 2008. In the summer of 2008, the band did an extensive summer and autumn tour with
Bullet for My Valentine,
Black Tide and
Bleeding Through, as part of the
No Fear music tour across North America. Also in 2008 they were a support act for Welsh band
Funeral for a Friend during their tour of Britain and northern Europe.
March 2009, they went on tour at the annual
Taste Of Chaos festival along with Thursday,
Four Year Strong,
Pierce The Veil and
Bring Me The Horizon. They kept a daily blog on their website calling
Calgary, AB their best show in six months.
Cancer Bats returned to the UK in 2009, even after Swedish melodic metal band
In Flames cancelled their April 2009 concerts, on which Cancer Bats were slated to be main support.
[5]
Liam Cormier lent his vocals to sing on fellow Canadian band
Silverstein's fourth studio album
A Shipwreck in the Sand on a track called
"Vices"
. The band is also featured on
Gallows' latest album
Grey Britain.
The band is planning on taking the summer off to start writing a new record that they hope to release early 2010.
[6]
The band will be supporting
Billy Talent on there UK tour in October 2009
Musical style
Cancer Bats are usually referred to as a
hardcore,
metalcore,
death punk and
heavy metal band, and have also been referred to as having influences from
stoner rock,
southern metal,
sludge metal and
groove metal.
[7]
Band members
Current lineup
- Liam Cormier - lead vocals (2004–present)
- Scott Middleton - guitar (2004–present)
- Mike Peters - drums (2005–present)
- Jaye R. Schwarzer - bass (2007–present)
Former members
- Jason Bailey - bass (2006–2007)
- Andrew McCracken - bass (2004–2006)
- Joel Bath - drums (2004–2005)
Discography
Studio albums
- 2006: Birthing The Giant
- 2008: Hail Destroyer
EPs and splits
- 2005: Cancer Bats
- 2007: This Is Hell / Cancer Bats
7"
- 2009: Cancer Bats / Rolo Tomassi
7" [8]
- 2009: Tour EP
[9]
Songs on compilations
- 2005: Distort Summer Sampler
("One Hundred Grand Canyon" and "Pneumonia Hawk")
- 2008: Distort Summer Sampler
("Hail Destroyer)
- 2009: Atticus...Dragging the lake
("Deathsmarch)
Videography
Cancer Bats often incorporate references to their friends
Alexisonfire in their music videos. In the French Immersion and Pneumonia Hawk videos the band parodied some of Dallas Green's
City and Colour songs. Fellow Alexisonfire members
George Pettit and
Wade MacNeil performed guest vocals on the tracks "Pneumonia Hawk" and "Deathsmarch" respectively, and also appeared in the videos for the songs that included their respective contributions.
All of their music videos have been directed by Marc Ricciardelli.
- Hundred Grand Canyon
(2006)
- French Immersion
(2006)
- Pneumonia Hawk
(2007)
- Hail Destroyer
(2008)
- Lucifer's Rocking Chair
(2008)
- Deathsmarch
(2009)
The Cancer Bats members also appear in the video for "Chelsea Smile" by
Bring Me The Horizon.
Interviews
- From Torontomusicscene.ca
References
- Distort Entertainment Official Website
- Alternative Press interview
- BBC Radio 1 punk show 27th of May 2008
- MTV overdrive page showing performance.
- Kerrang! - In Flames cancel upcoming UK/Ireland tour
- http://www.alterthepress.com/2009/03/interview-cancer-bats-3032009.html
- Cancer Bats – Listen free at Last.fm
- Limited Edition Cancer Bats/Rolo Tomassi Split 7" Announced
- Cancer Bats Releasing Tour EP