CANCER BATS INTERVIEW

Jake: Yo Liam what’s up! How’ve you been? You guys just wrapped up your cross-Canada tour celebrating ‘Birthing the Giant’. How was that??

Liam: That tour was the BEST! Great lineup with Chastity Teeth and Ancients, the shows were packed out. Not much more you can ask for.

Jake: How’s it feel to be melting faces for over 20 years? It’s a feat most bands don’t even come close to… You got any tricks of the trade for younger bands?

Liam: It feels pretty crazy to look back on it all. I think when you look at bands that have stood the test of time, it really boils down to everyone still being friends and wanting to keep making art together. So young bands, make sure you’re surrounded by people that you really get along with and want to travel the world with.

Jake: Do you notice any differences in the scene from when you started to now? Obviously the crowds are bigger but do you notice anything in terms of how fans react at shows, interact or if the culture has shifted?

Liam: It’s crazy to think of how far hardcore has come over the last 20-30 years, but at the same time the spirit has remained so similar. The raw release of energy through this wild heavy music, it taps into something inside all of us and I think that’s what people gravitate towards and keeps us all coming back. Doesn’t matter how big it all gets we all still want to mosh to Hatebreed like we’re 18years old haha

Jake: Enough about the past. You guys just dropped a new single ‘Stay Stuck’. Shit rips. What can you tell us about the track? And is there any reason it was the lead single?

Liam: Thanks! Yeah the response has been awesome so far! I think we went with this one because its just such a fun classic Bats kind of vibe it just felt really obvious to all of us. The songs just about shaking things up and living it up along the way. We’ve all had times where we’ve been stuck in a rut and its making that mental choice to change things up and really focus on the bright future ahead.

Jake: The video for ‘Stay Stuck’ is so fun. Looked fun to shoot too. Who had the most fun shooting it and who’s the mastermind behind it all?

Liam: That video was super fun to shoot! We worked with Mitch Barnes again after working with him on the Lonely Bong video.

We came up with the idea all together and Mitch and I kind of talked it through with what would be fun and easy to shoot and also not have too much of a story just a good excuse for us to dress up in costumes and be silly haha I was having waaaay too much fun ridding those mini bikes so I would say it was maybe me hahahahaha but we all had a blast.

Jake: The new album is called ‘Give Me Dirt’. What does “give me dirt” mean?

Liam: ‘Give Me Dirt’ was a thing I saw while on a dirt bike trip in Nepal the week before we went into the studio. It was painted on a box in a small town in the mountains and we kept saying it on the trip. I ended up using those experiences from the trip to write the song and the more I worked on the artwork and everything I really felt like it fit the vibe of the whole album.

Jake: I know you did the art for Psychic Jailbreak. Did you also make it for ‘Give Me Dirt’? Love the collage style it’s really sick.

Liam: Thanks! Yeah I did the art for this album as well! I really wanted to step up and do something different, especially feeling burnt on all of the overly polished and AI thats been happening lately. I really wanted this whole thing to feel more hands on and raw to really reflect the feeling of the album.

Im really happy with how it turned out and then my good friend April Te Bulte helped to get it all photographed and into the digital world so we could print it all. It was a really big endeavour but I’m really happy with the end result.

Jake: Tell me about all the features on the album?

Liam: We’ve got lots of homies on this record. We recorded with Kurt Ballou so we were in Salem and hanging out during the tracking we went skateboarding with Nate from Doomriders and Converge and I asked him if he would guest on a track. He was stoked and that started the ball rolling.

We have Chris Cresswell from The Flatliners on a song, which rules because his range is amazing and he sings in all sorts of different parts. Returning on this album is our fav Brooklyn Doran. She sang on the last album and toured the world with us and it was THE BEST getting to play that song live every night, so I really wanted her on another song and then she can be on stage longer too :)

Last but not least we have Efrum from Death By Stereo on the album closer. I actually had Ef in mind when I wrote that part just hearing his voice there the whole time we worked on it.

Jake: What’s different about this new album and what can fans expect from it?

Liam: I think fans can expect more classic Bats. We really love the music that we play and have a good sense of what keeps the party rocking at our shows, so we really want to nail the Bats vibes with new albums. That being said we still want to push our selves musically so all of us are playing the shit out of these songs. I’m really trying to push where I can go vocally and trying lots of different stuff. I’m really proud of this album and what we’ve all done.

Jake: Do you have a favourite track you’re most stoked for people to hear? Or one you think fans will like the most / react to live?

Liam: There’s a bunch of crazy tracks on the new album. The opener ‘World Wild Fire Death Race’ we’re saving as a release day surprise and it’s going to really blow minds! Haha Nate from Converge sings on it too. Its such a rad song with so much going on. I cant wait for people to hear it.

Jake: What else do you have planned for this year / anything you’re most excited about (outside the album)?

Liam: Outside of the album and the band, I’ve been slowly working on a cabin in Nova Scotia on the north shore that I’m super pumped to keep working on between tours. If I’m not on tour I’m just there riding dirt bikes and hanging out, it’s the actual best.

Jake: Shoutout some bands you’ve been fucking with lately that deserve some hype!

Liam: There’s so much good music coming out of Canada right now its NUTS! New HomeFront rules! Beton Arme are killing it too. Faze and Puffer from Montreal are also great. Our homies in Dont Try from QC are working on new tunes and that’s going to blow people’s minds! Mile End are working on new tunes Same with our brothers in TEETH So much cool stuff happening gets me so stoked on what Canadas pumping out now!

Jake: Thanks for this. You rule, I can’t wait for the new record.

Liam: Thank you man! I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!