The Martlet

The Cancer Bats have been under the spotlight in the Canadian hardcore scene for the majority of the last decade.

They have not only taken Canada by storm, but also the U.S. and Europe. They have crossed the pond five times since 2004 in support of bands like Funeral For A Friend, Billy Talent and countless others.

The Bats have spent the last two years touring their second full-length record, titled Hail Destroyer.

The album received near-perfect ratings from music outlets like AbsolutePunk.net, Kerrang! and Punknews.org.

The band recently finished recording a follow-up album, titled Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones, which is due for release on April 12 through Distort Records.

The band was able to take more time with this record to really focus on writing. Past writing processes were squeezed between touring and recording, forcing the band to take two weeks to record and following it up with two weeks of touring. This continued until the album was completed.

This time around, the Bats didn’t have the same financial restraint, which allowed them to work at their own pace. They set aside four months, spending the first three writing and the fourth recording.

“It was definitely a way better environment to write [in],” said Liam Cormier, lead vocalist. “There was way less pressure this time around.”

The new record is set to have 13 tracks, plus a bonus surprise for fans. The band recorded a cover of The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” that they had been performing on tour at festivals last summer.

The overwhelming response from fans gave the band and their management the idea to record it for the album.

They recently released a music video for the track, which you can stream on the band’s website, cancerbats.com.

“Because we had toured Hail Destroyer for two years, in a lot of cases people had seen the same show a bunch of times.

We wanted to do something different to spice up the party,” explained Cormier.

Fans often discuss the progression of Cormier’s vocals betweenthe band’s debut effort, Birthing The Giant, and their latest release. On Birthing The Giant, Liam’s vocal style emulated the hardcore sounds of ex-Comeback Kid singer, Scott Wade, while on Hail Destroyer, Liam gave a George Petit of Alexisonfire vibe to the record.

“There were points on that album where that was as heavy as I could possibly go at that point in my life,” explained Cormier. “You need to physically be up for it and your voice needs to be used to it.”

This left many fans wondering what their next release would have in store.

“Now we’ve had times where I say ‘now I can sing really heavy, so let’s try and pull back and try some different stuff.”

“The next record definitely has some very heavy stuff and some pretty moderate stuff as well,” said Cormier.

This can only ignite the fire in the stomachs of fans now that the album’s release is inching ever closer.

What they can expect is another hardcore ear candy of a record that will surely take its predecessor’s throne as one of Canada’s best hardcore records to date.