Cancer Bats Interview for Plugged In.

In 2004, Liam Cormier’s (vocals) astute idea for a band name was finally placed into motion. Having the staggering idea of assembling animals with diseases, meant that Cancer Bats were already ahead of themselves, before the band had even started. “I was goofing around at work killing time when I came up with the name, so when Scott (Middleton, guitar) and I were starting to jam together, I told him my idea for the name and it stuck. We just wanted to start up a hardcore band that had all our favourite parts of punk rock and metal” With bands like The Bronx and These Arms Are Snakes encouraging the boys to begin the Death’n’Roll, as they call it,  journey, they took heed, adding each of their own distinctive elements and before long they had already recorded a demo and were touring as much as they could possibly manage “and then just never stopped.”

But where did all this ambition for metal come from? “Everyone in the band got into Black Sabbath at a really young age. I think that's what all shaped what we're into now.” Growing up with healthy doses of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin to keep their Rock levels up, was also of great assistance in their upbringing. Now Liam sees his heroes in the people he watched growing up, as he was getting in to Punk music, “and seeing that anyone could be in a band and play shows.” The people who remained so down to earth in the bands were the ones who gave him the biggest influence, and it shows immensely in all the members for that matter. You don’t even have to talk to them to realise this. Simply seeing them live, the way they can communicate so easily and relaxed with any crowd, without seeming conceited or narcissistic, and it’s  a beneficial factor for any band to have.

They even carry their modest attitude through every aspect of their growing fame, never believing, or even imagining they could arise this far or this fast, not having any idea that “we would get to this point of touring as much as we do and being on the size of tours that we are.” Then again, getting into this band, all each member wanted to do was tour and work for the band as hard as humanly possible, simply because they were so passionate that this was all they wanted, even needed to do, and now it’s clear to see that they’re determination was worth every struggle.

Non-stop touring for them means they’ve gotten to know a lot of fans, a lot of supporting or intolerable crowds, all in a lot of places. They’ve experienced many different kinds of reactions to their music, and a diverse collection of music scenes, and can easily say that the music scene within the UK is cosily similar to that of their home-country of Canada’s “where kids are excited for tours to come through their home town.” They feel American kids are spoiled with the opportunities they getet when bands are going to their towns every week, with our lot across the border, the rare occasion of getting big bands to come to even the largest of towns helps us to appreciate when even the smallest of bands grace us with their presence, and that’s what these guys love, because as long as they’ve got fans valuing their presence, then they’ll value each one of those fans. Their shows are always “rowdy” with UK fans, we know how to have a good time, or so CB say, “nobody is worried about looking cool, they're worried about partying the hardest and having enough money for booze” They’ve even managed to make a great number of comrades  over in these parts, that “makes missing home a lot easier.”

In the few years since the band has existed, they’ve had the good fortune to be able to play with numerous bands such as Punk legends NOFX, and even played the renowned Download Festival in 2007. December 2008 saw them get the chance to play with Welsh heroes Funeral For A Friend, and not only that, it was their biggest ever UK tour to date. Being the heaviest band on the bill for each night also entitled them to display extreme diversity, for the audience to enjoy, giving them extreme pleasure, simply in the fact they were able to stand out so much, and still having a positive response every night, enough to “get the room sweatin’. ” They were also treated to something different with the FFAf tour, given the privilege to see more of Wales than most tours tend to, with the four dates in various parts of the country. By the sounds of it, they loved us too, exclaiming “it was rad getting to see more of Wales than just Cardiff, all of the Wales dates were crazy shows and we had a blast.”

With all their touring practically filling up their already busy schedule, it’s tough to imagine where they even find the time to write the songs, let alone record them. They plead that a radical amount of their influence when writing songs, is hearing other bands who’ve released astounding albums themselves. “When we listen to other bands really pushing themselves and growing as a band it makes us stoked to write new stuff and push ourselves as band.” During the writing process of their newest album Hail Destroyer, which hit the shelves last April, they gathered their excitement by their influences in albums like Baroness’ Red Album and Against Me!’s New Wave, all bands that had grown vastly since their last albums, taking risks and doing just want they wanted with their songs, “which then gave us a real sense of confidence to do whatever we wanted with our record.” They found ideas for the album from actually being on tour too, just by how it “had shaped us as people,” what they had gone through and how they’d “built up from nothing,” the sacrifices, the struggles and still the optimistic attitude that never left them doubting what they were doing for one minute. In the time it took to write and record the album, they had managed to fit in over 250 shows across the globe, now that’s dedication! And their plans for the future? Nothing melodramatic or superficial, but realistic and admirable, “I plan on loving life and being sweet until I die.”