Cancer Bats: Positive Vibes Only
820 days. That is how long it has been since Canadian firebrands CANCER BATS last took to the stage. This staggering gap between gigs really hammers home the turmoil caused by the pandemic and really paints the picture of the global shutdown, for a band of CANCER BATS ilk, a band who live and breathe life on the road, the downtime has been nothing short of bizarre. Something that the ever charismatic Liam Cormier confirms.
“February of 2020 was our last shows. And the crazy part was that we started back up our Toronto headline show was where we had supported HOT WATER MUSIC in 2020. So it was like, back to another sold out 1000 person show. It felt really weird, it didn’t feel like time had passed. I don’t know, same venue and it was also packed as they just got rid of the capacity thing in Canada here. It was really surreal in that way.”
With a short run of Canadian shows now under their belt and getting back to what they do best, CANCER BATS are ready to embrace the post-pandemic age, armed with a new album, Psychic Jailbreak, to boot. Having toured relentlessly supporting 2018’s The Spark That Moves before the world ground to a halt, for Liam and his bandmates, 2022 very much feels like making up for lost time. Albeit enforced by the pandemic, the gap between records is the longest in their history, although Liam states this was actually the plan before COVID-19 struck. “We had kind of talked already about having a longer gap. I thought it was interesting that beforehand we were like ‘well, we definitely were gonna take off a lot of 2020’. But for us, we probably would have still been touring. We always do the BAT SABBATH stuff or we always do different kinds of things. So I think it feels longer only because we weren’t like trying to do any of our side hustles.”
With the benefit of the enforced downtime, CANCER BATS took to work in what would shape their raging new album. And despite the departure of long-standing guitarist Scott Middleton potentially throwing a spanner in the works, the amicable nature of his departure only drove the band to embrace their new status as a three piece with the utmost passion. “I really could tell Scott didn’t want to like hold us back from what we were going to do. So I thought it was really cool and I’m happy that everything was so chill. Because then it made going into the record like really awesome. I’m really excited to step up and show fans what the BATS can still do!”
In periods of great turmoil comes great art. It’s a relationship that runs throughout music history. And as the pandemic enters its endgame, the number of records that will have been influenced by the last two years, in one shape or form, will be enormous. Such is the case of Psychic Jailbreak. Although Liam did not necessarily want the experience of COVID-19 to be the sole talking point of their new record, he admits that their new offering certainly looks back on the past two years. “I think a lot of it was reflecting on what was happening in the world,” he says.
“I didn’t want to write a million songs about lockdown or whatever, but there was moments where I was genuinely thinking about tour and missing my friends. Lonely Bong was one of the first songs that we finished and that was totally that idea of like, here’s Mikey [Peters, drums] smoking weed in his basement playing drums, missing the rest of us. So, having songs like that or a song like Friday Night where I was definitely inspired by all of the activist work that I was seeing around. A lot of politics were being brought up and I think to a lot of folks for the first time. It was really cool to see people having these discussions and talking about this and seeing that there’s maybe some actual social change happening.”
At this point in their career, the reputation of CANCER BATS is set in stone. Their track record, both in the studio and on stage, speaks for itself. And Psychic Jailbreak is CANCER BATS doing what they do best; a rip-roaring and emphatically enjoyable listen. Looking ahead, as our time with Liam draws to a close, we poise the question of what does he and his bandmates want to achieve as they embark on their new chapter. “I think of CANCER BATS as being in such a fortunate place where we are in our career. Even especially having just done these last for shows. We played four packed out, sold out shows and everyone was partying and it was just like ‘yeah, this is great!’” He exclaims. “If this is what our band is and we can consistently come back and party with all of these rad people and have a good time, this is the best. Obviously becoming a bigger band is one of those things that maybe capitalism drives us to, but packing these rooms feels great. I’m happy with all of this. I think when we write a record, it’s to just keep that party going and to continue on the trajectory we’ve been on.”
Life’s a party and for CANCER BATS, they are the living embodiment of positive vibes only. And boy does the world need a band like them.
Psychic Jailbreak is out now via Bat Skull Records/New Damage Records.
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