{"id":7566,"date":"2015-09-09T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2015-09-09T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-cancer-bats\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:07:49","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:07:49","slug":"interview-cancer-bats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-cancer-bats\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Cancer Bats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Having made their Leeds Festival<\/b> debut back in 2007, you could consider Canadian riff merchants Cancer Bats<\/b> festival veterans. However after speaking to vocalist Liam Cormier, their enthusiasm for the Bank Holiday event hasn\u2019t waned. With this being their fifth time at the festival, having worked their way up the bill over the years, the quartet have gone full circle with a prominent slot on The Pit stage.<\/p>\n

Back in the UK for the first time since their successful run with While She Sleeps back in April, Cancer Bats<\/b> still thrive off the simple idea of being in a band with mates and having fun and now five albums deep into their career, they just happen to do it across the world. Album number five, \u2018Searching For Zero,\u2019<\/i> was released this past March to much praise and saw the four-piece combine their mix of thrash, hardcore, stoner rock, punk and southern rock. The end result is an onslaught of heavy riffs and soaring vocals that are carried with a devilish lyrical substance.<\/p>\n

Hours before their set at Leeds Festival<\/b>, we spoke to Liam about a number of topics; past festival memories, returning to the UK, working with producer Ross Robinson on ‘Searching For Zero,\u2019<\/i> their label imprint (Noise Church Records<\/b>) and more.<\/p>\n

AH: You\u2019re back at Leeds for the fifth time. How does it feel to be back?<\/b>

\nLiam: I love it! We love this festival. When we first started coming over there was Download Festival was the most metal thing ever then all of a sudden we\u2019re being asked to play Leeds and Reading which has a punk stage. We were playing with Municipal Waste, The Dwarves and all these amazing punk bands. We were just like \u201cthis is the greatest thing ever!\u201d Of course we\u2019re going to keep trying to tour here and stay here. This is our jam! We love Leeds and Reading and specifically Leeds. Cancer Bats loves it up North. Yorkshire! Lets just say we love this United Kingdom. The only thing united is my love for it.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: What are your past memories of playing Leeds?<\/b>

\nLiam: Like I said playing in 2007 and getting asked to come back right away. That was crazy. People have told us \u201cyou don\u2019t play this festival more than once\u201d and we keep getting asked to come back. We get to play the Lock Up stage and have such a blast then we eventually played main stage. It\u2019s so crazy to come from in the afternoon and then to playing main stage. So much has happened around this festival.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: And you keep getting higher and higher up the bill.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah! And we\u2019re now playing later too. We were rolling in saying \u201cthis is crazy! We\u2019re playing 8 ‘o\u2019 clock.\u201d That is so wild.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Are there any bands you\u2019re wanting to see while you\u2019re here?<\/b>

\nLiam: I\u2019m kind of bummed we got stuck in traffic because I\u2019m missing Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes but the nice part about Leeds is that if you miss any bands, you get to see them at Reading. So that kind of thing is cool. I wish logistically it would of worked out because A$ap Ferg and Flatbush Zombies are at Reading today (Friday) and there\u2019s no way we\u2019re going to get to see them. I don\u2019t know when in my lifetime I\u2019m going to see A$ap Ferg, so I\u2019m bummed about that one.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

AH: This is the first time back in the UK since you toured with While She Sleeps back in April. How was that tour?<\/b>

\nLiam: It was an amazing European tour then it got cranked up to a thousand by the time we got to the UK. All the shows were crazy packed out. Everyone was vibing. It was the best.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Also you released a new album, ‘Searching For Zero\u2019<\/i> in March. That was produced by Ross Robinson. How was it working with him?<\/b>

\nLiam: He\u2019s the best dude ever! He\u2019s so nice and friendly but at the same time able to tap into all that inner madness that gets released at a show. He knows how to trick you into doing it. <\/i><\/p>\n

AH: He pushes you all the way.<\/b>

\nLima: Yeah exactly. You recognise when you get there but you have to be sweaty, at a packed out show, losing your mind. He knows how to get that out of a sterile environment. I love this record for that because it sounds more like us then I think we ever have. <\/i><\/p>\n

AH: I remember reading a Slipknot book years ago and hearing stories about how intense Ross is in the studio.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah his Slipknot stories are crazy too. And how can you not be inspired by someone telling you about hand mixing the Slipknot record. There were like three guys hand mixing the record live. It\u2019s so sick.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Going back to ‘Searching For Zero\u2019<\/i>, would you say it\u2019s a combination of everything from beforehand?<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah I\u2019d say so. I think it\u2019s leading everything up to it. The writing was definitely inspired by that. We look at writing Cancer Bats records now as us being fans of our own band. We just hang out and get stoked. We think about all those kids that have Cancer Bats tattoos, and in the same way we\u2019re fans of other bands. It\u2019s like I love playing ripping thrash songs. I love when we play stoner rocks songs. So it\u2019s like \u201clets write more songs like that.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: It\u2019s just getting all those elements and putting them in a big melting pot.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah! Exactly and just having fun. We\u2019re like \u201cok we\u2019ll just write the most fun songs ever\u201d and then keep on partying.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: You can\u2019t complain with that. The album has also got a lot of positive reviews that must be pretty exciting?<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah. To put out our fifth record and have people be just as stoked on it as we have. I know when you put out something a little bit different, you try some different ideas and have people to be just as stoked on those songs as much as the classic bangers is the best.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: It must be tricky because with some bands by the time they reach their fifth album, they\u2019re stuck in a routine of churning out the same sort of stuff?<\/b>
Liam: I think the biggest thing is not treating your band just as a job. For us, taking some time off and having some real life things happen is good. I was renovating my house. I was doing demolition and building up walls, doing these really hard things so when I get together with my friends we\u2019re just having fun. This is the easiest thing I can do. So the fact I\u2019m just playing music with my friends is a basement rehearsal space.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: That\u2019s pretty cool. You\u2019re five albums in and you\u2019re still doing it as a hobby but you get to do it everywhere.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah exactly.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: The album was released on your own label imprint (Noise Church Records) right?<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah it came out through BMG and because they\u2019re like a publishing company they said \u201cso we\u2019ll it have so it\u2019s basically your label. You guys are calling the shots and making everything happen.\u201d They were sort of the big brother who makes it all happen.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Does that give you more control over what direction you want to go in?<\/b>

\nLiam: Everything! BMG have been the coolest label ever. We were going to make the record 30 minutes long and they said \u201cYeah sure. That\u2019s sick like Slayer.\u201d That\u2019s awesome. Everyone has just been super cool. We showed them the artwork and they said \u201cwe love it\u201d and here\u2019s the video; \u201cwe love it\u201d. Everything has been so cool. It\u2019s really nice to be with a label that is supportive. We were like \u201cwe\u2019re going to take a year off\u201d and they said \u201cyeah you should,\u201d (laughs) This is the best.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Are you planning on having any other bands join the label? <\/b>

\nLiam: We look at how Gallows have been so prolific with Venn and doing so much cool stuff. But at the end of the day we\u2019re all really busy, so I\u2019m trying to spend more time with my girlfriend and my house now that\u2019s finished, let alone trying to put out other records but we\u2019ll see. Maybe in the future. Maybe Mikey (Peters \u2013 drums) will. He\u2019s the one who handles a lot of Cancer Bats business. I think he\u2019d be stoked on doing that.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

AH: What else do you have planned after this? I know you\u2019re off to Australia soon.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah we go to Australia right after this run, which I\u2019m way too excited about, then we\u2019re going to be coming back (here) in January. We\u2019re going to be doing a headline tour like a proper old school, dirty tour. <\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Can you say who\u2019s that with? Any support?<\/b>

\nLiam: I don\u2019t even know. We\u2019ve not even figured it out. It\u2019ll be somebody cool. We always tour with bands we want to watch.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Any bands you\u2019d like to tour with?<\/b>

\nLiam: Ahhh I could tell you a list of bands I\u2019d like to tour with all day long, but until it\u2019s something you don\u2019t want to jinx it.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: How long is that tour going to be?<\/b>

\nLiam: It\u2019s almost a full month of UK and Europe. So there is a solid bunch of UK shows because we want to go back and play a bunch of small, fun venues that we played back in the day. They\u2019re still rad. I still want to play those places.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: Yeah I see bands on big stages here but I prefer them in an intimate setting.<\/b>

\nLiam: Yeah I know exactly what you mean. That\u2019s the thing coming off the While She Sleeps tour, we were like \u201cthis is rad but if we can do small shows again and rip more of the UK that would be what we want to do.\u201d So everyone keep your peepers peeled.<\/i><\/p>\n

AH: So besides that tour and the Australia run, is there anything else in the works?
\nLiam: No that\u2019s it. I mean we will definitely start working on new Cancer Bats material and it\u2019ll come down the pipe.<\/b><\/p>\n

AH: Any final comments?<\/b>

\nLiam: We love the UK! Thanks for having us as always. You guys are the best! We\u2019ll be back soon.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2019Searching For Zero\u2019<\/em> by Cancer Bats<\/strong> is out now through Noise Church Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cancer Bats<\/strong> links: Official Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Cancer Bats<\/b> will be touring the UK in Janaury on the following dates:<\/p>\n

January
\n11th Chinnerys, Southend
\n12th Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
\n13th Concorde 2, Brighton
\n14th Waterfront, Norwich
\n15th Phoenix, Exeter
\n16th The Hub, Plymouth
\n17th Marble Factory, Bristol
\n18th Hobos, Bridgend
\n19th Sub 89, Reading
\n20th Sugarmill, Stoke
\n21st Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
\n22nd O2 Academy 2, Birmingham
\n23rd O2 Academy 3, Manchester
\n24th Key Club, Leeds
\n25th Garage, Glasgow
\n26th O2 Academy 2, Newcastle
\n27th O2 Academy 2, Liverpool
\n28th Tufnell Park Dome, London<\/p>\n

View more of Already Heard<\/b>\u2019s coverage from Leeds Festival<\/b> 2015 here<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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