Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer
Record Label: Distort Entertainment
Release Date: April 22, 2008
If you took the political consciousness of Rise Against, the Southern swagger and bourbon-scorched vocals of Every Time I Die, and the straightforward (modern) hardcore sound of This is Hell and added them together, the result would be Cancer Bats. Their newest CD, appropriately titled Hail Destroyer, will kick your ass.
The title and opening track, “Hail Destroyer,” kicks off the album with a gritty guitar riff followed by vocalist Liam Cormier shouting, “Tear us Down,” a combination that will have you wishing you had a shotgun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. Although Cormier’s voice will undoubtedly draw comparisons with Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley, the two have distinct differences. While both can span the vocal range from intense scream to swaggery growl, Buckley primarily uses the wry swagger, while Cormier’s uses more intensity and employs the Southern-tinge as an additive. At times he drops the swagger entirely and sounds more like Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath (who is actually featured on the second track “Harem of Scorpions”) than Buckley.
Cormier’s vocal work on Hail Destroyer marks a significant growth from that found on their previous effort, Birthing the Giant, where production and instrumentation covered up the front man’s weak points. Now, he has taken fearless control (or reckless abandon) of the mic, and the result is dramatic improvement.
Aside from Cormier’s vocal work, Scott Middleton’s guitar playing is what carries the album. It is his expert work that unites the different sounds into workable songs, whether that means chugging through “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair,” shredding through “Pray for Darkness” (easily the heaviest and fastest track on the album), or unleashing a flurry of squeals that conjure images of deep-Alabama in “PMA ‘Til I’m DOA.”
The songwriting on the album, while not fantastic, is actually very fitting; it’s aggressive, concise, hard-hitting, and has that “f*** you” mentality that makes you want to reach for the nearest Molotov cocktail. In other words, the next time you’re getting ready to partake in a sport that requires physical contact, or just a round of bare-knuckle-boxing, pop this album in. It’s safe to say that even Gandhi would want to jump in a mosh pit after hearing these guys churn out the twelve brutal tracks on Hail Destroyer.
The album flows seamlessly from one track to the next, and even standout tracks like ”Harem of Scorpions,” “Bastard’s Waltz,” and “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair,” which all showcase a different side of Cancer Bats, still fit with the flow of the rest of the album. The primary drawback to the CD is the heavy riffing and rasping are generally overdone and tend to get repetitive after thirty-seven minutes.
Obviously this album isn’t for everybody, but it’s the kind of album that has the ability to convert wary listeners to hardcore/punk music. So, while it is not going to be the most technically diverse or artistically valuable album you ever heard, if you take it for what it is, a really fun, get-you-pumped, Southern-flavored (even though the band is from Canada) hardcore album, you’ll really enjoy it. Plus, you’ll have something to listen to on the way to your next fight.
This album is incredible. Their sound on this album, compared to Birthing the Giant, is so superior in my opinion IMO. Liam can wail now and the guests on this album, especially Ben from BT in his track, add to goodness of this album. The guitar tracks are so heavy, and the drums are so powerful.
The vocal changes killed the epic-feel of their previous album. Seriously, I don't see how anyone can compare their new songs on their myspace to "Pneumonia Hawk" or "French Immersion" and call them superior. To each his own I guess, I'm just disappointed.. It's still not terrible though...
cancer bats easily has the best live preformance i have ever seen. liam is such a cool guy too.
i completely agree they have awesome stage presence i caught them at their cd release party for hail destroyer and liam actually crowd surfed all the way to the merch table and then was tossed back at the stage to perform an encore it was pretty funny
i completely agree they have awesome stage presence i caught them at their cd release party for hail destroyer and liam actually crowd surfed all the way to the merch table and then was tossed back at the stage to perform an encore it was pretty funny
hahah thats amazing.
i saw them with gallows last january and it was at a small venue and then on top of it there were like 20-30 people there, but liam was in the circle pit with us. i tripped over his mic cable though lol
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