“I don’t mind being called a hardcore band as I think is the closest to what we are and our approach to touring and everything is that of a DIY hardcore band.”

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Just a few days before Cancer Bats’ shows with Red Fang in Greece, Metalpaths found the chance to talk with Liam Cormier, the vocalist of the “Bats”. In our short chat, Liam talks about Bat Sabbath project, new Black Sabbath song “Gos Is Dead”, music influences, future plans and touring mentioning that he can’t wait to come back to Greece…by Rena Kostopoulou

This summer you will be touring Europe. What should the fans expect from this tour?

This is our last tour before we have some time off this summer so all of us are going to be really going for it and pushing our limits of personal destruction.

Starting May 23rd, you will be playing gigs every single day for almost two months straight! How difficult is it? Don’t you feel like you need a day of rest in between shows?

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I feel like when you’re in it you’re in it, if that makes sense (laughs). Once you’ve got your momentum going its not so bad, it’s just when we slow down and all of those injuries from 2 months of raging catch up with you (laughs).

How did you come up with the Bat Sabbath project? 

We were asked by Sonisphere festival back in 2010 to do a cover set and we chose Black Sabbath to fill our 30min slot and the rest is youtube history (laughs).
Since then we’ve done Bat Sabbath shows all over the world and people seem to never get tired of it.

Did you expect this response from the fans?

We had no idea that people would get this pumped but we always seem to have that when we do covers of any kind. We had no idea people would loose their minds for our “Sabotage” cover either so I guess we’re always being pleasantly surprised.

Is there a song on Bat Sabbath that is a little more special to you than the rest?

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Now that we’ve been doing the cover set I’ve gotten a lot more into some Sabbath jams which I think I overlooked as a youth. “Snowblind” is such a banger that I never gave enough credit when I was growing up.

Obviously Black Sabbath is one of the bands that shaped your music. What other bands have influenced you?

We have so many different bands that we reference and throw into the Cancer Bats mix from Zeppelin to Black Flag to Eye Hate God and Down to Weedeater and Electric Wizard Church of Misery to Wu Tang Clan to Paul Simon to MIA to BioHazard to LeTigre…

Have you listened to the new Sabbath song “God Is Dead” ? How do you find it?

I like the new song. I’m just stoked that they’re writing some old style Sabbath again. The lyrics to that song are pretty heavy too, gets me pumped.

What’s the song you listen to the most lately on your mp3/phone?

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We’ve listening to Kendricks Lamar non stop for the last month. I think it reminds us of the hip hop we grew up on in the early 90s. Great jams on his new album.

When you write a new song, do you wrap the music around the lyrics or the other way around?

We always do music first for the most part and then I’ll let that dictate which direction the song will go. I try to write as often as I can and sometimes I’ll have pieces I’ve written that will fit with the vibe of a piece of music we’ve written, but I never try to force finished lyrics into something.

Are you comfortable and do you agree with people referring to Cancer Bats as a hardcore band? Or giving the band any label for that matter?

I don’t mind being called a hardcore band as I think is the closest to what we are and our approach to touring and everything is that of a DIY hardcore band.

After this tour is over what’s next for Cancer Bats? Maybe a new album coming up soon?

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We’re going to take some time off after this tour. We have motorcycles we need to ride and girlfriends to hang out with. Canada is full of lakes we’ve yet to swim in so this summer we’re going to soak it all in. Once we’ve had our fill of all that we’ll look at jamming some new epic jams and trying to out live “Dead Seat On Living”!

What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you while touring? 

I’m trying to think of the funniest thing that’s topped the list for us. We have a pretty good time and laugh pretty hard everyday but most times they’re all just stupid inside jokes haha I think that’s the main thing that keeps us sane is laughing at any thing and everything from good to bad.

You return to Greece for two shows in June. What are your memories from the last time you visited Greece?

Last time we were in Greece we met so many amazing people who showed us the best time ever. On top of all of that the show was completely crazy!

Anything you would like to say to the fans?

All I have to say is that the last time we came to Greece we were welcomed with open arms and we had such an awesome time! We can’t wait to come back!