Currently touring across Canada on their “Birthing The Giant” 20th-anniversary tour, six-time-Juno-nominated Canadian hardcore punk heavyweights CANCER BATS will release their eighth studio album, “Give Me Dirt”, on August 7 via Bat Skull Records in partnership with New Damage Records in Canada and via Marshall Records in the rest of the world.
Ahead of their forthcoming release, CANCER BATS, composed of lead vocalist Liam Cormier, drummer Mike Peters, bassist Jaye Schwarzer and newest addition Jackson Landry on guitar (Jackson replaced Scott Middleton in 2023),have dropped a new single, “Stay Stuck”, complete with an accompanying video.
“‘Stay Stuck’ was such a fun song for us to write. It was one of the first songs that we finished while working on the new record and we really all felt like we had tapped into the classic CANCER BATS bouncy fun element we’ve had in songs since the beginning,” shares Cormier. “The lyrics explore the idea that, at any age or moment in life, we all reach a point where we realize something has to change. Maybe it’s the path we’re on, or just the way we see things, but there’s that instant where we say to ourselves, I’M NOT WASTING ANY MORE TIME! We’re all moving towards something bigger, chasing goals and dreams that the world can’t take away from us. That’s what keeps us going.”
Filmed by Mitch Barnes, who also worked on the video for “Lonely Bong”, the hilarious and super-fun video for “Stay Stuck” finds the band stepping into a series of day jobs, roles that closely mirror those they held prior to forming CANCER BATS. At the heart of it, the band wanted to capture the sense of optimism they carried through those years. Even in jobs that can feel routine or demanding, they were always focused on what lay ahead.
Reflecting on the concept, Cormier explains: “The idea is that we were always having fun and staying positive in those jobs thinking of the future that we knew was coming for us. I think lots of times those jobs can feel like a grind and we wanted to look more at the fun times and how it’s really just that stepping stone to really living your dreams. CANCER BATS, as a band, also just really like an excuse to make fun and funny music videos so that was our whole thinking for the concept. A great cinematic vehicle for us to all have a really good time.”
“Stay Stuck” is available now on all digital streaming platforms. The official video can be seen below.
As the follow-up to their 2022 Juno-nominated, critically acclaimed seventh studio album “Psychic Jailbreak”, “Give Me Dirt” pushes CANCER BATS‘ artistry to new heights, fully realizing the sound they have pursued throughout their musical careers. Produced by legendary metal producer Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, KVELERTAK, HIGH ON FIRE, EVERY TIME I DIE) and Zach Weeks at GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, with vocals recorded by Ian Romano (THE OUTFIT, PIGPEN, ANCIENT SHAPES) at Camera Varda Studios in Welland, Ontario, “Give Me Dirt” sees CANCER BATS at their most sonically inspiring.
As with their earlier work, the music came together organically, with all four members jamming in the same room. One key lesson the band carried over from their last album was that the real magic happens when everyone is fully collaborating. Once the riffs, breakdowns, and grooves were locked in, Cormier returned to rural Nova Scotia to craft the lyrics and vocal hooks. Many of the songs took shape on dusty forest roads, along winding dirt bike trails, and while brewing campfire coffee on secluded North Shore beaches.
Inspired by a year of travel, “Give Me Dirt” unfolds as both an outward and inward journey, grounded in a deep connection to nature. The songs explore leaving urban life behind, processing personal loss, and confronting environmental devastation, while also reflecting on lessons drawn from the natural world.
Motorcycle travel forms another central thread on “Give Me Dirt”. From riding through the harsh conditions of the Canadian Rockies to a transformative journey in the mountains of Nepal just before recording, these experiences shaped the album’s perspective.
The overarching theme of returning to nature and re-connecting with the physical world, also provided inspiration for the album’s artwork. Instead of using digital tools, Cormier created a giant four-foot-by-eight-foot mixed-media painting for the front and back covers. Using materials like paint, paper, stencils and drywall mud, he incorporated whatever he could get his hands on to build a large-scale, tactile piece. A second artwork of similar size was created for the liner notes featuring handwritten lyrics, collages, and similar paints and stencils used on the cover.
Cormier explains his motivation: “So many people I find are so sick of A.I. these days and all things that look too polished. I wanted the artwork to capture the energy of the album but also represent us as a band, we are rough and dirty, our sound is loud and a mix of so many influences. Making art like this felt like such a good visual representation of not only the songs, but also CANCER BATS ourselves.”
“Give Me Dirt” track listing:
01. World Wild Fire Death Race (feat. Nate Newton)
02. Stay Stuck
03. Don’t Trip
04. Bright Eyes Of Gold (feat. Chris Creswell)
05. Give Me Dirt
06. Long Tooth (feat. Brooklyn Doran)
07. Speed Wizard
08. Ocean Crash
09. Positive Grid
10. Prognosis
11. Fool Like You (feat. Efrem Schulz)
Photo credit: Joey Senft
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source blabbermouth.net ’
