IN REVIEW: Cancer Bats - "Hail Destroyer"

Being in cahoots with the Alexisonfire camp has the tendency of making me not give a shit about your band. No offense to AOF or the kids who love them, screamo just isn't my bag. Which is why I was surprised by the Cancer Bats' debut, "Birthing the Giant". I avoided it for months, expecting it to be a clone of Alexisonfire's uninteresting At the Drive-In worship or, worse, a clone of Dallas Green's wretch-inducing sentimentalism. Finally, "French Immersion" made its way to my ears, a roaring hardcore throwback worthy of whiplash by headbanging. I was almost as astonished by that track's ferocity as I was by the fact that the rest of the album was just as good.

Of course, there's bound to be changes on album two. Thankfully, they're not so drastic as to completely alter your opinions on the band. Sure, there's a little more metallic screaming (see the title track), and a few more actual hooks (see "Deathsmarch"). And, in a case where change is definitely good, there's the staggering "Bastard's Waltz", a track that gets across a bevy of menace despite its slower tempo, thanks in large part to its "coughing up blood" refrain. It's only trumped by its cousin "Lucifer's Rocking Chair", complete with slide guitar riffage and sinister groove. They take it the other direction, too, especially on the absolutely crushing diatribe "Sorceress". It's like the song Hatebreed's been trying to write for ten years. And the 90 second scorcher "Pray for Darkness" hits you in the skull with such speed and fury that the half-time breakdown is necessary to catch your breath.

All in all, though, this is the same band with the same love for monstrous riffs and chaotic gang vocals. But they incorporate enough new elements to their sound to dissuade any naysayers who would accuse them of being a one trick pony. "Hail Destroyer" may not be as consistent as "Birthing the Giant", but it is most certainly more rewarding.

8 GREAT
Release Date: April 22, 2008 • Distort/Universal