Hail to the Destroyers
Another festival and another set from the Cancer Bats! The Canadian hardcore outfit have been at pretty much every major rock festival going in the last couple of years. The release of their second album ‘Hail to the Destroyer’ cemented their reputation as one of the best bands on the hardcore circuit and successfully demonstrated their ability to span both punk and metal genres with ease.
Tonight they are their usual selves, bristling with energy and bounding around the stage as if it were their last ever gig. The crowd is a decent size and greet every song with wild enthusiasm. ‘Golden Tanks’ is great, as is ‘Let It Pour’, further proving that the first album wasn’t just a flash in the pan and that they are developing a back catalogue that has real strength in depth.
Most of the audience are too old to crowd surf but they do get some movement going down at the front during ‘Lucifer’s Rocking Chair’ and ‘Hail Destroyer’. Singer Liam is in the face of the front rows from start to finish and you simply can’t fault his enthusiasm or passion for what they do. Amongst the rest of the line up this weekend Cancer Bats initially looked a little out of place but they prove tonight that they not only span genres but every conceivable age range. At the end of their set Liam spends a good five minutes down at the barrier talking to fans, safely depositing another stash of brownie points in the Cancer Bats bank.