Canadian hardcore heavyweights Cancer Bats have announced they will release their new album, ‘Give Me Dirt’, on August 7th. The band have joined forces with the formidable Marshall Records for the release.
“We are beyond excited to be joining the Marshall Records Roster! From the amps that helped define the sound of our favourite bands, to their support of independent venues and their absolute punk rock approach to everything they do, we feel like this is the perfect home for Cancer Bats! Can't wait to work with them on our new album and many more to come!” said the band.
Steve Tannett, Director of Music Platforms at Marshall Records, adds: “We are so chuffed to have the legendary Cancer Bats join the Marshall Records roster in our 10th year, which coincides nicely with the band's 20th year. The new studio album Give Me Dirt is testament to a band built on solid rock foundations, and we look forward to a brilliant release and lots of incredible shows - just how we like it!”
Ahead of the 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 realise 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 before 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 a lot 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”.
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 realising 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 God City 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 reconnecting with the physical world also provided inspiration for the album's artwork. Instead of using digital tools, Cormier created a giant 4-foot by 8-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 AI 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" Tracklisting:
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2. Stay Stuck
3. Don’t Trip
4. Bright Eyes Of Gold (ft Chris Creswell)
5. Give Me Dirt
6. Long Tooth (Feat Brooklyn Doran)
7. Speed Wizard
8. Ocean Crash
9. Positive Grid
10. Prognosis
11. Fool Like You (Feat. Efrem Schulz)
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