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Album Reviews
Album Review: Cancer Bats – Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones (Hassle)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 22 April 2010
I was initially a little worried about playing this album. I desperately wanted ‘Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones’ to sound different from ‘Hail Destroyer’. Not that I hated Cancer Bats’ last album, quite the contrary, however, there’s just something about hardcore punk that, to me, runs the risk of sounding too samey. Good, really bloody good, but not massively progressive (I mean, how much heavier can you actually go until you’re considered a health hazard?).
I had nothing to worry about. Yes, they’ve gone heavier – face-meltingly heavier – but in the most exquisite and delicious ways imaginable. The Canadian foursome, who have a bit of a reputation for putting on a crazy show and turning crowds into wild animals, have found that progression that I so desire by not only encapsulating that infamous live energy into studio recordings, but raising the bar in terms of furious instrumentation.
‘Scared To Death’ and ‘Drive This Stake’ are amongst the album highlights, but it’s the brilliant Beastie Boys cover, ‘Sabotage’, that cements ‘Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones’ in pure smartass splendour. Definitely a contender for album of the year. TW
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