Album Reviews

Five years after their last album, Toronto’s Cancer Bats are back at it with “Searching For Zero”. The break apparently gave these guys plenty of time to stock up on piss and vinegar, because on their new Ross Robinson produced album they sound as raw as a hooker after a particularly busy day on the job.

These guys are off to a pretty good start with opening track “Satellites” and “Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake”, both of which hit you like a punch in the gut. After some faster songs, “Beelzebub” forms a nice change of pace and sees the band’s alter ago Bat Sabbath (a Black Sabbath tribute band) seeping through. Unfortunately it’s followed by “Devil’s Blood”, by far the album’s weakest song. Sure, it’s in your face and aggressive as fuck but it doesn’t really go anywhere. The groove-oriented “Cursed With A Conscience” definitely scores a lot higher in that regard.

Overall, Cancer Bats made a solid album and weren’t bullshitting us when they said they would go for a rawer sound. Want to see them live? They’re playing at Groezrock on May 1.