Sonisphere 2011: Cancer Bats - ‘We’re Just Gonna Play A Balls-Out Heavy Set’

Come Sunday, Liam Cormier will be stagediving...a lot!

Posted Friday, 8 July 2011 in

Cancer Bats' frontman Liam Cormier is stoked to play Sonisphere this weekend and promises a good times set whatever the weather!

What are you expecting from Sonisphere?
"Sonisphere is going to be complete carnage! We’ve kind of built up a reputation for that; I know I can go off and the kids know that’s what to expect so it's like we’re all in it together. You can’t stage dive on a bunch of kids who aren’t ready for it, you know what I mean? Everyone’s hungry for it. And the bouncers there are really cool too; they’re usually fans, and you want someone who’s stoked to be there 'cause then they’re gonna take care of the kids. There’s nothing worse than trying to get psyched for a show when you’re watching some bouncer beat the shit out of a kid – you’re like ‘Cool – I just lost my boner, thanks bro.’ So yeah, I really like Sonisphere; all the guys who work it are super metalheads, like the kind of guys who hang out at Nottingham Rock City – they get it; they live and die for metal."

What can we expect from your set?
"We’re just gonna play a balls-out heavy set. I’m gonna try and stagedive the shit out of that show. Two years ago [at Sonisphere 09], I was losing my mind having so much fun, and afterwards – I always like going down to the barricade and hanging out with everybody – this kid was like ‘Can I have your shirt?’ and I was like ‘No!’ and he was like ‘You knocked out my tooth!’ and he was serious; his front tooth was gone and his face was covered in blood. And I just took off my shirt and gave it to him: ‘Here you go, my man! You earned that!’ I felt so bad."

How do you pick your setlist?
"We always play a lot of 'Hail Destroyer' because that seems to be the more popular record of ours. With a festival, you only have 30-40 minutes and you wanna make the best impression you can. Sometimes we’ll mix it up a bit; we still like playing 'Shillelagh' [from their self-titled 05 EP] and we’ve gotta play [Beastie Boys cover] 'Sabotage' because kids are gonna go crazy for that. It’s pretty much the end of the cycle [for 2010's 'Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones'], and I like doing festivals near the end of the run. When you have a new record out you have this huge obligation to play those songs, whereas at the end of the cycle it's like, 'Let’s just have fun!' so that’s why we mix it up with covers and playing different stuff – it's less pressure, more fun, and I like it that way."

Who are you excited to see?
"We’re excited to see Mastodon, and I think they’re gonna play new songs; that’s what I’ve heard. But even if they don’t, whatever – they’re Mastodon. Kylesa’s playing; I just watched them kill it at [German festival] With Full Force. They played at like 2pm, and it’s a good way to start your day; it’s not too aggressive, it's very stoner, and it's got good drums and good rhythms to get you pumped. Four Year Strong’s playing, that’s gonna be sick – I haven’t seen those dudes in a long time, so it’ll be fun to see them. Turbowolf, Slipknot, oh and Limp Bizkit! Yeah, I hope they play 'Douchebag;' we listened to that on this tour and it’s been stuck in all our heads. What I really liked is that they just went for the rap metal thing [again] – no bullshit, they’re not half stepping, not trying to be everybody’s band – they’re just like ‘We’re Limp Bizkit,’ which I really respect about them. Those guys are all super nice, too."

What are your plans once you've finished this run of shows?
"We're gonna start writing a new record, and I feel like a good way to get into it is [festivals] – we’re playing big shows and that’s something we can’t fathom, and that gets you way more stoked to go and write an epic record. I like that we always tend to finish off [an album cycle] by playing festivals and then go into the studio supercharged."

Cancer Bats play Bohemia on Sunday (July 10) at 6.10pm. No one will be losing their boner.