Cancer Bats - Live Review

CANCER BATS & WITCH FEVER / RESCUE ROOMS, NOTTINGHAM / 9.9.22

There is no argument that Nottingham has probably the best music venues in the country and Rock City’s little sister next door the Rescue Rooms has to be up there. One side is a classy and well lit rocky bar scene but then enter through the door into the main venue room and you are welcome to the most perfect box that creates anarchy and mayhem. So it isn’t surprising that this was one of the venues that Cancer Bats decided to stop at on their current UK tour. 

The first thing to say about seeing Witch Fever supporting at a venue such as the Rescue Room is “about fucking time.” We managed to catch Witch Fever at Rebellion festival in Blackpool a few years back and we’ve desperately waiting for them to be given their rightful spot on a bill like this since then. Witch Fever are and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with, they exude power, anger and rage - with lead singer Amy literally at one point, prowling and pacing through the mosh pit almost ready to pounce at one point in their set. Witch Fever carry themselves in a way that you can’t help but be drawn in, before they unleash a torrent of “doom punk” which hits hard, as does a kick in the face. What is essential is that Witch Fever aren’t here to just be an add-on and play some shows, they also make sure they get their message across stopping the show at one point to get across their beliefs on the current political and social system. 

After shows with My Chemical Romance and now the Cancer Bats this year and the release of their debut album due in October, 2023 could and fucking well should be their year. Witch Fever are a band that, in our opinion, it is a matter of when not if they will be headlining venues such as this, so take our advice and be there on the ground floor because when this band goes, they are going big time.

Half an hour to recover from the audio barrage was just about sufficient before it all began again, but this time it being our headliners and Canadian hardcore legends Cancer Bats taking to the stage. The room was already dripping, crowd squeezed in yet revving for more. Cancer Bats bring so much energy to the stage, trying to watch everything that is going on is somewhat exhausting with front man Liam running up and down the stage, guitarist Stephen Harrison spinning here there and everywhere and bassist Jaye jumping around like the energizer bunny ! You wouldn’t guess this was a band who were close to hitting their 20th year. That energy is contagious, with mini mosh pits opening up throughout the venue when they burst into “Hail Destroyer” - on only the second song of the set, it is clear that they don’t abide by the rule “it’s a marathon not a sprint”. 

Cancer Bats are a weird bag - trying to think of their genre we hit to Wikipedia to discover they apparently count as hardcore punk, but man, they’re so much more than that. Yeh they’re hardcore… and yeh - in some ways they are punk, but this shit is metal at the core surely? Whatever you wanna name it, Cancer Bats are pure power, raw energy and noiseee!