‘Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones’ is an angry record, for angry people. It’s an album that reeks of testosterone, an album that’s so incredibly macho it’s the aural equivalent of the bodybuilder everyone has at their local gym – the one that’s bigger than everyone else and is simply more manly than everyone else in the room put together. Put simply, this record sounds more masculine than a UFC main event. It’s aggressive, ballsy, in your face and every other comparison you can think of and more. It doesn’t always make it great, but one thing you cannot level at Cancer Bats this time round is that they don’t give you 100%…
I can’t say that I’m in love with this record. I do like it, and it does a very good job of showcasing just how fine a band they are, but listening over and over and over this does tend to blend in together a little bit. The pace and aggression is relentless, with ‘Sabotage’ the only song that really stands out as being ‘radio-friendly’ in any way shape or form. Having heard that song first I was a bit wary the band may have decided to go down the more mainstream route, but you will be pleased to hear this record is as inaccessible as any the band have written and recorded so far. The riff that thrashes kicking and screaming out of ‘Trust No One’ is a great example of the hi-octane pace the band have adopted and it really doesn’t let up throughout.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a good record. ‘Black Metal Bicycle’ and the frenetic ‘Fake Gold’ are just great, great songs. And if you listen to the tracks individually then this sounds even better. I just think as a complete work of ‘art’ it sounds a bit samey. Still, you know what you’re getting with Cancer Bats and this album really does deliver on that front…