Toronto's own Hardcore renegades Cancer Bats are spreading their gospal of mayhem across Europe in support of their third album, Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones . So how could we pass up the chance to speak with Scott Middleton? Well we couldn't could we?!

Supporting Dillinger Escape Plan was awesome! They were really nice dudes, and it was great to be able to support a band we all respect. The Madrid, Bratislava and Warsaw shows were probably my favorite, they’re all places we don’t get to go to all that often and the crowds there just blew my mind. Now we’re in the UK headlining, and this is turning out to be the best tour we’ve ever done!

You guys seem to be eternally on tour, how tough is this on you guys and your family? Is the road a place you guys thrive?

Well in the last 5 months we’ve been home for 2 days! Of course that’s going to be tough and we all miss our friends and families a lot right now. We’re going home in 4 days and we’re all looking forward to it. At the same time, we’ve done some of the most intense touring of our career this year, and we’re all very proud of what we’ve accomplished. Everything we’ve achieved as a band has been from working hard and busting our ass to tour the world and play as much as possible. But really, the way things are in the music industry, with less and less people willing to pay for recorded music, the only way most bands I know can make a living is by constantly touring. It’s become a necessity as much as it is our passion.

I think we like playing anywhere people really want to see our band! Canada and the UK have always been amazing for us, but our last tour of Australia and New Zealand was fantastic! Sometimes touring in America can be pretty disheartening, if people don’t like your band they’re often not polite enough to keep it to themselves, same thing in Vienna for some reason! But that doesn’t mean we won’t play those places or we’re scared to. If anything, it makes us play harder for the people who do give a damn to see us!

The band is touring in support of your new(ish) record “Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones”, unusual title, where did it originate?

Liam thought of it, it’s variations on nicknames we have for each other. I like to think of it as a more creative way to self-title our record without actually calling it “Cancer Bats”.

I think its definitely more metal, and heavier than our past work. I also think it’s the best representation of our live sound we’ve ever achieved. I think it’s an intense record that may take some people a few listens to really comprehend, while others seem to take to it immediately.

Did you guys approach the writing of this album any differently from previous Cancer Bats records? Is there a formula you guys follow when it comes time to writing material?

We definitely wrote more as a full band on this record. With the addition of Jaye on bass guitar, we were all able to focus on our own roles. In the past Liam and I would write a majority of the songs together, and then finish them off with Mike. This time everyone was there in the room to bang out the ideas. It usually starts with me writing a riff on the spot and trying to make that work with a drum beat, or vice versa. Once we get a few parts together, we’ll record the idea and discuss where we can take it next, and everyone will contribute from there until we have a finished song. We’re very much a band that locks itself in a room for a month or two until we have a finished record.

Given the success of “Hail Destroyer” did you guys worry at all about the reaction of “Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones”? I mean is there ever a weight of expectation bearing down on you guys from within?

With Hail Destroyer we weren’t sure if people were going to like it, and while some didn’t, it ended up being more popular than our first record, and far exceeded our own expectations. When BMSB was in the works, we knew we weren’t writing Hail Destroyer 2, and we weren’t trying to. We sat down, and wrote what came naturally, and pushed ourselves in a direction that felt honest and best to us. You can never assume what people are going to like, and honestly I don’t worry about it. The most pressure comes from ourselves! We want to put out records we’re 100% happy with and that we feel are better than our last. Thankfully, our fans have seemed to really embrace our new record, and that’s all we can ask for! In some countries its already sold more copies than our last record, and that blows my mind!

Yeah he does, and then we critique them and make sure we all like what he’s doing, and will often make suggestions. We understand that his own personal experiences will make it into our songs, but it also helps if we can all relate to the words he’s singing.

I definitely bring more of the metal elements to the band…that’s what I grew up with and what inspired me to pick up a guitar and play the way I do. I think we all have vast musical tastes, so aside from the metal thing, I think we all bring different ideas. Liam definitely likes fast songs and big breakdowns though.

Hah! No, that’s the last thing I’m ever worried about. The hardcore scene I grew up in was much different than the hardcore scene cancer bats started playing in, and I think we alienated that crowd a long time ago. In North America, we really don’t fit in with what’s going on there, and I’m not worried about it. I’ll also say I can’t relate to contemporary hardcore or metalcore, as it’s all so boring and formulaic to me. The last thing I care about is fitting into anything specific. It all seems so strict and limited. I’m not saying there isn’t any worth to Hardcore, but all the best hardcore records have already been made in my opinion. I’d rather take inspiration from bands like Sick of It All, Earth Crisis and Tragedy that really did something amazing for aggressive music. I really struggle to find new bands in hardcore that inspire me. Also, I was listening to metal long before I was into hardcore, so I approach guitar from much more of a metal and rock aspect, than I do strictly hardcore. Modern hardcore seems to write songs for the sake of having breakdowns so kids will mosh. I’d rather write songs with more substance, that are often more difficult to classify. Of course we also have songs that sound more overtly hardcore than others, but I’d rather keep pushing the definition of what hardcore music and hardcore bands can do. I never want to try to dictate who our audience should be or try catering to what’s accepted in a particular scene.

You guys worked again with Eric Ratz and Kenny Luong for the recording of “Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones”, do these guys must now feel like the fifth and sixth members of the band?

In a lot of ways, they do. They know us as well as we know ourselves now. They were our only serious choice for this record, and I think they did an amazing job. Their hard work has made us better musicians and better songwriters. It would be hard to imagine going to work with anyone else other than just for the sake of having someone different record us. We still talk to those guys a lot and constantly ask for their advice. It’s a great thing when professional relationships become strong friendships, because they can call us on our bullshit and encourage us to do better without pissing us off!

The album also features a cover of the Beastie Boys “Sabotage”, not the most obvious song for you to cover. How did this come about and which among you is the Beastie Boy fan?

We’re all definitely Beastie Boys fans! I’ve loved them since I was a kid. We wanted to do a cover song people would know so we could bust it out at festivals in 2009. Liam had a dream about it, and the next day we figured it out and were pretty stoked on it! It went down well, and fans begged us to put it on the record, and so it is!

Video seems to be a medium the band has embraced and seem to have a good time each and every time, but you always work with Marc Ricciardelli. What is it about Marc that makes him integral to the process?

Marc’s done videos for a bunch of our friends bands, and so we started using him and liked his ideas and his easy going attitude. Marc’s a great guy and lives in Toronto like us, so it’s kind of a no brainer when it comes to making videos with him.

Lots more touring! We will be in North America for the start of the year, and then hopefully back to Europe/UK after that. Nothing’s set in stone now so we will see. At some point we will have to sit down and start writing our next record, so hopefully the next record will come out at the end of the year or early 2012.

Thanks to everyone for making 2010 the best year our band has ever had! Also thanks to everyone who bought our new record and came to party with us at a show!