It’s been a hell of a week for Canadian hardcore band Cancer Bats. While on tour in Indianapolis this past Monday, April 21st, the group’s van and trailer were both stolen in a theft. While they were eventually able to track them down, the wealth of their instruments, gear and merch contained within were all lost.
Their van also suffered damage to the ignition, with the catalytic converter also being stolen. In a bid to get back on their feet, this GoFundMe was launched and met its $30,000 CAD goal in less than a day. Now, as part of a gesture to give back to their fans, the group have just issued their song “Backstab The Rat Race“, which originated as a b-side during the sessions for their 2022 album “Psychic Jailbreak“.
Cancer Bats commented alongside the debut of this song:
“Waking up in a hotel in Indianapolis to discover our van and trailer had been stolen was the most disheartening feeling in the world. Thankfully, the police recovered the van and it wasn’t in terrible shape, so we had a way to stay mobile and begin figuring out how to continue the tour. As soon as we posted on social media, the messages started pouring in, with words of support, love and encouragement.
One of our friends, Shawn Dealy, who works at Sweetwater, reached out immediately and offered help with backline gear. That was a huge help. We had just invested a lot to get this tour off the ground, so we launched a GoFundMe to help cover the stolen gear, van repairs, and a new trailer. We needed everything. Our community came through HUGE!! We raised $33,000 in less than 24 hrs, enough to get us back in action.
The love and support we’ve received has been incredible. It’s really made us realize that what we are doing really means something to a lot of people. We love what we do, playing shows and connecting with fans, and we try not to take it for granted. This outpouring of care has just amplified that for us 1000x over.
We’ll be forever grateful to everyone who reached out, sent a message, or donated. As a thank you, we wanted to give something back. We figured the best thing that we could do was to release a song we’ve been sitting on for a while. We recorded it during the ‘Psychic Jailbreak‘ sessions and had been wondering when to release it, but now felt like the perfect time. We can’t get everywhere to say thank you to everyone individually, but we can put out a ripping song.”
