“We’re still stoked!” Cancer Bats vocalist Liam Cormier announces when confronted with the possibility that anyone might be bummed by the lack of “Hell yeah’s!” or “Alright’s!” on his band’s sophomore effort, Hail Destroyer. “I was just really conscious of including that on the record again because a lot of friends joked, ‘Are you just gonna be like, ‘Hell yeah!’ in every song again?’ There are a lot of southern stoner rock bands who go for that and are really true to it, so we didn’t want to seem like we didn’t take that seriously. Except now, with this record, I have friends calling me and being like, ‘Heeeeeeyyyyy, whoaaaaaaa’ on my answering machine all over again. It’s community, you know? Everyone makes fun of each other, but you know what’s touchy and what’s not.”

Beginning the interview without guitarist Scott Middleton (who would spend the entirety of his scheduled time sitting in traffic) Gasoline and Cormier launched into a discussion of life on the road, being a shitty dude but a great houseguest, paying attention to your girlfriend before your phone bill, as well as a dissection of Hail Destroyer.

The new album does present an obvious departure from 2006’s Birthing the Giant, particularly in that Hail Destroyer is a much heavier, more intense album.

“When we finished writing the record, we were getting really stoked but were apprehensive that people would miss some of the older stuff. I was a little scared we wouldn’t be able to keep it really fun, but we did,” Cormier states.

The band also spent considerably more time in the studio this time, producing the album themselves.

“Doing the recording was kind of a break for us because it’s less hectic. You set up, do drum tracks all day, set up guitar, get those tracks down…” he details. “You don’t really realize how much goes into making an album until you’ve just sat there and done the whole thing yourself, right?”

Striking a more personal note on this record are songs like “Sorceress” or “Regret,” though they’ve proven to express universal sentiments.

“ ‘Sorceress’ is super harsh,” admits Cormier, “but I feel like everyone’s had a girl like that. You recognize that person. I’ve had so many people—ones who don’t know the girl it’s written about—be like, ‘Whoa! Dude! I know this girl!’ even though they’re totally thinking of someone else in their own life. I like the idea; it’s very specific to me, but also to someone else.”

He explains “Regret” (“I’ve sailed an ocean of mistakes/been given so many chances/never again will I set sail”) in a similar fashion.

“I’m getting feedback from other dudes who maybe were shitty in the past,” he says, “and maybe they got back together with that girl, or didn’t and just regret how it all went down. There were a lot of people who went, ‘Whoa. We were dicks,’ but I wrote it being like, ‘I was an asshole and I’m sorry.’ Just something to tell my girlfriend I’m a nice guy and I really didn’t know what I was doing in the past, but I’m totally gonna make it up!”

And that he does. The 10 months a year that Cancer Bats find themselves on the road mean that they’re primed in the rules of being a great houseguest.

“I really spent a long time couch-surfing and staying at various friends’ houses so I wouldn’t have to get my own place only to leave it again for tour,” Cormier explains. “And there’s just certain stuff you’ve gotta do if you’re staying at someone’s place. I always try to clean up after myself, and if I’m staying for awhile, I’ll buy groceries and make the food, do dishes and stuff. They’re letting you into their home; it’s a big thing.”

From years cutting his teeth in a DIY hardcore scene, Cormier and his bandmates (Cancer Bats are completed by drummer Mike Peters) are no strangers to the world of crashing at random houses after shows, and with the extensive touring the band is doing, that lifestyle isn’t likely to let up anytime soon.

“It’s such a bizarre lifestyle to have. It sucks that there’s an adjustment period on both sides!” Cormier points out. “It’s hard to get used to sleeping on a couch or floor at first, but at this point it’s harder for me to get used to sleeping in a bed once I do have any time off. I haven’t had a normal vacation in years because just coming home and living like a normal person is a vacay. Just waking up to get coffee, go buy groceries, pay my bills, ride bikes, and hang out with my girlfriend.”

Cormier pauses for a second and laughs before admitting, “Except that hanging out with my girlfriend totally comes first.”