CANCER BATS Release “Backstab The Rat Race” Following Van Theft and GoFundMe Success

It’s been an eventful week for Canadian hardcore band Cancer Bats. While touring in Indianapolis on April 21st, the band’s van and trailer were stolen, along with a substantial amount of their instruments, gear, and merchandise. Thankfully, they managed to track down the stolen van, but the damage was done: the ignition was broken, and the catalytic converter had been stolen.

In a fortunate twist, Cancer Bats launched a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of the stolen gear, van repairs, and a new trailer. The campaign quickly surpassed its $30,000 CAD goal in under a day, showing the immense support from their fanbase. In a heartfelt gesture to express their gratitude, the band has released “Backstab The Rat Race,” a song originally recorded during the sessions for their 2022 album Psychic Jailbreak.

Cancer Bats shared their experience alongside the song’s debut:

“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.”

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