With every day that goes by, there only seems to be more and more reasons to be angry in (or at) this world: it should come as no surprise that hardcore music shows no sign of slowing down in 2026, and if anything, the cutting-edge bands of today sound more aggressive and desperate than ever! Cancer Bats aren’t the youngest band in their scene— hell, the record we’re going over here is their eighth studio album— but listening to ‘Give Me Dirt,’ you’d think they were a hungry new group, out to prove themselves. These eleven tracks absolutely rule.

The rip-roaring energy Cancer Bats bring to their newest release is undoubtedly the first thing you’ll notice when the album comes out swinging, and as well it should be— any passionless hardcore project is doomed to fail from the off, and believe us when we say that ‘Give Me Dirt’ is packed with fury and charisma. ‘World Wild Fire Death Race’ is a hearty kick in the teeth to start things on the right note, smacking its way through its bluesy lead lines and crushing Nate Newton feature without taking a breath. Even the relatively restrained ‘Prognosis’ is bursting at the seams with more howling screams, booming percussive hits and outright displays of anger than most bands cram into an entire discography. The legendary Kurt Ballou is on the mixing desk for this one, and his production captures every bead of sweat in the studio.

And if you were wondering if those gripping performances are devoted to a deserving crop of tracks, hell yeah they are! New guitarist Jackson Landry makes his mark with the stylish bends of ‘Don’t Trip’ and the untouchable riffs driving ‘Stay Stuck,’ both of which will make you want to jump straight into the pit— as for the ol’ reliable Peters/Schwarzer rhythm section, both musicians are sounding just as vicious as ever as they blow a standout like ‘Positive Grid’ out of the water. Environmentalism is a key theme across ‘Give Me Dirt,’ and it’s the perfect backdrop for Liam Cormier to scream his guts out to. ‘World Wild Fire Death Race’ and ‘Bright Eyes of Gold’ aren’t just entertaining, but insanely memorable to boot, and you have to imagine that both will cook up a storm as part of the band’s live show. As for that genuinely anthemic title track, we have nothing but praise to offer.

The balls-to-the-wall approach that dominates much of ‘Give Me Dirt’ is quite the thrill ride, but even in amongst the chaos, Cancer Bats have managed to pepper in just enough surprises to keep you hooked right up to the end. Outside of the happy-go-lucky ‘Speed Wizard,’ none of these songs could really be described as ‘meat-headed’— the record manages to nail both the lumbering heft of ‘Ocean Crash’ and the out-and-out thrash explosion of closing cut ‘Fools Like You,’ a feat that really sets Cormier and company apart from their contemporaries. Brooklyn Doran’s gorgeous backing vocals on single ‘Long Tooth’ are a sign that Cancer Bats aren’t just scrappy punk rockers, but artists (who just so happen to want to rip your face off): the Canadian crew are way out front in the songwriting department.

As far as any complaints are concerned, it’s the boyish snarls of frontman Liam Cormier himself that can, at times, let the side down. Whenever ‘Give Me Dirt’ is giving it to you with both barrels, as it’s more than happy to do on the title track and ‘Positive Grid,’ the man sounds positively animalistic, like he hasn’t aged a day in the last twenty years— it’s when his melodic vocals are placed out front, as they are on ‘World Wild Fire Death Race’ and ‘Prognosis,’ that they become a tad grating. Really though, it’s a small criticism, especially when even the relatively weak ‘Speed Wizard’ is still one hell of a good time. As far as metallic hardcore is concerned, Cancer Bats have pretty much laid out the blueprint with this one, a release that kicks all kinds of ass.

What more is there to say about one of the most devilishly wild rides 2026 has to offer? ‘Give Me Dirt’ is a rollercoaster from start to finish, combining some of Cancer Bats’ best songwriting with the same knockout performances they’ve been sporting for twenty years at this point— it’s pretty much a masterclass of metallic hardcore, and arguably of metal, period. Cormier wasn’t lying on ‘Stay Stuck’ when he said “I’m not wasting anymore time.”