Confession Frontman Defends Controversial 'Fuck Cancer' Posters

The frontman of Melbourne/Perth-based metalcore heroes Confession has publicly defended the band's use of explicit posters advertising their recent single Fuck Cancer.

Appearing on 3AW's morning program with presenter Neil Mitchell today, Michael Crafter justified the posters by pointing to the relative transience of a feeling such as offense when compared with the inescapable horrors of daily life with cancer.

Both of Crafter's parents are suffering from cancer; his father is bed-ridden, while his mother – diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer herself – is left to drive him back and forth to medical appointments and treatment.

“Today, [people] may whinge; tomorrow, they'll be all good. I wake up tomorrow and both my parents still have cancer,” Crafter told Mitchell, while admitting he was responsible for the song's title, clip and lyrics.

Worth noting in all this is the fact that “Fuck cancer” is an existing phrase, widely used by sufferers of the disease, their friends and family. It's on merchandise, hashtags, and is even the name of a charity in Canada, as well as of a separate non-profit in the States.

When asked if he thought the manner in which he was spreading his message – despite its positive intent – was “dodgy”, Crafter replied: “Not really; it's making an impact, it's making a statement.”

“There's not much we can do if people are upset,” he continued. “We've got to get on with our lives and go and play shows … if they're offended for a few days, I fully understand why, but at the end of the day it's a real positive song about a really dark subject that has confronted me in the past few years.

“I'm sorry, but I've gotta say what I've gotta say.”

Audio of the interview has been uploaded online, so you can have a listen to the entire back-and-forth here:

Have a gander at the vid for the single at the heart of the controversy, below:

Confession play at Adelaide's Fowlers Live tonight. You can stream the entirety of their most recent album, Life And Death, right here.