[3] The band also began playing live, starting with their first gig in Birmingham opening for Bomb Disneyland,[3] and including shows with the likes of Bolt Thrower, Cerebral Fix and GBH.
[3] However, No Fuckin' Cover had secured Cancer a deal with Vinyl Solution and in Winter 1989 the band recorded their debut album, To the Gory End, over four days at Loco Studios in Usk.
Problems arose when drummer Stokes was involved in an accident when his motorbike collided with a British Telecom van, leading to the band enlisting Nick Barker (later of Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir) for further live shows.
Despite Stokes allegedly using a human thigh bone for percussion on "Temple Song",[3] the record received decidedly mixed reviews; some compared the Black Faith material to mid-period Metallica,[5] whilst others considered it a "poor man's Heartwork".
[6] Following a short European tour with support act Meshuggah, Cancer decided to call it a day, citing "a lack of faith from certain key individuals in the industry and Major Label Bullshit".
[2] On 12 September 2013, it was announced that the original lineup of Cancer was reuniting to promote their first three albums (To the Gory End, Death Shall Rise and The Sins of Mankind) which would be re-released by Cyclone Empire Records later that year.