For more than 20 years, Canadian hardcore heavyweights Cancer Bats have delivered uncompromising intensity. They’ve toured the globe relentlessly, released seven acclaimed albums, graced the pages of countless high-profile publications and built a legacy on unforgettable, raw, sweat-soaked head banging performances.
Cancer Bats are back on Australian shores for the first time since 2024, supporting the release of their new album, ‘Give Me Dirt’ while playing the essential tracks from their impressive career.
Regular visitors to Australian shores, Cancer Bats have played major festival slots and unforgettable headline tours. For Australian fans who have witnessed their intense live show, and those yet to be initiated, this extensive Australian run is a no-brainer.
Cancer Bats will be joined by very special guests, Heriot, Bristol’s industrial metalcore hellraisers who have been touted by artists, journalists and fans alike as extreme music’s next breakout prospect, with Metal Hammer christening them “British metal’s most exciting new band”. Heriot are supporting their acclaimed debut album, ‘Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell’.
Cancer Bats Australian Tour with Heriot January/February 2027
Thursday 28th January — Amplifier, Perth*
Saturday 30th January — Froth & Fury Festival, Adelaide
Sunday 31st January — Corner Hotel, Melbourne+
Tuesday 2nd February — Lalala’s, Wollongong
Wednesday 3rd February — Crowbar, Sydney
Thursday 4th February — Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
Friday 5th February — Arts Factory, Byron Bay
Saturday 6th February — Crowbar, Brisbane
Sunday 7th February — Kings Beach Tavern, Sunshine Coast+
+(BAT FEST)
*(Heriot Not Appearing)
BAT FEST
BAT FEST is a special mini festival programmed by Cancer Bats and Destroy All Lines in Melbourne and Sunshine Coast. Featuring Mannequin Death Squad, Totally Unicorn, Blood Oath (Melb only), a local comp winner (Sunshine Coast) and a special guest to be announced on both dates, along with Cancer Bats and Heriot.
Two decades in and thousands of shows deep, Cancer Bats have honed their craft to a masterful level and they’re nowhere near slowing down. If anything, these road warriors are pushing harder than ever. The band has toured extensively in support of their JUNO-nominated, critically-praised, seventh studio album, Psychic Jailbreak, playing larger stages and moving further up main stage festival billings. The band, composed of lead vocalist Liam Cormier, drummer Mike Peters, bassist Jaye Schwarzer and newest addition Jackson Landry on guitar have emerged as a true force to be reckoned with and have raised the bar even higher with the release of their 8th studio album, Give Me Dirt.
Years of experience and hard-earned confidence now fuel their creative output, and their new record captures the sound they’ve been striving for their entire musical lives.
“It only makes sense that we’ve been building and working towards this,” says lead vocalist Liam Cormier about the new album. “Each record that we make is a chance to learn and evolve into better musicians. Working with different producers over the years, learning their tricks and coming so far from when we started 20yrs ago, we are finally in a position to make the best album of our entire career”
Give Me Dirt, sees Cancer Bats at their most sonically inspiring. On the new record there is an overarching theme of returning to nature and re-connecting with the physical world. With a solidified lineup, 11 finely crafted songs shaped by years of experience, collaboration with three seasoned producers, and striking new artwork, the band’s latest album stands as one of the most anticipated releases in heavy music.
At the helm of Give Me Dirt is the legendary metal producer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Kvelertak, High On Fire, Every Time I Die) at God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts. Specifically known for his talent in capturing the raw chaotic frenzy of bands in the studio, Ballou along with assistant Zach Weeks would spend weeks carving out thick fuzzed out tones for bass and guitar as well as thunderous drum sounds, to truly represent the bands power.
About Heriot
When was the last time a band as young and brutal as HERIOT was this talked about? Since the release of their 2020 single Cleansed Existence, Bristol’s industrial metalcore hellraisers have been touted by artists, journalists and fans alike as extreme music’s next breakout prospect. Veterans from Lamb of God to Trivium have championed the quartet, while Metal Hammer UK christened them “British metal’s most exciting new band” and their output swiftly earned hundreds of thousands of streams.
HERIOT’s 2022 debut EP, Profound Morality, transformed that promise into bona fide success. It opened the door for shows with the likes of Architects and Sleep Token, as well as sets at Download, Slam Dunk and other bucket-list festivals. The band even inked a deal with juggernaut label Century Media (Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, At the Gates, Napalm Death) in the aftermath.
Now, the rising stars will climb even further up metal’s totem pole, propelled by the hammering riffs and choking atmospherics of their debut album: Devoured by the Mouth of Hell.
“We’re expanding on what we want to portray as a band,” singer/guitarist Debbie Gough says of HERIOT’s first full-length statement. “We’ve definitely honed in more on our influences and streamlined what we feel is a more accurate depiction of what we want our band to sound like. We’ve still got this big melting pot of influences, but one of our main ambitions was to make something that feels fresh. We want to make music that puts our own stamp on the heavy genre.”
To that end, Devoured… doesn’t just double down on the crushing claustrophobia of HERIOT’s prior material – it also includes ideas that Gough, co-guitarist Erhan Alman, bassist/co-vocalist Jake Packer and drummer Julian Gage previously hadn’t touched. Openers “Foul Void” and “Harm Sequence” prove that with a dizzying one-two punch, the first song being a powerhouse of groove with melodic touches, whereas the second’s a full-tilt metalcore rampage. The band still sound as raw and direct as ever, yet there’s a refinement that can only come from their sheer drive to make something worthy of all the hype around them.
Early Bats / DAL Presale: Mon 12 October 10:00am local Aus time
General on sale: Wed 14 October 10:00am local Aus time
