Tour 2019 Highlights

I spent the majority of September on tour with Begrime Exemious throughout the midwest and east coast USA. During that time, we got to play with some exceptionally incredible bands. I wanted to highlight some of my favourites. There’s a good chance I’ve overlooked some bands, and I apologize if I didn’t mention your band here – it’s hard to take everything in over the course of a whole tour!

Pig’s Blood (Milwaukee, WI)
Bandcamp
Back in 2017, we met Pig’s Blood in their hometown of Milwaukee while we were on a tour of the midwest, and then played with them in Chicago on our way back home. I became addicted to their self titled debut shortly after – their brand of death metal riffs and war metal approach resonated well with me. Fast forward to this year, we were able to play with them in both Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Their sophomore LP is even better than the debut, and we had a great time hanging out with these guys over that weekend.

Ares Kingdom (Kansas City, MO)
Bandcamp
Our history with Ares Kingdom goes back a decade ago, when we first met them at a fest in Calgary, AB. In 2017, we had them up in west Canada again and did three shows with them. This year, we finally were able to play with them in their home region. We weren’t able to get a gig in Kansas City itself, but we were able to play both Columbia, MO and Omaha, NE together. These death/thrash legends just dropped their fourth album earlier this year, and it’s one of this year’s best.

Blood Spore (Philadelphia, PA)
Bandcamp
While booking our tour, I got in touch with these guys in regards to our Philadelphia date. As luck would have it, they were willing to set up a sick basement show for us, and it ended up being one of the craziest gigs on the tour. Blood Spore plays death/doom and absolutely pounds. A friend of mine also joined them on guitar and played his first gig with the band at our gig together. They have a lone EP out now, but keep your ears ready for more.

Night Hag (Virginia Beach, VA)
Bandcamp
Death/doom in the vein of Winter and Autopsy; Coffins fans will also really dig this. This three piece brought the heaviness at our show in Washington, DC. The drummer is also the lead vocalist and he absolutely killed it. They shift flawlessly between full speed death metal barbarity, and dismally crushing doom sections.

Sanguisugabogg (Ohio)
Bandcamp
These downtuned death mongers from Ohio have been making quite a lot of noise this year in the underground with the strength of their debut demo on Maggot Stomp. Their brand of death metal is highlighted by their love of baritone grooves, not to mention a pretty professional sounding recording (on a demo no less). We played with them in Columbus and they certainly were a big part in how awesome that night was for us.

Undeath (Rochester, NY)
Bandcamp
Another new death metal band that’s been making some waves in the underground. Undeath already has two demos under their belt this year, with the sophomore effort coming out on Caligari Records. The recordings sound great, and even despite some technical difficulties, they pounded out some disgusting riffs when we played with them in Toronto. I hope they get a bass player soon, because that’ll take them to the next level of heaviness.

Scaphism (Boston, MA)
Bandcamp
Our gig in Providence, RI was such a blast, and Scaphism had a lot to do with that. A nice balance of death/thrash that knows when to groove and when to go straight ahead with brutality. In addition to their tight performance, their vocalist brought such a massive stage presence with her relentless energy.

Sulfuric Cautery (Dayton, OH)
Bandcamp
Our relationship with Sulfuric Cautery goes back far beyond the band’s existence – their drummer, Isaac, is an old friend from Edmonton, and used to be a big part of the grindcore scene here. I recorded several things that he played on before he moved to the US. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Sulfuric Cautery in Edmonton at our annual grindcore fest, Stabmonton (which was originally started by Isaac himself!), and as it turns out, we’re the first band from Edmonton that’s come down to Dayton since he’s been there. So aside from all that, these guys play noisy as fuck grindcore with some of the most insane blast beats you’ll ever hear.