Ohio savage death metal fiends Sanguisugabogg have returned with the most grotesque album to date.
Formed in 2019 by frontman Devin Swank & ex-guitarist Cameron Boggs, Sanguisugabogg joined the ranks of a new wave of superb death metal flowing from the USA.
Showcased by their first EP, “Pornographic Seizures,” via Maggot Stomp, the band’s melding of early brutal death metal, reminiscent of Mortician & Cannibal Corpse, took the underground by storm. But their debut album, “Tortured Whole,” blew the listeners away, and during COVID’s lull, it helped the band find the right audience.
2023’s follow-up album, “Homicidal Ecstasy,” saw the band turn the violence up a notch & release the best album of the year & introduce a whole new audience to their sound. Since then, the band has grown tenfold, with some of the biggest tours around the globe.
Their newest album, “Hideous Aftermath,” sees the band delve even further into the depths of depravity & create the heaviest, most guttural album of 2025.
The album’s opening track is a whirlwind of brutality. “Rotted Entanglement” holds no punches & shows you the band isn’t slowing down. Non-stop double bass from drummer Cody Davidson, a flurry of chunky, downtuned death, but with technical flair from guitarists Drew Arnold & Ced Davis. Lastly, the human oesophagus, Devin Swank, wretched screams & down in the dirt gutturals are heavy as ever.
Within the first track, they sound tight, focused & their most refined version of the band. Yes, the sledgehammer-style chugs are there, but the flare of noise, tremolo riffing & writing choices show that the band have stepped up their game since the last album.
Not stopping the assault “Ritual Autophagia”, which features hardcore legend Todd Jones (NAILS), this track is just like a barbaric feast for the senses. The band decided to track the bass guitar on the album, as well as split the low-end signal from the guitar.
This has added another layer of depth to the band’s sound. This great track gradually ramps up its ferocity with each passing section & as Jones’ snarly vocals flood your ears, it’s a nice tonal difference from the band’s sound. As the track builds & Swank lets out one of the longest exhales I’ve heard in years, the band gives it their all. The final back-and-forth between Jones & Swank leaves you so hyped.
With a halfway switch-up and a great showcase of just how much the band has grown since its inception, “Repulsive Demise” is the most expansive track to date. Drawing influence from Godflesh, Nine Inch Nails & Fear Factory, this industrial soundtrack to a snuff film feels perfect within the band’s catalogue. The group have always pushed the boundaries of brutal death metal & done things on their own terms, so this showcases the tight dynamic of the band. A heavy as fuck bass line starts the song & drives the track, as the band brings in each element. Angry guitar riffs, Ministry-style drum loops & lastly, Swank’s vocals sound like they have been dragged through a swamp. This track is a must-listen. If you’re a fan of Primitive Man, this track is for you.
The first of two tracks on the album that I adore, “Erotic Beheading”, feels like the perfect melding of the band’s early sound & what they have created today. A knuckle-dragging track that is like what if Mortician & Defeated Sanity have a fucked up baby, this one is all-out warfare. Soon, stellar drum work for Davidson on this track, too. A flashy fill here, great use of cymbals there & touches of his drum work that always make the track shine. Choosing to record the album at God City with Kurt Ballou was a fantastic next step for the band. The last album, mixed by Kurt, gave the band that extra edge. However, being under the microscope that is Ballou has allowed the band to fully deliver their most fully saturated & sonically aggressive sound, perfectly captured by the master.
The album’s closer & my second favourite track sees the band go even further into the depths of their sounds with one of the best performances from themselves I didn’t know they had in them. “Paid in Flesh”, featuring Full of Hell’s Dylan Walker, is a dirge-like doom-soaked track. With moments reminiscent of Converge & Burnt By The Sun, this nearly eight-minute epic is truly something horrifically beautiful.
The track starts “simple” with a catchy riff from the two-pronged guitarists (who always seem like they share the same side of the brain, with their precision like guitar playing). This track has you headbanging within the first few seconds. Still, as the track progresses, it starts to come apart at the seams slowly. With a brief pause & a hit more complex than God’s right hook, the band unleashes into a languishing, doom-soaked stew of Walker’s ungodly wailing and screaming. The band introduces these echoing guitar patterns, which create an ethereal feel. Warning meets Sunn O))) vibes.
For the last minute or so, Swank & Walker have this glorious back-and-forth, while the track underneath feels like the band has turned slightly & feels the track has picked up a positive yet self-harrowing feel. As the song ends & slowly fades, I am left stunned & shaken at how beautiful yet anguishing the track is. It’s something I wasn’t expecting from the band, but now, as a fan, I appreciate that they crafted such a perfect track.
When I heard Sanguisugabogg’s new album was coming out, I said to myself, “If it’s anything like ‘Homicidal Ecstasy’, I’ll be happy”. Knowing what a home run that album was. But within the first listen of “Hideous Aftermath,” I knew the band was taking the next step in their evolutionary sound and had created an album that would have something for everyone. The songwriting is at 110%, the performances from the band are some of the tightest I’ve heard all year & finally, as a whole piece, that album is the most cohesive, challenging, yet so rewarding for the listener. This one is a fucking brute, I tell ya.
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Hideous Aftermath is out via Century Media on 10th October 2025
Line-Up:
Devin Swank- Vocalist
Drew Arnold – Guitars / Bass
Cody Davidson – Drums
Cedrik Davis – Guitars / Bass
Discography:
Pornographic Seizures (2019)
Tortured Whole (2021)
Homicidal Ecstasy (2023)
Hideous Aftermath (2025)