These are the five most brutal metal albums of the 21st century, hand-picked by Sanguisugabogg vocalist Devin Swank.
Swank the Tank is a pretty brutal dude, evidenced by his ceaseless desire to front as many death metal bands as possible. While the ‘Bogg is his main squeeze, he’s also in Bludgeoned by Deformity, Ablation, Tomb Sentinel, Earthburner Dripping, Dyskinesia, Immortal Torment and Skag and was formerly in Limbsplitter.
His Instagram handle (@bleedingprofusely) is even taken from the title of the first Gorgasm album.
In other words, he’s overqualified for this list.
We’ll get to those picks in a moment, but first…
What You Need to Know About Sanguisugabogg
From: Columbus, Ohio
First Album: Tortured Whole (2021)
New Album: Hideous Aftermath (2025)
sanguisugabogg hideous aftermath art
These Ohio brutes with the name as fun to say as it is to spell (it’s really not that hard — just flex your first grade reading muscles and sound it out) are the most buzzworthy name in death metal throughout the 2020s so far.
Almost single-handedly starting the Pit Viper sunglasses trend in modern death metal, Sanguisugabogg have revitalized death metal in the modern day, keeping it as fun as they do bowel-rattlingly brutal.
With Hideous Aftermath, the follow-up to Homicidal Ecstasy (which Loudwire crowned the best death metal album of 2023), Sanguisugabogg’s prefrontal cortex has started to develop, pushing their brand just above the delightfully knuckle-dragging, single-digit IQ death metal that had dominated all past releases.
“It’s definitely our most death metal record, our most personal record, our most focused and brutal record to date,” Swank says of the 2025 LP (out Oct. 10 on Century Media).
READ MORE: The Best Extreme Metal Supergroups, Chosen by Earthburner
For a taste of that new ‘Bogg sound, check out the video for “Abhorrent Contraception” below.
“As a death metal band diving deep in dark tropes of fantasy and exaggerated real life horrors, this song is a timeless classic with a theme very tried and true with our genre and it’s about the slaughter of an entire family and the unborn,” the band says.
Sanguisugabogg, “Abhorrent Contraception” ft. Defeated Sanity’s Josh Welshman
Okay, now let’s get to what we’ve promised you — Devin Swank’s favorite 21st century brutal death metal albums!
Get your copy of ‘Hideous Aftermath’ at the Sanguisugabogg website and follow the band on Instagram, X, Facebook and Bandcamp. Catch the band on their headlining U.S. tour (Nov. 4-30) alongside Despised Icon, Defeated Sanity and Corpse Pile.
Top 5 Most Brutal Metal Albums of the 21st Century, Chosen by Sanguisugabogg’s Devin Swank
Sanguisugabogg vocalist Devin Swank, connoisseur of brutality, shouts of the 21st century’s most brutal albums.
As someone with a desire of finding the most hard hitting gut punching death metal records, nothing in the last decade has really satisfied my bloodthirst for all that makes a killer brutal death record, especially in comparison to what came prior by another decade or two!
Gallery Credit: Devin Swank, Sanguisugabogg
Best Death Metal Album of Each Year Since 1985
Almost four decades of brutality!
Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita
