Gig

Sanguisugabogg - Gig Review 6th March @ The Brightside, Bris QLD

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Mar 7, 2024

7 min read

Sanguisugabogg
The Brightside, Meanjin/Brisbane QLD
March 6th, 2024
Support: Disentomb, Algor Mortis & Shitgrinder

FYI: It’s pronounced “SAN-GWEE-SUE-GAH-BOGG”

With doors pushed back half an hour due to a late-running soundcheck, The Brightside’s courtyard is rammed full of metalheads, hardcore kids, and extreme music fiends for the kick-off date for the so-called Bogg Tomb Tour. The five-date run of shows sees both Sanguisugabogg’s debut Australian shows and local heroes Disentomb’s first gigs of the year – as well as support from the hotly tipped Melbourne crushers Algor Mortis.

With The Brightside finally opening, local support power trio Shitgrinder immediately take to the stage in front of an already amped-up Brisbane crowd. Composed of just vocals, guitars, and drums, the three-piece delivers a brief set of HM2-influenced grindcore at its most suffocating. The pit quickly jumps into action with two-stepping during the mid-tempo sections, while the meaty breakdowns are greeted with crowd-killing and swinging limbs. Delivering a gap-free showing with feedback punctuating any moments of would-be-silence, Shitgrinder have certainly gotten the blood pumping, with the ears – and arms – warmed up for the night to follow.

Downtempo/Death metal hybrid Algor Mortis may have only been a band since the turn of the decade, but the Melbourne maulers have already started to make a name for themselves with their nasty beatdowns and monotonous destruction. They get a great reaction from the filling venue, with plenty of breakdowns to keep the pit happy, while the riffage moves from caveman simplicity to classic death metal knottiness. Frontwoman Cecile Keane has an absolutely brutal voice, but she dominates the mix for most of their set, as a lot of the guitar and bass work becomes a bit of a murky mess. This matters little to band and fans alike though, with the group’s latest single ‘Welcome To Hell‘ – as well as the new songs aired tonight – highlighting all the potential Algor Mortis has to become the next big Australian underground brutal music act.

A quick gear-change means any deficit from the late opening has been erased, with Australia’s finest brutal death metal/slam export – and hometown boys done good – Disentomb bursting into life with violent aplomb. Not as mosh-friendly as the previous performers, the punters stand in awe for the first few tracks instead, happy to watch the insane musicianship on display. It’s only until man-mountain vocalist Jordan James gives some forced encouragement that the circle and push pits kick-off, with the violence cranked up during the lurching slams of ‘Chthonic Gateways‘. Old school cut ‘Cystic Secretion‘ sees the band dig deep into their 10+ year history, while the decimating ‘Pyres Built from Their Severed Wings‘ is even more brutal than its title suggests. Closer ‘Vultures Descend‘ wraps up the short and sweet co-headlining slot from Disentomb, with great energy on display. With a new EP on the way, extreme metal fans can only hope for another run of Aussie dates from the national death metal juggernauts.

With The Brightside well and truly filled out, Sanguisugabogg kicks off with little bravado as they launch into the rumbling groove of ‘Black Market Vasectomy‘. Despite admitting to feeling like shells of men thanks to the monumental time difference between here and their native Ohio, the four-piece show no signs of jet lag or tiredness as they power straight into ‘Face Ripped Off‘. It’s a busy night for security, with the pit well and truly fired up, as the volume of crowd surfers and stage diving exponentially goes up thanks to the ‘Bogg’s addictive grooves. Of course, this is all the pre-show compared to the absolute hell that breaks loose during ‘A Lesson In Savagery‘. Bringing their now-infamous tradition of ‘murderball’ with them, vocalist Devin Swank launches an AFL ball into the heaving mosh, with the promise of free merch for the brave soul who is holding the ball at the end of the aforementioned tune. Needless to say, it immediately turns into an almighty scrum of people that careens around the Brightside’s dance floor, with punters throwing themselves onto one another for a chance at a shirt.

New song ‘Permanently Fucked‘ shows the band is keeping the rhythms even more oft-kilter and violent, whilst ‘Succulent Decedent‘ from their debut EP Pornographic Seizures is broken out for the first time in two years for a rare treat. Sanguisugabogg’s sludgy, down-tuned guitars are a little non-existent at times – much like the previous groups – but fortunately, the excellent drum work of Cody Davidson sits perfectly in the mix, his pinging snare cutting like a knife. Ending with the huge twosome of ‘Dragged By A Truck‘ and ‘Dead As Shit‘ – definite modern classics of the death metal persuasion – The Brightside crowd wring out every last drop of energy on this work evening, with their passion enough to convince Swank to do a (non-alcoholic) shoe-y. An immensely brutal, fun evening, the Bogg Tomb Tour has to be one of the leading contenders for the most intense packages to roll through our fair nation ever.

As the punters spill out on the Fortitude Valley streets, some are certainly a little worse for wear (one unlucky, bloodied gentleman is loaded into the back of an ambulance), but all are certainly in agreeance that Sanguisugabogg, Disentomb, Algor Mortis, and Shitgrinder have put out one hell of a violent display at The Brightside.

Gig Review by Andrew Kapper @andrew_kapper

Setlist

Black Market Vasectomy
Face Ripped Off
Pissed
A Lesson In Savagery
Permanently Fucked
Mortal Admonishment
Necrosexual Deviant
Dragged By A Truck
Dead As Shit