September 26, 2026
I had the chance to catch up with Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg in the green room before the band's sold-out show at Toronto's Danforth, and we covered a lot in a short amount of time.
The whole conversation felt more like a real conversation than a standard interview. It was a little chaotic, a little unfiltered and definitely not your standard polished interview. Honestly, I think that makes it a bit more entertaining.
The conversation covered everything from the band's growth and playing massive festivals to touring with bigger bands, death metal vocals, their music tastes outside the genre, what's coming next for Sanguisugabogg and, of course, Devin's arms.
One thing that really stood out was how much the band has grown while still holding onto the things that got them here in the first place.
“We've kind of come a long way from playing on the floor and playing these DIY spots, which we still love. That's our bread and butter.”
They've gone from recording in a basement to working in proper studios, and from smaller shows to festivals with thousands of people watching. One of those moments came at Sonic Temple in Columbus, where Swank says there were well over 20,000 people watching their set.
For him, seeing people he grew up with in that crowd made the whole thing even more surreal.
We also talked about one particular festival where someone was keeping track of crowd surfers. Sanguisugabogg ended up with just under 700 during their set, beating Slaughter to Prevail, who finished with around 450 despite playing a longer set.
Apparently, Alex Terrible wasn't exactly thrilled about that.
Once Swank found out there was a clicker keeping track, he got competitive and started encouraging even more people to crowd surf.
It was a pretty good example of the kind of energy Sanguisugabogg bring to their live shows.
Touring with bigger productions, including Lamb of God, has also given the band a chance to see what they can take from those shows and bring into their own setup. Swank mentioned potentially having a Kabuki curtain drop before they start playing.
Despite all of that growth, the band still puts a lot of importance on their relationship with fans.
“We're fans of music ourselves, so someone I looked up to was pretty cool to me. I'm going to take that home with me.”
That attitude also comes through when Swank talked about the musicians he looks up to, including Dying Fetus and former Suffocation vocalist Frank Mullen, who he described as someone he regularly talks to and goes to for advice.
When it comes to his own vocals, Swank isn't focused on trying to sound technically perfect. For him, it's about the emotion and energy behind them.
“My vocals just come straight from the gut.”
And honestly, you can hear that power when Sanguisugabogg play live. Devin is an insanely powerful vocalist, and that brutal delivery is a huge part of what makes this band hit so hard. Every member of Sanguisugabogg absolutely kills it. There's a rawness and brutality to the entire band that feels completely genuine. They don't need to overcomplicate it. They get on stage and fucking destroy.
We also got into what makes a death metal vocalist stand out to him, and he pointed to having a unique sound rather than simply following what's already being done. He gave a shoutout to Internal Bleeding's Theo, who he says has developed a sound completely his own.
Something else that might surprise people is how varied the band's music tastes are outside of Sanguisugabogg. Swank talked about everything from pop and R&B to hip-hop, progressive music and classical.
“We're all just like a big conglomerate of just straight-up music nerds.”
As for what's next, Sanguisugabogg have plenty coming up. Swank revealed that the band is preparing to work with a new label and has new music planned following the current tour. They also have a European tour with Converge coming up and plans to spend some serious time together writing their next record.
We also had to get into the very important subject of Devin's arms, which have basically become part of his identity at this point. That eventually led to the even more important question: what's stronger, Corpsegrinder's neck or Devin Swank's arms?
I'll let Devin defend himself on that one.
One of my favourite parts of the conversation came when I asked him about the advice musicians hear all the time that he thinks is bullshit.
“Don't give up.”
Except, that's not actually what he believes.
Swank explained that there are times when giving up is the right decision, especially when other parts of your life need your attention. He talked about being in a previous touring band that didn't work out and how Sanguisugabogg was the band he told himself he'd give one last shot.
Luckily, it worked out. The death metal world would be a lot less interesting if it hadn't, and fans have been reaping the benefits ever since.
In my opinion, Sanguisugabogg are becoming one of the biggest death metal bands we've seen in years. They're becoming a force of their own, and they're only getting started.
There's plenty more in the full conversation, including Swank's dream death metal supergroup, the bands he'd still love to tour with, where he'd like to see Sanguisugabogg go next and, of course, his final piece of advice:
“Remember to give up.”
You can watch the entire interview HERE:
And yes, I made him flex for the camera.
Sanguisugabogg are currently on the road with Dying Fetus for their North American tour, with Crowbar, Left to Suffer and Deterioration joining on select dates. The tour runs through October 25, with dates across the U.S. and Canada. Check out the tour poster below for the remaining dates.
