Sanguisugabogg Turns Madison’s Majestic Theatre Into a Death Metal Warzone

On a cold Monday night in Madison, metalheads lined King Street and spilled into nearby bars, all orbiting around the historic Majestic Theatre. Just steps from the Capitol, the 120-year-old venue felt alive in a different way than it was ever designed for. Death metal in a vaudeville theater shouldn’t make sense, but that tension is exactly what made the night hit harder.

Inside, the room filled fast. Fans pushed straight onto the hardwood floor, staking out space in front of the stage while merch and bar lines packed out the sides. The gold proscenium and warm lighting gave the space a vintage glow, but there was nothing restrained about the energy building inside it. This wasn’t a sit-back-and-watch kind of crowd. This was a room waiting to explode.

This one-off show, separate from their run with Lamb of God, gave a spotlight to rising names in the Wisconsin scene. Suffering opened with a straight-ahead death metal assault, setting an immediate tone. Suffering is part of Wisconsin’s new wave of underground heavy acts, delivering a no-frills approach to death metal that leans into raw aggression and stripped-down brutality. Rooted in the local scene, the band has built a reputation through regional shows and DIY releases. They focus on tight, punishing songwriting and are the kind of band that thrives in the underground without needing flash to make an impact.

Their sound pulls from classic death metal foundations while keeping a modern edge, driven by thick riffs, relentless drumming, and a vocal style that hits with direct force. Suffering proved that the Midwest’s extreme music scene continues to grow from the ground up.

World I Hate followed with a tighter, more volatile mix of death metal, hardcore, and flashes of thrash that pushed the room into motion. World I Hate operates in that sweet spot where hardcore grit and death metal weight collide. Another product of the Wisconsin scene, they bring a sharper, more volatile edge, mixing breakneck speed with punishing grooves and thrash that keep their sound unpredictable.

There’s a tension in what they do that translates perfectly live. It feels tight, but never sterile. Every riff and tempo shift feels like it’s pushing forward, and their aggressive delivery gives them a presence that sticks, especially in a room built for movement.

Then Enervate shifted the energy again, bringing a hardcore set with a noticeable hip-hop bounce that gave the crowd something different to move to. Enervate adds a different kind of energy to the mix, pulling from hardcore but injecting a bounce that feels almost rhythmic in a way most bands don’t touch.

Still rooted in Wisconsin’s heavy circuit, they lean into groove and cadence just as much as sheer force, giving their songs a swing that hits differently once the crowd locks into it. Breakdown-heavy but never one-note, their sound plays with dynamics in a way that keeps things interesting, and that sense of movement makes their live set feel less like a wall of noise and more like something you get pulled into.

Three bands, three distinct sounds, all hitting hard enough to rattle the Majestic’s walls and set the stage for what was coming.

When Sanguisugabogg hit, everything locked in. This was their night. Vocalist Devin Swank commanded the front of the stage, unleashing guttural growls and unhinged screams while pacing along the edge, with no barricade between him and the crowd. Fans packed in tight, pressing forward as crowd surfers climbed up and launched themselves back into the pit over and over.

The floor didn’t ease into chaos. It snapped. One massive pit took over the room, bodies colliding, circle pits spinning, and slam dancing breaking out in every direction. Onstage, the band matched that energy without blinking. Drew Arnold held down one side with relentless, punishing riffs, locked into a steady headbang while focusing in on every chug. Across from him, Cody Davidson stepped into guitar duties following the departure of Cedrik Davis, handling the role like it was second nature. He leaned into every riff with a raw, physical style, hammering out thick tones that shook the room while keeping the set moving without hesitation.

Behind them, fill-in drummer Eric Morotti, known for his work with Suffocation, was an absolute force. Every hit landed with precision and weight, driving the band forward while the chaos in the crowd kept building. Together, it felt locked in and dangerous in the best way.

What makes Sanguisugabogg hit different is how fully they commit to their identity. There’s no dialing it back. No cleaning it up. They lean all the way into the grotesque, the absurd, and the over-the-top violence that defines their sound. Between songs, Swank joked with the crowd about the band’s own imagery, fully embracing the horror and humor behind it. That balance keeps it from feeling one-note and gives the set a personality that sticks.

They came out swinging with “Rotted Entanglement” and never let off. “Face Ripped Off,” “Felony Abuse of a Corpse,” “Abhorrent Contraception,” and “Dead as Shit” kept the momentum surging, each track feeding the pit and pulling more people into it. No filler, no slowdown, just a constant push of raw energy from start to finish.

Check out the Sanguisugabogg concert photos gallery below:

Prev 1of21 Next

By the time it was over, the Majestic’s floor had taken a beating and so had everyone on it. What could have been a novelty, death metal in a historic theater, turned into something much more physical and immediate. Sanguisugabogg didn’t try to be anything other than exactly what they are, and that’s exactly why it worked. Loud, filthy, and completely unapologetic.

Catch Sanguisugabogg On the Road…