Comprised of "sanguisuga" (Latin word for "leech") and "bog" (the English slang for "toilet"), it's something of a relief to come to the much-hyped Sanguisugabogg and not be disappointed. Sure, it's taken the Columbus, Ohio-based band six years and three albums to work their peculiar magic in forms more complex than bluntly entertaining death metal stompers with titles like Dead as Shit or Pissed, yet Hideous Aftermath is downright mature in comparison. And yes, although the band's central formula of Cannibal Corpse as played by cavemen still forms the base of the particularly crispy musical spine shown on the cover art, there's enough progression to make for a diverse and entertaining death metal album as a result.

Where some will find fault - the distinctly bong-y and St Anger-adjacent snare sound, for one - others will find proof of personality. The basics remain firm, vocalist Devin Swank having a strong Corpsegrinder-esque bellow and guitarist Drew Arnold having an ear for a particularly catchy riff which of course he'll mine as much as he can, and drummer Cody Davidson is talented enough to make listening to this album for him alone worthwhile. The album's biggest strengths are its songwriting, which is varied enough to be especially impressive for the genre, and its guests, extremely well-used to give each of the songs they appear on a real boost. Felony Abuse of a Corpse is already a strong little chugger, for instance, before PeelingFlesh's Damonteal Harris turns up to add some deathcore pig noises at the end, fading out spookily with percussion, and it contrasts nicely with the following Ritual of Autophagia which has something of a Jungle Rot vibe given some flair with Todd Jones of Nails fame guesting with hardcore yells.

Okay, perhaps not one to appeal to the most progressive-minded of death metallers out there yet it's all undoubtedly entertaining and more than fun to exercise your neck to. And there's genuine atmosphere to pieces like Heinous Testimony, that fuzzy intro having more than a touch of deathdoom to it before scurrying off like some weird tomb creature, building into a particularly pit-friendly bit of slamming death metal. Of course, the appearance by Defeated Sanity's Josh Welshman on Abhorrent Contraception is a real highlight, the notably Cannibal Corpsean aggression given another boost with that slow, crushing breakdown section at the end. Some may prefer Cattle Decapitation's Travis Ryan's appearance on Semi Automatic Facial Reconstruction, a slower and more intricately-blasted piece of death metal filth that uses Ryan's goblin snarls especially well, and that's entirely understandable!

The most original and interesting piece present is actually guest-free, the oddly industrial Repulsive Demise dropping real drums for electronic beats but keeping the death metal brutality to make for the kind of experiment that could be hateful if the basis for a band's whole sound, but on an album like this feels fresh and distinct. It makes for a palate-cleanser before the short and sharp Erotic Beheading, perhaps the most caveman-like piece of brutal death metal on the album at just under three minutes long. And the longest, the seven-minute plus Paid in Flesh, features Full of Hell's Dylan Walker in a piece that starts out as a death metal crusher but shifts around the three-minute-mark into a funeral doom soundscape from hell, keeping that crawling pace and shrieked vocals right up to the end. Wherever you look, it's hard not to be impressed by Sanguisugabogg, proof that death metal hype isn't always misplaced.