Sardonic Witchery is basically King Demogorgon with a couple of friends helping out in spots. Which begs the question: Which is a better stage name? I think K.D. has it correct. And Sardonic Witchery fits the music perfectly.

Sardonic Witchery Moonlight Sacrifice Ritual (War March Records)

Wandering somewhere between Tiamat and Carcass (which means there's a heavy Motorhead influence in the riffage), Sardonic Witchery plays some seriously beautiful throat-throttling death metal. Even the song titles ("Die for Satan", etc.) hearken back to a more innocent day.

Oh, and these songs do go on. This could have been recorded in 1991, except that it sounds better. Modern techniques are cheaper and allow for greater depth of field in the wastelands. One of the studio friends is Chris Menta, who provides some excellent guitar solos that float above the carnage. The fact that they are not fully integrated into the buzzsaw makes them that much more effective.

I had a complete blast. This is the sort of adrenaline junkie thrill ride that death metal used to provide on a regular basis. Sardonic Witchery (which is the coolest and silliest name I've come across in ages) loads up for bear and then unleashes a righteous fury. My skin is tingling.

Jon Worley