Review by Michael on August 28, 2026.

Sardonic Witchery, hailing from Texas, are probably having quite a busy year. After releasing a compilation album called "Under the Sign of the Trident" and welcoming a new permanent member, Gabriel Luis, the band are now ready to lay the world to waste with their fifth full-length, "Hell's Thorns Attack", on September 1st.

My first encounter with the band was at the 2025 Under the Black Sun Festival, where they unleashed a real black/thrash firework on stage. It was very impressive, and I was actually very pleased when I read the announcement of the new album.

So here we are, being heavily attacked by hell's thorns that impale your eardrums. First of all, it is noticeable that the artwork has really improved. Whereas the previous covers were not particularly impressive, this one is a truly dark and sinister affair, with plenty of details to discover. Cool shit! It reminds me a lot of the artwork used by the Finnish/German black metal duo Order of Nosferat.

Second, the music has turned out really cool as well. The previous albums were already straightforward black/thrash, but this one sounds much more mature. Every song is like a hammer smashing down on an anvil, forging pure fury. There are plenty of thrash influences to be found on "Hell's Thorns Attack", especially old Slayer. Many riffs sound like something straight out of "Show No Mercy" or "Hell Awaits", but some more traditional heavy metal also creeps into the songs here and there, as on "Ego Sum Rex Ignis Aeternus." The opening vocals also sound a lot like the beginning of "Christi(ns)anity" from Grave's 1992 album "You'll Never See...."

Kind Demogorgon truly sounds like a maniac when performing the vocals, and I wonder how long he had a sore throat after the recording. This is extreme metal in its purest, wildest form, packed with mayhemic rage. One could simply say: "Fuck yeah, aaaaaarrrrrgh!"

No, but honestly, the eight tracks on this album are probably the best the band have written so far, and I guess the new band member has provided some sort of refreshment for Sardonic Witchery. A song like "Cult Of A Thousand Horns," with its smooth keyboard passages and Judas Priest-like guitar riffs, just fucking kills and could be a real highlight in the live set. "Raped By Horrendous Night" is also a real banger, featuring a catchy mid-tempo section and some sinister laughter. And then there is the closer, "Dark Moon Slaughter," which is simply... wow. The guitars sound fantastic, and the whole track is a wild ride through metal history.

The production has turned out quite well, too. Maybe the drums sound a little muffled, but everything else is punchy and right where it needs to be. Hopefully, the band will find good distribution for the album, since it isn't particularly easy to get hold of their previous releases.

"Hell's Thorns Attack" is a brutal lesson in black/thrash and, compared to the latest Desaster album, to name one of the bigger names in the genre, much more brutal and pure. If you see this release at your local record store or somewhere else, you really can't go wrong by picking it up.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10