Sodom - 1982 EP (2023)

Sodom pays tribute to its own year of formation with a moderately paced new track, lyrics that are self-referential but not cheesy as you'd expect, more about the band's personal perseverance across decades when so many others had faltered or given up. This one has all the trappings you'd expect, from fast and nasty explosions to mid paced riffs, the latter of which are honestly kind of dull here, but it's all drowned in the whipping leads and energetic frenzy that they've put into a lot of their recent full-length studio efforts, and Tom's vocals still sounds admittedly awesome. The mix is also quite good, capturing a lot of the raw fury of the youth the band is giving homage to, but at the standards you'd expect 40 years later.

As for the rest of the 1982 EP, it's re-recordings of old tracks and not terribly exciting. That's not to say it isn't any good, because "Witching Metal" and "Victims of Death" are given a treatment similar to what the Cavaleras did recently with Morbid Visions and Bestial Devastation, just the power of today's studio abilities plastered onto a couple tunes from the band's earliest demos, and sounding more propulsive and aggressive for the effort. As someone who wasn't always thrilled with the sound quality on Sodom's earliest recordings, and a huge fan of their 40 Years at War compilation from a couple years ago, it's good to get more, but with the limited environment of 18 minute EP it's not exciting for very long, since you know there've been a good number of tunes left out and this could have been folded up into a 'Part II' of that excellent collection, and there's just no novelty whatosever. It blazes right past you, and sounds good, especially the vocals and leads, the intense drumming, which most importantly  proves this band has no intention of halting with age...it's full forward, combat boots, Teutonic thrash terror forevermore, just there isn't a lot of dynamic range here to keep me interested, and the new tune is just okay.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://sodomized.info/

Sodom - 40 Years at War: The Greatest Hell of Sodom (2022)

The prospect of re-recording albums full of thrash classics is obviously not lost upon the German veterans; Destruction has released a few of their Thrash Anthems comps, Tankard has done one, and even Sodom has issued a full, expanded re-recording of their cult In the Sign of Evil EP, and a handful of other tracks have been revisited on other albums and EPs. 40 Years at War: The Greatest Hell of Sodom is an attempt to throw together 17 tracks which cover much of the band's career into a new whole, and it certainly succeeds at that, in particular the earlier tunes that, while charming, were admittedly (and understandably) somewhat sloppy in execution when the guys were young. 66 minutes of Sodom, who are frankly on a tear with their last handful of new studio outings, honing their weaponry into a production level that can contend with their most recent albums, possibly welcomed by younger fans, and after blazing through this a few times, welcomed by this old fart too.

The track selection here isn't terribly predictable, either, so if you're just expecting the 'greatest hits of Sodom', they have avoided that to just focus on really improving some pieces. No "Nuclear Winter", "Sodomy and Lust", or "The Saw is the Law" here, but a ripping volley of tracks like "After the Deluge", "Electrocution", "Body Parts" and "City of God". Regardless of the material's original era, it has all been smoothed over to sound consistent as a whole, as if 40 Years at War were just another new studio album, and while you can figure out the differences based on the relative technicality or punky feel of the tunes, it still sounds like it all belongs to the same band. Tom's vocals sound flawless, Frank and Yorck have a tone that stays loyal to the later 80s recordings but pumps a little more power, and the drumming is as peppy as it needs to be to encourage all the sore necks. Lead guitars are functional and don't attempt to leap out of the mix too much, and the bass production is also pretty good although it lets those iron-clad rhythm guitar riffs take control.

Although the Thrash Anthems collections were quite solid themselves, Sodom has surpassed them with what must be the best of these re-recording sprees, because I can honestly tell you that in many of the cases here I'd probably prefer listening to these very versions. Not every song is amazing, but the fact they didn't just go with the safer picks raises the value of this in my estimation. Like their peers in Kreator and Destruction, Angelripper and crew show no signs of slowing down, even the older members sound just as strong as they did in their formative 80s years, and 40 Years at War is another worthwhile exhibition of their dedication and power. I also really enjoy the cover art with the band's two iconic mascots going at it with one another, very representative of the recording as a whole, that fusion of old school and later thrash.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Bombenhagel EP (2021)

Sodom contributes once again to the near endless stream of EP releases they've been using to keep themselves busy in between full-lengths, which I can't complain about too much, since those full-lengths have generally been good the last couple times out. The usual process is a new tune or two, and then either a cover or a re-recording or a tune from a neighboring full-length, and that continues with Bombenhagel, a disc centered largely about the re-recording of the Persecution Mania track. This is for me largely unnecessary, because I have no problem with the original and didn't ask for it, however I can give the Germans some credit because this version sounds a little more vibrant, messy and impactful due to some deeper bass in the mix, frilly and sloppy leads and the fact that Tom still sounds as pestilent as ever with his rasp.

That said, as a fan of Genesis XIX, you know I was eager to skip right past this to the new tracks, "Coup de Grace", which is a nice crossroads between their death/thrash side and then some of the punkyness that overtook the band's output throughout the mid to late 90s. "Pestiferous Posse" is also a nasty one with some of his most evil and raw sounding vocals that hover just behind the propulsion riffing, of which there is plenty in the five minute run track. On both of these new pieces, Angelripper also has some nice shouts that ascend or descend and make a good contrast against the dirtier, low-end vocals, or at least I think that's Tom doing those. Frank Blackfire also appears here as he did with the last album, nice to have him back in the fold for those seeking to channel the genuine 80s Sodom thrash, and you even get legendary producer Harris Johns contributing a lead guitar. Now, there isn't much essential here, and these tunes aren't exactly the quality to lead off a new studio full-length, but at the same time it was all 'fine', there were no throwaways and it sounds like the Germans are genuinely having fun so late into their career. The serious Sodom enthusiast who just wants more will be in ammo belt paradise, but I don't know that I'll listen through these more than a couple times.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - A Handful of Bullets EP (2020)

A Handful of Bullets is another example of a German thrash act putting out an exclusive CD strictly through the publication of a European magazine, throwing together a few odds and ends for fans and readers. It also happens to be a pretty cool one, because Sodom and Rock Hard have seen to it that the material here is not something you're going to exactly find elsewhere in the same form. In addition to a couple tracks, there are remixes and a remaster here which not only do justice to the original or 'main' mixes, but in my opinion even surpass them. This is especially true of "Sodom & Gomorrah" and "Indoctrination", which just seem to have a more even balance of evil, crisp guitars and the diabolic vocal snarling that Tom achieved in one of his nastiest performances of the whole discography. They're not exactly a far cry from what you'll find over on Genesis XIX, but I responded even more favorably to these than the versions chosen for the broader release of the full-length.

There's a cover of Venom's "Leave Me in Hell" which is quite nice, playing pretty close to the belt in terms of the guitars and drums, but once again Angelripper's vocals tip the scales, they sound really awesome with that sort of distanced or reverbed effect on them, it just makes the whole tune evolve from its dirty roots into something somehow more menacing and potent. What fans will REALLY be pining for here is the non-album track "Along the Path to Hades", a peppy thrasher with a bit of a feel of their records like Agent Orange or Persecution Mania, and I'm honestly a little surprised they held this one off the full-length, it's quite damn good. Rounding the EP off is another remixed tune from Genesis XIX, "The Harpooneer", and no surprise...also sounds good. I imagine the mix to these tunes isn't going to be for everyone, it's definitely just a few knobs twisted, but in its own way it feels just as 80s as the album and I just had a blast listening through it all.

The value here is limited a bit by its rarity and the fact that 60% of the material can be found on the release the fans are much more likely to track down, but I have to give some credit that they put together an entertaining and ear-pleasing 22 minutes of content that will certainly be a boon for those who subscribe the magazine and undoubtedly already dig the legendary group. I'd actually place this above most of their other EPs in quality even when those including more unique, unreleased cuts.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Genesis XIX (2020)

Sodom has, for many years, flirted with its own origins, whether that's in re-recording or re-releasing early tracks or injecting some nostalgia into its more modern, slicker productions. However, I think it's their latest offering Genesis XIX which is the most legitimate attempt at making a record that might have existed between their rough earlier material like In the Sign of Evil and Obsessed by Cruelty and then their first attempts at real thrashing structure like Persecution Mania. Granted that there is a bit of production and musical evolution present on this album that does seem slightly like something a veteran thrash act might release in the year 2020, but had this been mixed a little rawer than what Siggi Bemm and Toni Merkel ultimately came up with, it would feel like it totally belonged to that 1986-87 period.

I wouldn't deign to dub the tracks 'simple', but they are all quite straightforward and cutthroat, going for that feeling of the archaic Teutonic anthem, of which they once contributed many. If you dug staples like "Sodomy and Lust", "Agent Orange" or "Nuclear Winter", this is really the effect that so many of the cuts are going for. The riffs are never more complex than needed, but still hustled and sinister and sometimes exhibiting the speed of those early Sodom or Kreator discs like Persecution Mania or Pleasure to Kill. The leads are whipping ribbons of evil and atonal noodling that meld perfectly over the frenetic rhythm guitar riffs, and the drum and bass are just an incessant, belligerent, focused force. That said, the real star of this show is Tom Angelripper's throat, sounding just as nasty and torn as it ever did in the 80s, in fact I'll go out on a limb and say this might even be better. Perfectly placed phrasing, just enough reverb or effects in the mix to create that psychotic payback that the best thrash requires by mandate, and the guy brings more threat than much more energetic vocalists half his age in this genre.

There's nothing here by way of a surprise, and I think it might be held back slightly by a number of riff patterns that are kind of common within the Sodom canon, but ONLY if you're the sort of fan who wants them to build upon their considerable legacy, to somehow evolve. If you've been long awaiting a proper return to the roots, and were always content with those first 3-4 discs before the slightly more death metal and punk phases they explored, then this is a bullet-belted, spiked, radiation-masked Godsend. I can completely sympathize with the praise being lavished upon it, even if I might not prop it up on quite that high of a pedestal myself. It's clearly the best emulation of their formative, breakout years, and one of the best albums they've released since the 80s, but then again I had no problem with the slighty beefier, more dynamic, modern sounds of Decision Day from 2016. The intentions aren't all that disparate, but Genesis XIX just goes for the nastier, earlier strategy while its predecessor was a little bit more of matured, brute force. Good album, decent lyrics (in spite of "Glock 'n 'roll"), awesome cover artwork from the legendary Joe Petagno.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Destruction/Kreator/Sodom/Tankard - The Big Teutonic 4 - Part II EP (2015)

The original Big Teutonic 4 split was a fairly fun idea, so why not tap that well another time? That was Nuclear Blast's thinking as they rounded up the usual suspects for another go at some rousing NWOBHM covers. This time, each of the four thrash bands is taking on a different English forerunner, with only one of those bands (Maiden) being redundant with the original split. Raven, Saxon and Tank are all getting a turn to have some of their material in the spotlight. And once again, much of the material here has also been published elsewhere, so the value you're going to get out of it is pretty limited if you're not a long-term follower/collector of the German bands. As cool as it was to hear the slightly lesser known bands like Raven and Tank done justice, I was sadly less into this split than its predecessor.

Kind of like Sodom's cover on the earlier split, Kreator's version of Raven's "Lambs to the Slaughter" is one I've already been familiar with forever, since it came out on the Out of the Dark...Into the Light EP back in the 80s, and many represses of that with the Terrible Certainty album since. Sodom's contribution of Tank's "Don't Walk Away" is also an oldie that has been around since the days of the Agent Orange. Both are solid versions but they don't really change up the formula all that much, maybe in Mille's case but even he is trying to emulate some of the Raven screams with mixed success. I feel that Destruction's rendition of "Princess of the Night" is more of the transformation you want to hear when a thrash act is covering some trad metal, but it also comes off a little goofy with all the vocals and backing vocals going over it, cluttered where the original is just so elegant, perfectly written and executed. Bringing up the rear yet again, Tankard is the one band doing something exclusive here, with yet another Maiden cover, this one a somewhat exciting romp on their eponymous "Iron Maiden".

Part II sort of falters with the first two tracks being pretty obvious covers that aren't news to anyone, and Destruction's is once again a bonus track from various versions of Spiritual Genocide. Since these three were all pretty saturated in exposure and easy to acquire, I think this is less of a value than the first time around, which was already a debatable value. So once again, hardcore Tankard fans will benefit the most from having it. What's the most disappointing though is that the label and bands could have taken this idea and done something really special with it, like new original material...an 8 or 12 track 4-way Teutonic split with 2-3 new original cuts from each band would sell like hotcakes. But this just seems like a lazier followup to something that already generated a little cash flow and it shows in both the selection and the product.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

https://www.destruction.de/
https://kreator-terrorzone.de/
http://sodomized.info/
https://www.tankard.info/

Destruction/Kreator/Sodom/Tankard - The Big Teutonic 4 EP (2012)

Now here's an example of a split release between numerous thrash metal luminaries which, at least on the surface level, seems rather an interesting one. I agree completely with the designation of these four bands as 'The Big Teutonic 4', happy that Tankard was at last being counted among them (I'd been doing so since the 90s when it was clear they were persisting where others faltered). This was yet another CD being issued exclusively through the Legacy magazine out of Germany, but Nuclear Blast also released a version of it some months later, so...not so much. What's even more curious, is that this doesn't feature original songs, but rather covers of two titanic English bands in Iron Maiden and Motörhead, with two German bands taking on each of them. Unfortunately, most of these are NOT exclusive to this split, but taken from various other singles, past albums, or previously issued bonus tracks, by the respective artists.

The most obvious of these is going to be Sodom's handling of "Iron Fist", which we'd already heard as far back as Persecution Mania and even live on Mortal Way of Live. It's a classic, in the hands of either its originator or Tom Angelripper, and a natural cover from a band that draws so much of its own style DIRECTLY from those NWOBHM road-dogs, however at the same it was the inclusion I was least interested in, having heard it many times before. However, Destruction's cover of "The Hammer", which was only included with the Japanese version of Spiritual Genocide (that I had not heard), is quite nasty, Schmier plastering his version of the vocals all over the punk-fueled speed metal massacre. It's also a little messy in the right ways, not as tight as the original content those Germans were putting out, but that's fine in the context of this particular cover. Another of my favorites here is Kreator's "Number of the Beast", not the first time they've taken on Iron Maiden, but even though the music plays pretty close to the original, it sounds great with Mille's harsher vocals, and I loved the lead sequence. This one is also located on the later Violence Unleashed EP or the Phantom Antichrist single if you're trying to track it down elsewhere.

The thrashier version of "The Prisoner" that Tankard includes is also a good one, filthier guitar tone and filthier vocals via Gerre, but they still touch on some points of atmosphere that you wouldn't expect from the German drunkaholics. And as far as I know, this is the one cover that is only available on this particular split, at least for now, so if you're a Tankard collector, you've got the most motivation to snap this up. Now, if ALL of these songs were exclusives, then I'd say this was a CD or vinyl that almost anyone would want...the songs are all good, even if Sodom's contribution is a bit too redundant. And to be fair, many fans might not own most of the tunes elsewhere. It's a fun concept to round up these thrashers, legends themselves, and then watch as they don't toot their own horns, but cover even mightier legends of British heavy metal. If you can track one down, it's pretty sweet to have on your wall, even if the content isn't all that valuable. Not a necessary purchase, but neat if you've never run across these covers before. And to think, Nuke Blast and these same four bands would be doing it again in just a couple years...

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://www.destruction.de/
https://kreator-terrorzone.de/
http://sodomized.info/
https://www.tankard.info/

Sodom - Out of the Frontline Trench EP (2019)

Out of the Frontline is the third Sodom EP to release after the surprisingly great Decision Day in 2016, and one wonders if the momentum of the band's legendary aura after almost 40 years of thrashing has become such that they could exist on these sorts of releases indefinitely, or if they're just lazily hashing out a bunch of pieces to their next full-length album. Which, to be honest, would not be such a bad thing, because most of the newer material I've heard on discs like this one, Partisan, etc is fairly worthwhile, keeping up the traditions and maybe occasionally hurling a new riff or too your way when they can come up with one. I mean none of these short-form releases have been the equal of 1987's Expurse of Sodomy EP, but I'm in no rush to throw them out the window.

This time out you get abused with a trio of new tracks before any of the tomfoolery begins. "Genesis XIX", "Down on Your Knees" and "Out of the Frontline Trench" are all nasty, dirty thrashers which I can't deny enjoying...there's a clear beeline back to Agent Orange and Persecution Mania in how they are composed, with choppy riffs being sauced in wicked sounding Angelripper vocal lines, material that seems it was conceived in the 80s with little tremolo picked parts, brief effective leads and just a vicious overall tone to it that leads me to believe the next time we get a full-length album it's going to be one that clearly looks backwards to the same era. In other words, I could argue that these three cuts are better than almost anything the band has put out in the last 25-30 years just by virtue of the style they were conceived in. To enforce the point, they've also included a re-recording of "Agent Orange", which doesn't sound half-bad...it's extremely loyal but has that slightly more modern sort of production which is present on the new originals, and I'd be lying if I told you I ever got tired of hearing this track...one of my faves.

Lastly you get a live rendition of "Bombenhagel". Again, living up the past...what you hinting at here, Tom? It sounds fairly good too, fresh and violent as the day it was birthed to the stage, and the contrasts between the blitzing thrash assault and the more anthemic bridge with its melody are fully present on the stage. While that could have been left off here, and I would have accepted just the new tunes and the new "Agent Orange", it doesn't kill the cohesive feel all that much. But yeah, this is a pretty good EP, nothing too original but I think those of us who have been waiting most of our lives to hear Sodom give it that real mid-to-late 80s Teutonic thrash appeal again will be satisfied. I know it's still remained there in fragments of their sound on every album since then, some more than others, but this stuff is really shaping up to be what might have happened before or after Better Off Dead if the band hadn't gone for the more bruising sound on Tapping the Vein (nothing wrong with that album, mind you).

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Chosen by the Grace of God EP (2019)

Chosen by the Grace of God is another of the many limited run CDs included with European metal magazines as an exclusive, which, to be fair, is pretty strong marketing for the dwindling print industry these days. Sometimes these are splits, sometimes live sets that aren't available officially elsewhere, and if you're really lucky, it's a bunch of material from one band that might include a few things you don't already own elsewhere. These are often longtime metal veterans, in particular thrash, and Sodom's Chosen by the Grace of God is absolutely an EP that is targeted towards collectors based on the exclusivity of some of its content, and those will be the persons who get the most value out of throwing a few Euro at the German Legacy magazine with which it comes, although there is a little bit of redundancy here with other products.

That redundancy is "Down On Your Knees", a track that serves as a preview for the band's latest 'official' EP Out of the Frontline Trench, which is out through Steamhammer in several formats. As I'm also going to cover that release, I'll focus here on the more exclusive content. There's a live cut of "One Step Over the Line", a track that has appeared on numerous Sodom releases in the past, and it sounds loud and chunky, punchy and effective even if it's not among their better material. "Predatory Instinct" is a great number, invoking the energy of albums like Agent Orange, and a good bonus if you don't have one of the versions of Decision Day where this belonged as a bonus track. Like that album, and several of the band's myriad EP tracks in the last decade, this one shows the band is still on a roll and just as energetic as ever, even if not's the catchiest song in their canon. "Lifeline" is a very cool cover of an earlier tune from England's Sacrilege, back when they were more of a punk grind band before their mutation into atmospheric heavy/doom. Sounds just as natural in the hands of these Germans as its originators, and they put an angry, pulsing spin on it.

The last little perk you're getting here is the track "Inside My Crosshairs", which was originally from the split 7" they did with fellow Teutons Running Wild, for yet another magazine exclusive in Rock Hard a couple years ago. Another solid thrasher with a few cool parts to it, possibly my favorite that is actually on this release. So when it comes to value, this one will really depend on if you're a big collector and own a lot of these more obscure recordings which also featured most of its content. If not, and you're just a Sodom fan who subscribes to professional print zines, then I'd say this is fairly neat, the live and cross-EP tracks aside. The material is consistent and engaging enough that I have confidence Sodom's win streak should continue beyond just Decision Day. I just hope we don't have to wade through another half dozen EPs before we find out! As an added note, the same issue also has a compilation CD with some more underground bands on it, a few recognizable, so it's clear the magazine wants to supply its readership with substantial bonus content and that is to be lauded.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Partisan EP (2018)

Although they were never my fave of the German Big Three thrash acts throughout the 80s, 90s or 00s, if you had me compare all those veterans' latest efforts, Sodom's Decision Day would narrowly edge out Kreator's Gods of Violence as my favorite. It was a dynamic, professional piece of thrash metal which played up to all of the band's strengths over their career without sounding in the slightest bit jaded or ready to hang up the axes. As a band known to dump a few EPs onto the market to keep themselves active on fan radars and perhaps get a test sampling of whatever new material they are working on, Partisan was perhaps inevitable after they had put out the Sacred Warpath primer on Decision Day back in 2014. So I assume that at least the title track here will appear on their next full-length releasing somewhere around the 2019-2020 period.

The EP features three songs, two of which are new to this release, and the last a live recording. The mix on this material sounds fantastic, with the vicious and bright guitars, sturdy bass tones, peppy and punishing drums, and most importantly, Tom sounding as nasty as ever, with a nice sustain and distance to the production of his vocals, even if the lines themselves aren't that exciting matched up with the rhythm guitars. Now, "Partisan" itself is a fairly average, mid-paced thrasher for the group, with riffing structures that sound familiar, as if they were patched together from other Sodom tunes, but the studio quality definitely lifts it up a notch, and it has a few nice lead guitar details in there and a general hellishness which maintains the momentum they achieved on their 2016 full-length. It's the sort of tune that would sound pretty much at home on Agent Orange minus the production difference.
"Conflagration" is the other n00b here, a slightly more punk-fueled cut which didn't really hook me until the more atmospheric vocals leading into the bridge, and then a nice neck-jerking pure 80s mosh riff breaks out and you kind of forgive the earlier blandness.

The live tune, "Tired & Red", actually sounds pretty fantastic, from the 2018 Rock Hard fest. I really love how the vocals sound, they're a little loud compared to the guitars, but very menacing with the effects, Tom sounds as seasoned as ever. It might not be enough to add a lot of value to this EP's existence, especially if "Partisan" and "Conflagration" end up on a more substantial album, but at least what is presented here is presented well, and that goes for the entire release. The songs don't hook me like "Sacred Warpath", "Blood Lions" and "Caligula", but certainly they show there is plenty of oomph left in the Germans' arsenal, and I've got no reason not to remain excited for what they come out with next, although the long-term value of this EP, sans the great black & white cover art from Roberto Toderico, is anyone's guess.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Demonized (2017)

A reprint of Sodom's demos might seem rather useless since so much of their material was recast upon their legendary releases In the Sign of Evil and Obsessed by Cruelty, but I think this is the sort of fan service a lot of their audience will appreciate, especially the leather & spikes Satanic proto-black/death metal sorts who focus heavily on the Germans' formative years and ignore the political punk/thrash era entirely. Plus its availability on a number of formats include vinyl will be an appeal for those who thrive on having the wax versions of every cult recording in creation, and it's been treated with some simplistic cover art that will look flush on your shelves of old Venom, Bathory, Onslaught and so forth.

The material is reprinted faithfully, but there has been a little bit of mastering here to bring out the music's sinister fleshiness and perhaps make it more tolerable to ears weaned on their studio albums for the last 30+ years. I can't promise you that they are all that much more listenable, since the dirty guitars are a little buried beneath the tinny, driving beats, bass throbs, and messy as fuck vocals which remind me just as much of old demo-era Voivod as anything else. In fact, like those Canadians, you can really hear the punk roots in this material, which Sodom would of course revisit more directly in their 90s recordings. However, while I admit that even In the Sign of Evil and Obsessed by Cruelty aren't the greatest studio works out there, and I'm more of a Persecution Mania/Agent Orange guy, I have to say that the album versions are just so much more sinister sounding to my ears than what is represented on these demos. The vocals are so much more 'together' and vicious, while the guitars sound gut-wrenchingly evil despite their primitive tone and construction.

So this really does end up only in the sights of those purists and completists who want the most original recordings they can find of their favorite, veteran 80s bands, of which Tom Angelripper and company certainly qualify. I respect the decision to make this available in as close a 'real' form as the band was comfortable with, only adjusting a little of the mix for modern hardware, so that fans don't have to hear it on the usual bootlegs or just crappy .mp3s uploaded to the web, but I wouldn't even listen to this over the material on The Final Sign of Evil re-recordings they put out back in 2007. It's worth a few True Evil Points to have in your collection but I bet for most folks it just sits there while they listen to "Sodomy and Lust", "Nuclear Winter" and the 1986 version of "Proselytism Real" all over again. Still, this collection is EXACTLY what it set out to be, and you can pick from cassettes, vinyls or CD, whatever poison you prefer, so I'm not about to dump on it all that hard. If you woke up this morning and suddenly found yourself demanding that you own the Sodom demos, or the world would end, then they've got your back.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Decision Day (2016)

Every year, it seems like some old band I've been listening to for decades gets a chance to shine again, and a case could really be made in 2016 that it was Sodom's turn at bat. I can't act like I'm too surprised, since I'd already been teased a few of these tracks for some time now, but this must easily be my favorite of their albums since 1990. That's not to say I've despised all their intervening material; records like Tapping the Vein, Code Red and the 2006 self-titled effort all have their share of moments. But the last couple studio full-lengths leading up to this one, while polished and well rounded, were both a little underwhelming on impact. Decision Day strives for a similar appeal, in which the band draws upon various epochs of their career to blend together a mighty thrashing epic, but it does so through a nastier discourse that at many points feels genuinely fiery and malicious, not to mention memorable and destructive.

Nothing new, just really well-done Sodom. Having already extolled the virtues of the tunes "Sacred Warpath" and "In Retribution" from reviews of their respective EPs, I'm satisfied that all the other material here feels flush and fluid with them. Decision Day inhabits a realm of variation that doesn't neglect the black, raspy vocals of Angelripper's youth, the heavily structured thrashing rhythms of their classics Agent Orange and Persecution Mania, or even the more arguably accessible and/or melodic anthems they've been churning forth on 21st century recordings. No idea is really off the table if it plugs into a track, so the bombastic, roiling rhythm guitars of "Rolling Thunder" can be measured against the acoustics and Tom's whispers, or the lethal speed which is fundamental to so much of the material here can be laced with slightly more tech/thrash riffs or mid-paced neck breakers while spurious leads spit out across the vitriol of a "Caligula". That same track shows the band's willingness to impose manly backing chants to contrast with Tom's acidic inflection, and they also use a lot of morose sounding moody note progressions that aren't unlike their German kin in Kreator.

The drums and bass on this thing thunder all the way, the former given one of the fattest and most distorted powerhouse tones in all their discography, yet it's extremely well balanced against the far more elaborate and intricate guitar patterns. The latter is almost overbearing at points, but will give Sodom the satisfying extremity that can not only flex off against other thrash pundits of today but also the harder hitting genres which were partly birthed from their very own sound. The album also runs pretty deep. It occasionally suffers from some predictable riffing patterns, but then will almost always come back at you with something catchier that you don't expect, and the excitement doesn't really let up, with scorchers like "Vaginal Born Evil" and "Blood Lions" keeping your attention well in check. It might not achieve the perfection of The Antichrist in terms of how every song just sticks with you, but the chops here are substantial, each track pretty much packed. Vicious, predatory and cautionary lyrics top it all off, and it's really one of the best records released by a veteran metal act this year and regenerates a little of the faith and excitement that has so long languished between me and this once and again mighty band. Better than the last records from their 'Big Four of Teutonic Thrash' neighbors, and overall a lot of punishing fun without lacking in musicality.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (I earned the seed of retaliation)

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Days of Retribution EP (2016)

Days of Retribution is a far more qualified herald for Sodom's 15th full-length album Decision Day due to the proximity of its release to that (I'm assuming) anticipated splatter-platter by the legions of disheveled gas-masked ghouls, young and old. A clarion oiled with the blood of innocents and ready to sound off like an airstrike. After all, if the mighty Tom Angelripper is still doing this shit then we're all still young at heart, right? Just run with that. Grab a cold beer. Optionally, a Pepsi. Caffeine not working for you? A vitamin water, then. Whatever it takes to keep the rust off the joints, the RAD meter ticking with the appropriate level of heat and danger, and...fuck it I just really hope this offers me a prayer than the new album is going to whisk me away to that pivotal 1986-1990 era in which this band was one of the most reliable among the German outbreak of the Golden Age.

This is a longer EP than Sacred Warpath, and thankfully does not rely too heavily on its live content, although that does rear its head in the waning moments of the release. "In Retribution" is the new tune you want to hear, and thank fuck it's actually an appreciable scorching of mean and speedy licks that is arguably the best I've heard from them in about a decade. His voice just sounds enormous and raunchy over the force of the rhythm guitars, more focused than emotional as it was on that previous track. It almost sounds like a slightly more modernized take on a tune that would have been ripe for inclusion on the Expurse of Sodomy EP back in '87, and though not as memorable, and far more mature than a "Sodomy and Lust", it delivers a fairly ominous chorus with a wildly looping little melody that comes flying off the rhythm hook. Just an incendiary effort than I could have hoped, and the highlight of this whole release, though their 'Motörhead' section of this EP isn't so shabby either, beginning with the inclusion of the bonus track "Murder One" from their In War and Pieces album, and then busting directly into a cover of "Ace of Spades", which is far too obvious, but let's face it...

This is a band that was HEAVILY inspired by Lemmy in both songwriting and bass playing, so after his untimely passing, there was no chance of something like this being neglected. It's a serviceable send-up, but nothing out of the ordinary. The band then breaks out into a rehash of more songs that have already appeared through their catalog...."Kamikaze Terrorizer" off the eponymous 2006 LP, and "Waterboarding" off Epitome of Torture, and then it dawns on me that this is really just a sampler of Sodom's material from the last decade...the choices are good, of course, but even though some of the recordings might be unfamiliar, it's almost like a micro-compilation, and that stinks. There is yet ANOTHER inclusion of "The Saw is the Law" live, and also "Wachturm", but by then all of my dreams were dash, my hopes deflated, and my Pepsi flat. What started off so great just took a nose dive, but with the caveat that "In Retribution" is a fuckin' grand time and with that and "Sacred Warpath" already planting its hatchet in my brain, I have positive expectations for Sodom in the very near future.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Sacred Warpath EP (2014)

Sacred Warpath is the first of two Sodom EPs that will ultimately go down as a teaser for the forthcoming Decision Day full-length, only this one was released a couple years ago, perhaps without even the intention that it's sole new track would feature prominently in the future. Because of the way it was positioned, it almost feels like more of a tail for Epitome of Torture, a record that was by all means competent but a little limper in the songwriting department than I'd have liked. So expectations for this thing were never crazy high, and to top that all off the remainder of the four tracks is composed entirely of live performances, so there's just nothing else new going on beyond the artwork, which is itself...nothing really new.

Have to say, the title track is a solid one, a mid-paced melodic piece which is moodier than usual, with a lot of warlike rolling drum fills and an atmosphere that made it feel like it could have been some environmental/culturally aware outtake from Nuclear Assault's Handle With Care album. I found Tom's voice here to be exceptionally raspy and brackish, he does reach a little deeper to his normal, gruff bark, but it's kept a lot more bloody and subtly screaming which only adds to the mournful nature of the tune's subject matter. Acoustic guitars and a pure, driving melodic bridge with a dependable lead definitely further the notion that this was meant for a more 'mature' and measured style than "The Saw is the Law" or "Agent Orange", and it's pulled off well enough to spin through it a number of times, and part of me wonders if the Germans were at that time planning for the next album to take Epitome's well-rounded approach to an even more emotional range, but I felt like this particular track was the equal of anything there at least, even if there are no money shot riffs.

The live material is headed off by a spurt of a "Surfin' Bird" cover and then erupts into a neck breaking rendition of "The Saw is the Law", an obvious choice, but there's a bit too much clip and unevenness to the chugging that Tom's bass seems enveloped by the rhythm guitar, and that's a distraction. The production on "City of God" and "Stigmatized" is much the same, but they both feel a little denser and angrier and it ultimately leads to a better reaction, though some of those same flaws in the recording do come through. This is no Mortal Way of Live but it's never a bad thing to hear such a revered, ancient thrashing entity still delivering beatings from a stage. Unfortunately, once "Sacred Warpath" appears on Decision Day there's just not going to be any reason to keep this thing around unless you're a steadfast collector of all things Angel Ripping, so I'll pass on paying it any attention in the future, though it's not an entirely worthless release like so many others of its ilk.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Epitome of Torture (2013)

I wonder if Tom Angelripper ever gets into uncomfortable conversations during family dinners. Even if he were to eschew his thrash tag, surely if someone asks him about his band's name, and he answered, they'd be either shocked or perplexed. "Isn't that from the Bible?" "What does that word MEAN, Onkle Tom?" What about the first time someone decides to associate the words Sodom and Angel-ripper? Yikes. But it could be worse, he might have chosen Anal Cunt. At any rate, I feel like the man must have been taking some pretty eclectic meals lately, because album #14 from his mainstay takes a potpourri of ideas spanning the last 30 years of his career and then jumbles them together into a surprisingly fluid, if not entirely resonant or impressive concoction of classic and contemporary thrash metal which places a heavier than usual emphasis on arrangement. Perhaps as the band pushes onward into its golden years, the studio wizardry is beginning to supplant some of the raw thrashing energy once asserted, but I can't exactly fault Tom and company for trying to piece together their past into some new puzzle, and there is ample technicality and intensity here to at least run with the younger crowd.

Problem is, I just didn't get a hear a lot of payoff from Epitome of Torture. Dextrous, even furious riffing does little more than evoke comparisons to past records (of this or numerous other bands). There are rock riffs spliced through various points of the album that recount their later 90s fare, and some pure tremolo picking progressions dated back to Tapping the Vein; and at the same time, spiffy speed/thrash patterns one could date to Persecution Mania or Agent Orange. Bernemann's rhythms pursue a punchy tone during the mid-paced, palm-muted muggings, but once opened up into blinding speeds, they summon up Sodom's first forays into the more structural thrash post-Obsessed by Cruelty; like the six-string projectile bursts of "My Final Bullet" or the lightning licks inaugurating "S.O.D.O.M.", the latter of which serves as a throwback to classic cuts like "Nuclear Winter" or "Sodomy & Lust". They also pull out some moderate tempos ("Epitome of Torture", "Katjuschka", etc) which resemble modern Exodus, but then sadly devolve into some brickhouse, predictable groove thrash with amateur, primitive, uninteresting notation. I think, though, that while Epitome of Torture offers much variation on the whole, listeners will be quick to point out its more melodic tendencies, suffused with hints of traditional speed and traces of melodeath similar to Kreator's experiments on Violent Revolution or Phantom Antichrist.

While his bass playing is still formidable enough to support Bernemman without complete disappearing into the fog of war, much attention has been placed on Angelripper's vocals here. While I wouldn't say they feel excessively processed, it seems like they've been cut & pasted, panned and scanned so that each rusted bark, rasp or straight up death growl is meant to deliver some maximum belligerent impact. The man still sounds good, but unfortunately the actual choruses themselves never feel as poignant or memorable as I'd hoped. Sodom choruses have never been incredibly dramatic or complex, often rendered to a mere bludgeoning of the song title, but the riffs were often good enough that they'd stick with you for decades. Despite the fact that his voice is being so fully fleshed out, even the most moody and melodic arrangements (as in "Invocating the Demons") failed to give me the mincing the cover artwork might suggest. That said, when he's rifling off to the fiery, bluesy lead explosions and the level snares and kicks of Markus 'Makka' Freiwald (making his first appearance on a Sodom full-length), it certain seems like the trio spared no effort when putting this material together. And I had to crack a smile at Tom's enunciation of the word 'epitome'.

Ultimately, this has a sleek, meticulously polished mix and a vast array of weaponry that just never adds up to a raving success, which I was honestly hoping for since the band's German peers have been putting out some solid efforts of late (even the latest Accu§er surprised me). Granted, if you're a sucker for just about any modern take on veteran thrash, such as the last few works of Overkill, Exodus, Kreator,  Death Angel, Flotsam & Jetsam, and the like, then it's unlikely you'd find this entirely ineffective or offensive. It's one of those perplexing records which doesn't underachieve on anything except me giving a damn 15 minutes after the fact. Not the runt of their litter (as I don't hold much esteem for Masquerade in Blood), but an album that never really sinked past my outer ear drums even after listening the shit out of it. Offered slightly less of a concussion than In War and Pieces. And I'm not just saying that because it features such a grab-bag of components spanning their canon, or because I have some inbred aversion to them 'branching out'. Nah, just because this selection of songs didn't stir up my blood, or inspire me to bend over anyone of the heavenly host.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - 30 Years Sodomized 1982-2012 (2012)

Sodom's latest collection is a doozy, a box set clocking in at three full discs and 2 LPs, with all manner of omake-style extras like posters, stickers and such to sate the diehards with more than just a mere musical retrospective. It's also somewhat affordable for all it includes, and the sheer scope of the material places it well past the Ten Black Years - Best of Sodom compilation released in 1996, which was ultimately pretty worthless outside of a few rarities, despite it's comprehensive glimpse through the group's chronology. I should point out that the glaring fact this band has gone 30+ years already without throwing in the reins makes me feel incredibly old, even though most of the members have got over a decade on me.

The biggest draw here is the 'official bootleg' The Witchhunter Decade, which is included in both CD and colored double-vinyl formats (how thoughtful), and provides a slew of live and pre-production/demo material spanning from about 1984-1992. Performances from Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland all sound appreciable noisy and raw, pretty representative of the band's first decade (if you've experienced their original Mortal Way of Live you can confirm this), but this was almost without exception my favorite period in the band's history. As one would expect, the performances are not exactly flawless, with some feedback or slightly imbalanced levels in the instruments, but they suffice. The performance of "Body Parts" from Japan is probably the best sounding, with raucous sewer bass tone and vicarious thrashing force. Otherwise, there is a truly grisly rehearsal for "Sepulchral Voice", unpolished versions of "Shellfire Defense" and "The Saw is the Law", and a demo for "Sons of Hell" with an explosive black/punk style dowsed in Tom's rasp.

The 'Thirty Years War' is the pure retrospective part of the collection, 2 discs and 30 tracks hand picked and delivered in chronological sequence, with an average of about two per studio full-length. Surprisingly, the band didn't just go for the 'obvious' picks each time. We'd have expected, "Burst Command 'Til War", for example, but "Agent Orange" and "Nuclear Winter" are nowhere to be found. On the one hand, this shows a conscious effort not just to rehash the songs they've already rehashed for prior comps (though there is some overlap), but on the other, if you were trying to pawn this off to someone new to their sound, I feel it goes without saying you want your best material, and many of their best songs have been omitted. Either way, though, this is likely to prove the least valuable element in 30 Years Sodomized, because most of the folks willing to slap the money down on this beast might not appreciate the redundancy...

So, ultimately this is not so much a serviceable introductory 'greatest hits' package, more of a love letter for the fans who have clung to the band's legacy and collected all their studio and live records. Even the bootleg material is not heavily impressive so much as it's a net for completist mosquitoes. Having the vinyl is great, but I suspect that many who pick this up will be more interested in setting on a shelf for display and staring at it more than poring through it, but then you've got a nice poster of the band, a history booklet, and if you've ever wanted to send your auntie a Sodom postcard...here is your chance. Can't say I truly would recommend this unless you've got the disposable income after feeding your family, and it could have been MUCH better in terms of audio content, but if Angelripper and his revolving door of war-thrash co-conspirators have earned your trust and coin through the years, and you think they deserve even more of it, you're not exactly getting ripped off here.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - The Final Sign of Evil (2007)

Not to be outdone by their fellows Destruction, Germans Sodom also decided that 2007 was the right time to rehash and re-release some of their raw, early material to both their younger audience and original fans. However, there are some clear distinctions between The Final Sign of Evil and Thrash Anthems. Where Schmier and company merely wanted to basque some of their earlier glories in the fresh studio sound of the current age, Sodom had a more serious intention, to give the In the Sign of Evil EP the full-length release it was originally intended for. As a result, the majority of the tracks recorded for this were never released before, so most are hearing them for the first time with the new incarnations of the EP material.

Sadly, not many of these tracks are that great, so I can sort of understand why they might have been left out in the first place. "The Sin of Sodom" is a Slayer-like piece with average riffing circa Hell Awaits. "Bloody Corpse" is slower, plodding, and not so potent. "Where Angels Die" begins like a death march, then pummels forward into some less than explosive, faster riffs and shoddy drums. "Ashes to Ashes" is probably the crappiest, with some generic riffs that were predictable even by the early 80s. "Defloration" also carries the burden of little enthusiasm, though some of the guitars feel blistering and fresh. No, the only real survivors here are the bruising "Hatred of the Gods", and the vulgar and raw "Sons of Hell", neither of which is a stylistic departure from the rest, but the components of loud bass, solid punk/thrash riffs and Tom's return to the blacker, rasped vocals all seem to come together to create a rough charm.

Naturally, the In the Sign of Evil songs fare better, because they are simply better songs, and these versions are pretty fun. Sodom have not pulled a Thrash Anthems here. This shit is incredibly rugged and violent, not made to burst out of your speakers, but made to frighten your mom and pop just like they did 30 years ago. "Blasphemer" cruises along, ever the alternative to Slayer's "Chemical Warfare", while "Witching Metal" and "Burst Command 'Til War" are just as poseur crushing as they ever were. Likewise, "Outbreak of Evil" and "Sepulchral Voice" sound solid and spiteful.

In order to pull this off, Tom Angelripper united the original lineup of Grave Violator and Chris Witchhunter for the recording. This was apt to cause mixed reactions, because there can be no question that Bernd Kost and Markus Freiwald are technically more seasoned players. In fact, I'd almost be curious to hear what the same album might have sounded like with the current lineup of the band. However, as an act of loyalty its commendable. Those two were a part of this to begin with, and they remain so, and Angelripper doesn't want us to forget it. That said, the playing might seem a little sloppy here or there, which some will love, and some will loathe. It's pretty cool to have this at long last, but I'm not sure I'd bother with it were I not a fan who was interested in the history behind it. If you're accustomed to the more modern sounds of Sodom, M-16 or Code Red, or simply the Frank Blackfire records in the late 80s, then you might be taken aback by how uncouth it feels. If you're more enamored of the band's black/thrash mess roots, then feast away.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - Sodom (2006)

You can generally count on bands who, late in their career, decide to release a self-titled album as a fairly poignant statement of their intentions, but Sodom's stab at this is merely a potent modernizing of the warlike thrash they produced for their last two albums, Code Red and M-16. However, in terms of quality, this is the most ribald and impressive effort of all their 21st century output, with a strong sense of dynamics and songwriting that gradually pulls you into its embrace. Bright, violent, and with some of the most vicious vocals in all of Tom Angelripper's career, Sodom is 43 minutes of passionate craftsmanship which is almost as worthwhile a cure for dysfunctional aging appendages as Viagra.

It does take some time before it fully delivers its payload, though. "Blood On Your Lips" is a momentous opener, with some fast paced roils of acoustic guitars plastered into a steady, battle field hymn of chugged force, squealing feedback, tempered but rousing melodic thrash riffs and murderous constraint in the initial vocals. "Wanted Dead" feels a lot like a modern edition of Slayer's "War Ensemble", and then "Buried in the Justice Ground" takes the pace down with a chord progression that reminds me of "Hangar 18", dispersed with great Angelripper vocals, background samples and a blocky, potent bridge segment. "City of God" actually sounds like something Amon Amarth would write, at least the intro riff, but it's one of my favorite songs on the album, careful and calculated and letting the thick tone of Bernemann's guitars create a resonant, emotional power; while the chorus to "Bibles and Guns" just tears down the fucking house in between the bursts of bass-driven verses.

Elsewhere, "Axis of Evil" concocts a belligerent marching pace to it akin to "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and by this point I have to wonder if Sodom did indeed look towards particular classics that they enjoy when writing this, and if it's not perhaps some thinly veiled tribute?! At any rate, nothing is so close that you could cry plagiarism, and Tom's vocals always create a varied state. I must also admit I love the bridge here with the brief bass breakdown and grooving outburst. Then the album saunters into the straight flush of "Lords of Depravity" and the grimy, huge speed metal tones that inaugurate "No Captures" before the big mosh verse. "Lay Down the Law" is super catchy, with more bass breakdowns and Tom howling all over the place, and the studio incarnation of "The Enemy Inside" (you might have heard it on One Night in Bangkok) finally arrives, though this is my least favorite track on the entire album.

Sodom is an enormous sounding record, something the band has been no stranger to in the decade leading up to it, and that contributes a long way towards its power. As for the riffing itself, it is probably not the strongest in the band's career. I mentioned that many of the songs felt derivative, which is true, but also this seems more of an attempt at creating havoc with sheer atmosphere than the intricate riffs of past classics like "Nuclear Winter", "Sodomy & Lust" or "Agent Orange". In the end, I really like the effect this produces, and it's a reliable go-to if you want to listen to this German legend without having your neck fall off at breakneck speed or your mind flayed by the storming aggression of, say, Tapping the Vein. I have no quips about naming this my favorite Sodom effort since 1990's Better Off Dead.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (their past has been divided)

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - One Night in Bangkok (2003)

With Destruction having staged their comeback live recording one year earlier (the Japan-only Alive Devastation), it was only a matter of time before the other major players of German thrash would follow suit, as the style was coming back to full, bloody bloom in the early 21st century. Now, having already acquired the two previous Sodom live offerings, I was not exactly revved up for One Night in Bangkok. Frankly, Mortal Way of Live covers just about all my needs for live Angelripper and crew, but there are a number of things working in favor of this: two discs of material clocking in at over 90 minutes length, the first live album with Bernemann on guitar, and some bonus material like the video clip for "Among the Weirdcong". Not to mention the exotic location in which it was recorded.

The set list is extensive, but it covers a huge range of the band's career. The latest album M-16 was given quite a showing here: "Among the Weirdcong", "Napalm in the Morning", "I Am the War", and "M-16" itself are all present, while Code Red also given some representation in "Code Red", "Tombstone" and "The Vice of Killing" (strange that most of the better songs from that album were not deemed worthy of a Sodom set). The band's 90s punk years are not ignored, with "Fuck the Police" ('Til Death Do Us Unite), "Masquerade in Blood" (Masquerade in Blood), "Sodomized", "Eat Me!" and "Die Stumme Ursel" (Get What You Deserve). Most importantly, they host a veritable array of classics here from the 80s: "Remember the Fallen", "Outbreak of Evil", "Agent Orange", "Sodomy & Lust", "Ausgebombt", "Witching Metal", and "Blasphemer". Rounding out the selection are "Stalinhagel" (a medley of "Bombenhagel" and "Stalinorgel"), "Der Wachturm" from Tapping the Vein, a cover of "Ace of Spades" and one new track "The Enemy Inside" which wouldn't be officially released in its studio incarnation until the 2006 s/t.

The live mix is quite solid here, about as functional as a three piece is going to get in this setting, with the rhythms cutting out for leads, but Tom compensating with the copious, distorted bass lines, but my biggest complaint would just have to be with the set list. There are a number of classics left out here, most notably "Nuclear Winter", and the band seems to have a poor choice of what to incorporate from almost any individual album. Why is "Der Wachturm" here when there were such better selections from that album? Or some of the less exciting tracks from the punk/thrash years? The set just doesn't add up, and I'd probably shear about half of it off to get to the more exciting bits. And since the track list suffers, thus does the excitement of listening through it.

I know for sure that if I was a Sodom fan in Thailand, crawling out to experience one of my favorite German bands, most likely for the first time, I'd want to damn well thrash for a few hours! Aside from a few of the givens, there's just a lot of filler padding the choices. On the whole, One Night in Bangkok is no more valuable than Marooned Live, a solid if less than enthusiastic offering which in no way is worth listening to over about 90% of the band's studio offerings. As far as their live albums go, Mortal Way of Live still reigns supreme, though even this pales to similar efforts from other bands like Destruction or Iron Maiden. I wouldn't bother with this unless you are dead set on purchasing everything in this band's catalog.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://sodomized.info/

Sodom - M-16 (2001)

I was pretty happy when my digipak of Sodom's 10th full-length arrived by post, adorned in all its camouflage glory. Surely the band were going to continue to stir the fires of warfare that they had reignited in 1999's Code Red, and to that extent, this album does not at all disappoint with its meaty rhythms and the unadulterated chaos and violence of its compositions. Bernemann's guitars sound excellent, and if we needed any more evidence that he is in fact the true successor to Frank Blackfire's period of attendance in the late 80s, this is fucking it. In fact, Kost is even more reliable and consistent in his tone and performance, even if the songs don't match up to those written during the band's apex of creativity.

M-16 centers conceptually on the Vietnam War with tracks like "Minejumper", "Marines", "Among the Weirdcong" and "Napalm in the Morning", and this is probably the right band to handle the subject. I actually don't enjoy the opener "Among the Weirdcong" all that much, the bouncing flow of the verse riffs is rather uninteresting, but they more than compensate when they blast out storms of hostility like "I Am the War", "Minejumper" and "Cannon Fodder". A good deal of the album is performed through a slower or middle tempo, with an atmospheric punk/rock frenzy returning for "Marines", or the marching substrate to "Genocide" and "Little Boy", but thankfully a lot of tracks like "Lead Injection" create a nice balance and I can't say I was ever really bored listening through the album as a complete work.

However, the album does lack when it comes to manifesting a single go-to, classic Sodom track, which even Code Red provided (several times). The obvious anger, the guitar tone, passion for the subject material and the solid Harris Johns mix all go along way towards consistency, but there are painfully few individual segments that cry out for an instant replay. The cover of The 1963 classic "Surfin' Bird" (The Trashmen) is strangely poignant here, since the original was likely something the boys in Vietnam might have listened to on the radio, and it feels like it's present more for relevance than simply 'fun'. When all the smoke has cleared, M-16 does not stand among the ranks of the band's best works. Certainly Tom Angelripper has done worse by us than what is present, but you can pick out almost any Sodom album at random (excepting Masquerade in Blood) and target some better written material. This isn't the epic, memorable Vietnam concept album that I've yet to hear in metal, but it's decent enough.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (I cannot build but I can destroy)

http://sodomized.info/