On disc: Sodom

 
 Masquerade In Blood
 
-  Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
 'til Death Do Us Unite
 
-  Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
 In War And Pieces
 
- Carsten Bahr -
 
 


 
 In War And Pieces
 
- Mike Thompson -
 
 

In War And Pieces

(SPV - 2010)



 
 

 

2010 and Teutonic thrash titans Sodom unleash their latest opus of destruction upon the metal world! This is Sodom's fourteenth studio album and one might wonder if, after nearly thirty years of distributing chronic whiplash whether Sodom have anything new to provide. Lets see shall we?

Well, to be frankly honest with you this album provides absolutely nothing new. Sodom fans will love it. Those who don't like Sodom will be bored by it. Does this make it a bad album? Hell no! You see, the thing about Sodom is that, like their death metal equivalent Bolt Thrower, they have refined their sound over the years whilst never veering from their chosen path. The Sodom you hear today is still the same dirty, raw, beer-stained Sodom that started back in the distant eighties!

The eleven songs on this album are all short and sweet hammer blows of thrash metal that will cave your skull in. The duration of each song is just perfect with none seeming too long or too short and this goes for the length of the album as a whole too! 47 minutes of bone-sawing thrash!

We all know that Sodom are very capable musically but its still a pleasure to hear that Tom Angelripper's snarl is in fine fettle, as is his chugging bass. Konrad 'Bobby' Schottkowski's drumming is suitably blasting and the guitars courtesy of Bernemann spew forth crushing riffs and intricate solos with abandon.

Its so great to hear one of the legendary thrash bands do something this good. An absolute killer of an album with no filler at all. This is what I expect from a veteran band. Thank you, Sodom, for delivering in spades!

 
 










Mike Thompson


  
up 













In War And Pieces

(SPV - 2010)



 
 

 

After 4 years without an album - just the DVD Lords Of Depravity Part 2 -, Sodom are back with a new album. The trio hooked up with producer Waldemar Sorychta (Tiamat, Lacuna Coil, The Very End and Moonspell) who gave them a powerful, crystal clear sound and so Sodom sound fresh and less old school then in the past. Especially the drums are more powerful and guitarist Bernemann shows some pieces which you don't often find at Sodom albums. Tom sings a wee bit higher, more grim and is varying more and he sounds really pissed! Long time friends shouldn't hesitate, coz the three thrash veterans stick to their roots, but sound a little different. Die-hard fans should dig the new tracks.... They kick off with the atmospheric groover In War And Pieces which will hook you up with thundering double bass drums at the chorus, great lead guitar parts and towards the end they push down the accelerator. Next in line two brutal thrashers called Hellfire and Through Toxic Veins which have memorable refrains and should work well live and I have no doubt they will make it onto the set list. The right soundtrack for a major mosh pit. A hymnic tune is Nothing Counts More Than Blood, a song which offers speed changes and diverse guitar play including some classic heavy metal elements. Storm Raging Up is another mean thrash track with a refrain to sing along. Quite atmospheric is Feigned Death Troes and Tom's bawl is a bit deeper. Soul Contraband is combining all elements you'll find at this album incl. groove passages, fast thrash riffing and Tom's varying vocals. The song is a bit darker, but also a bit more bulky then the others. With God Bless You they offer a more melodic track with double bass drum, but unfortunately this one can't keep the high level. Another bulky one is The Art Of Killing Poetry, but it's a grower. Knarrenheinz is a song in the tradition of Ausgebombt, the track with German lyrics has the potential to become one of the bands hits - and will be killer live. Superb thrash metal! A simple, but straight forward thrasher. The album ends with the rock-based Stypic Parasite and The Saw Is The Law which is based on double-bass drumming. No doubt, Sodom 2010 is still delivering a killer thrash album and show that they can still keep up with younger thrash bands. Actually In War And Pieces makes young bands look pale!

 
 










Carsten Bahr

(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
up 













'til Death Do Us Unite

(G.U.N. Records - 1997)



 
 

 

At least on the new album 'Til Death Do Us Unite Sodom are back to their own style after the last release was... well.... Lyrically con­trivers as ever with songs like Fuck The Police, Hanging Judge and Gisela. The album was produced at the Gelsenkirchen-based RA.SH Studio and after 6 years Harris Johns is back as their producer. The new album is more the classic 80's trash metal. A typical Sodom album which can be compared with Agent Orange! Cool!!!
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
up 










Masquerade In Blood

(Steamhammer - 1995)



 
 

 

Even if they have a new member - Strahli - in the band, Sodom stick to their sound / identity. They have again German songs on the album Masquerade In Blood - the German tracks are legendary. But I have to mention that Verrecke and Mantelmann don't have the quality of Bombenhagel, Ausgebombt and Die stumme Ursel. For me this is the weakest album of Tom Angelripper & co.!

Perhaps the material on Tom's solo project will be better... Let's wait and see.
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
up 





 
           ©2008-2015 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com