Country: Germany
Genre: Thrash metal
Full Length: The Arsonist
Format: CD, vinyl, digital
Label: Steamhammer
Release date: June 27, 2025
What more can I say about Sodom than I already have? To this day I still remember them as the band I initially (and briefly, I might add) disliked but grew to love.
Going back again to "In the Sign of Evil," that EP is either loved or despised, but someone had to impart those songs with the chaotic wickedness they contain. Without it, they wouldn’t have evolved their own personality or had long-term inspiration on thrash and black metal bands. If they’d been cautious and tried to tone it down, they wouldn’t have created a sound and attitude that is now considered iconic.
Today, they manage to retain the Crowleyan esoteric temperament, metaphysics, and mythology Tom Angelripper that suffused “Obsessed by Cruelty” with. This characteristic, their precision and lyrical intensity, and Angelripper’s slightly punk meets Motorhead disposition and slightly beer soaked pub crawler vocals, is still evident in their native Germany and the worldwide resurrection of thrash metal.
My enthusiasm for Sodom prompted me to listen to their most recent full-length “The Arsonist” as soon as I had a chance. They generally haven’t lessened what has given them distinction to thrash fans since the eighties. Their grand, regal coarseness I’ve noted persists, perhaps more firmly imprinted with more sophistication after their studio and live experience.
Would you expect anything less than outrageous irreverence from a band founded within their country's working class and titled after the biblical town where many taboos were broken? A perfect example is the track "Witchhunter," a tribute to their former drummer Chris Witchhunter, who passed away in 2008, and demonstrates the influence his aggressive, frenzied drumming still has on Sodom's sound.
The intensity, accuracy and intricate solos Frank Blackfire brought to the band were no less significant, and they stiff fit now that he's part of the lineup again. You'd swear its ferocity and blender bass was in their repertoire for longer. Their embracing of gruesome, bloody and unpleasant imagery propels "The Arsonist" as much as it did "Til Death Do Us Unite," "M-16," "Decision Day," and "Genesis XIX."
Their ages ranging from late 30s to early 60s, they're not presenting a throwback mood or attempting to relive previous triumphs. They’re channeling their effort into composing hook-laden guitar progressions with greater focus on thrashy and mid-tempo portions rather of the all-out speed they’re known for. Composing in this fashion, knowing the limitations that come with age, and proceeding accordingly is allowing them to subsume more additional creativity and imagination.
The unclean musicianship, and increased amount of thought out riffs in their songwriting, enriches their old-school flavor, pushes past age restrictions, and demonstrates another side of Sodom’s capabilities. In other words, "The Arsonist" does not sound like a band that is fading and losing its fire; rather, it sounds like something fresh from a band making do with what they have and crafting the best songs they can, displaying something that they had not displayed before.
And this was always the incentive for sticking to their guns, playing what they felt and keeping it fresh, as opposed to mainstream bands that hopped on trends and faded away after a few years. Sticking to formula was not stagnation for them; rather, it was establishing their position in the history of German thrash and thrash in general. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Tom Angelripper: Bass, vocals
Frank Blackfire: Guitar
Yorck Segatz: Guitar
Toni Merkel: Drums
Track list:
1. The Arsonist
2. Battle Of Harvest Moon
3. Trigger Discipline
4. The Spirits That I Called
5. Witchhunter
6. Scavenger
7. Gun Without Groom
8. Taphephobia
9. Sane Insanity
10. A.W.T.F
11. Twilight Void
12. Obliteration Of The Aeons
13. Return To God In Parts
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