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Reviews

SODOM - PERSECUTION MANIA - STEAMHAMMER/SPV  
Persecution Mania was Sodom's first respectable album after the two chaotic releases In The Sign Of Evil and Obsessed By Cruelty. Their sound was still simple, but a big Motörhead influence had begun to emerge, especially in Tom Angelripper's bass-playing style.
Nuclear Winter is a dated song title nowadays, but in 1987, the Cold War was still going on. The song is fast and reminiscent of Slayer's material. Electrocution features lyrics in favour of the death penalty, but it might just be for show. Iron Fist is a Motörhead cover and very close to the original, which underlines the statement made earlier. The title track has a different atmosphere and reminds one of Metallica on Kill 'Em All. Enchanted Land fires away in Slayer-like frenzy again. Procession To Golgatha is the intro to Christ Passion, a very unusual Sodom song. Its riffs are better and the drumming is more creative than on all other songs from this album, and the song is rather slow. Conjuration is plain bad, speed just for the hell of it. The original album ended with Bombenhagel. Only the chorus of the song is German, and it consists of just one word: Bombenhagel. The song itself features anti-war lyrics against the bombing of cities and has the German national anthem as a guitar solo. The new SPV version contains Outbreak Of Evil (from In The Sign Of Evil) as a bonus track and the full Expurse Of Sodomy maxi as well, namely the songs Sodomy And Lust (a band classic), The Conqueror and the Aleister Crowley-inspired My Atonement.
The album was great when it came out in 1987, but it is just too simple when measured by modern standards. - Andreas Herzog

SODOM - AGENT ORANGE - STEAMHAMMER/SPV  
Sodom had reached an elite status in the European scene with this album, but were set back for many years when guitarist Frank Gosdzik (a.k.a. Frank Blackfire) left the band for Kreator right before the subsequent tour.
Agent Orange features a loud, yet crystal-clear production by Harris Johns, and the Slayer influences have moved into the background most of the time while making room for a considerable touch of Testament. Tom's vocals are a bit more aggressive too.
The title track is a perfect opener. Solid drumming, tempo changes, great riffs - it's all there. Tired And Red continues like that, while Incest is closer to the material on Persecution Mania. Remember The Fallen is another highlight. Its mid-tempo pace and critical lyrics make it stand out. The song is dedicated to fallen soldiers from all wars in human history. Magic Dragon begins with similar drum patterns to Christ Passion, but is a bit weaker than the rest of the songs. Exhibition Bout moves into fast territory again and is as close to Slayer as it gets. Ausgebombt was released as a single and features a German one-word chorus again: Ausgebombt (bombed out, which means that a family's house had been destroyed by bombs - they were bombed out of it; but it also means that the bombing is supposed to be over). The song is another homage to Motörhead: bass intro and vocals sound very much like Lemmy. Needless to say that it is an anti-war song: "No trade with death / no trade with arms / dispense the war / learn from the past". Baptism Of Fire is fast, but unspectacular. Don't Walk Away is 100% punk. I could swear that it is a cover version, but it seems to be a Sodom song.
To cut a long story short: Agent Orange still is the best Sodom album ever. - Andreas Herzog

SODOM - M-16 - STEAMHAMMER
Among The Weirdcong kicks off M-16 in solid fashion. This isn't a signal that Sodom is back but rather the band never went away. What an exhilarating album; M-16 is uncle Tom and his platoon, in true Motorhead style, marching on with a handful of devotees never asking for mass appeal. Napalm In The Morning is inspired by Apocalypse Now and is a mid-paced belter that puts catchiness and thrash in the same basket. Can you hear the wild concert chant, Napalm In The Morning...? Minejumper is faster and thrashes all over the place with the Rob Urbinati snarl that Angelripper trademarked so long ago. Marines is an odd ode to the US Marines ironically using the age old excuse that war facilitates peace, blah blah for a band whose Agent Orange album remains a seminal anti-war album. Save for the first two releases from the mid-eighties Sodom has been a steady rock in German metal. While Kreator's efforts were up and down (mostly down) in a drug-induced roller coaster and Destruction wimped itself to oblivion, Sodom has been rock solid belting out the thrashing war for years. Good for them too for M-16 kills!

SODOM - LORDS OF DEPRAVITY PART I (2DVD) - SPV   
Professionally packaged and complete with two detailed booklets Lords Of Depravity is a much worked on and record label delayed double DVD. With this release Sodom have done a fantastic job producing a historical record. Historical Depravity, a three-hour documentary, is as in depth as one can expect on a limited budget. Told through commentary from band members and many others like Lemmy and Kreator’s Mille not only does one get Sodom’s story but also something about the metal scene in general. Thankfully for non-German fans English subtitles are provided making it worth watching and following the whole documentary. The documentary takes a year by year look at the band and upon watching one of the clearest impressions are the influences and transformations of Sodom, starting from Motörhead-ish beginnings to adapting a more aggressive and perhaps satanic style ala Venom and then moving towards a more political and social stance. The second DVD features three promotional videos in Ausgebombt, Silence Is Consent and Die Stumme Ursel and over 20 songs recorded live at various festivals and shows like Wacken and in Sofia, Bulgaria to name a couple. Certainly a big undertaking by Sodom to compile this and release a record that covers as much as this does. Their history is not unlike other, German, metal bands of their era and as far as the current trend of DVD releases go Lords Of Depravity is easily a stand out. - Anna Tergel

SODOM - same - SPV   
Here is an interesting coincidence; Blood On Your Lips is the opening track on the new Sodom album and the name of a demo from Abhorrent, which was the band Sodom’s old axe man Frank Blackfire played with in Brazil. It must be the six degrees of separation. That peculiarity excluded, Sodom is what the fans expect, nothing more and nothing less. While bands fade away or change style and sell themselves and their fans out Sodom/Tom Angelripper keeps chugging those heavy/thrash metal albums almost non-stop. Of course, it has been several years since the band’s last album, which probably means a bigger than usual demand for new Sodom material. Tom’s vocals are as vicious and angry as ever, the lyrics political (a few titles are Bibles And Guns, Axis Of Evil and Buried In The Justice Ground) and opinionated and the music violent. The album has its share of melody, as on City Of God, but the same track also packs a lot of action, dynamics and heavy rhythm. The lead is just vintage Sodom. Buried In The Justice Ground is even catchy; while Wanted Dead has a blues break in its middle. That is it though. The album goes about its business Sodom style and for once a band just thrashes ahead to the appreciation of its fans. - Anna Tergel

SODOM - THE FINAL SIGN OF EVIL - SPV  
This release is a completely re-recorded version of 1984’s In The Sign Of Evil EP with seven songs, all written around the same time as the EP, added to make it a full-length. In the hope of allowing the listener to re-live old times both Grave Violator and Chris Witchhunter have re-joined Tom Angelripper with the intent of capturing every aspect, including the raw production, of the old. The opener, Sin Of Sodom, has the familiar sound, and is clearly of the same stuff as the originally released Blasphemer that follows it, though it would do better with the speed of the latter. The second of the unreleased tracks, Bloody Corpse mostly follows the same path as the opener. Witching Metal is a good representation of what made Sodom. Sons Of Hell is the third of the unreleased tracks and a reminder that the band was of the same vein as Venom. Burst Command 'Til War paves the way for Where Angels Die which itself offers a bit of variety in the vocal department. Sepulchral Voice precedes Hatred Of The Gods and Ashes To Ashes. And finally Outbreak Of Evil takes the listener to the closer and last of the bonus tracks, Defloration, which features a bit more of the screaming thrashy vocals heard earlier. - Anna Tergel


Interviews
Will Sodom ever tour with Gomorrah? Is Sodomy And Lust an album's title or a way to live one's life? Is Uncle Tom Angelripper really anyone's uncle and does he really rip angels apart? Ali "The Metallian" did not pose any of these questions during his conversation with Sodom's founder, but he did find time to ask whether the man does feel like a grandfather. - 25.04.2006

METALLIAN: Tom, thank you for your time. The obvious question today concerns the lengthy gap between the new album, simply entitled Sodom, and its studio predecessor, which was called M-16.
TOM: You are right because M-16 was released in 2001. It has partly to do with the Lords Of Depravity Part I DVD we were working on. It also has to do with the record company and the 'options' in the contract. It took them a bit too long to give us the green light for a new album. They were also waiting for the DVD. In the end, I am satisfied with the album and our new DVD.
Sodom is able to release an album every year, but we always have to wait for the record company.

METALLIAN: Did you spend an extraordinary length of time on the DVD?
TOM: At first, the record company's idea was to record just a show in Germany - and we taped our 2001 show at Wacken - and to add a back stage interview. When I talked to our producer he thought that would not be enough for Sodom. He told me that Sodom is a cult band that was formed in 1982 and that we have so much to tell and that there is so much material to use. So we put everything together to make a historical documentary. The next step was to get all the material. I am not a Sodom collector. I have nothing at all. We had to contact former members and other guys. We then had hundreds of video tapes, cassettes and pictures. It was a lot of work. I also went to Berlin for a week to edit it, then do some shows with Sodom, then to rehearsals and this caused the gap between the albums.

METALLIAN: Would you consider yourself hands-on to the point of being dictatorial?
TOM: Yes, yes. I have to be there. I know other bands have cases full of tapes and they give it to the company and tell the label to make a DVD. We are one of the earlier bands and I have to be there when the editor is cutting something or creating the chronological order. It is a must that I be there.

METALLIAN: When is the next DVD being released?
TOM: I don't want to promise because the current one took a long time. It has a running time of five hours. The next one will be the same. It will be about the new line-up, it will have a tour documentary and a road film. I hope it will be out in February or March of next year.

METALLIAN: Could the next video potentially delay your next album by a couple of years?
TOM: Yeah, because we also have to write material for a new Sodom album. I also don't know when SPV is prepared to release a new album with us. We don't mind because we keep doing our music, we write new songs and rehearse twice a week. It is not a kind of job for me. I hope to release a new album next year too, but we have to see how successful the current one is.

METALLIAN: Customarily, bands release self-titled albums either because they feel it is their definitive work or because they are out of ideas...
TOM: ...no, no, those are not the reasons. You cannot compare our Sodom album to Metallica's 'Black' album or whatever. When I got the original cover artwork I took it to the other band members and Bobby asked why we needed a title. After all, there is no special message behind it. The new album is the tenth anniversary of this line-up and we celebrate it without a special message.

METALLIAN: What about the more melodious nature of the music?
TOM: It just happened. We never go to rehearsal and talk about our next move. Our rehearsal room is a jam session. It is a couple of beers and a jam. At the same time, you cannot compare this album to the last album, M-16. This time we just wrote guitar riffs based on better vocals. Sometimes I have lyrics and sometimes we write them when we record. We did try to get some better chorus lines though. We wanted songs you wouldn't forget. The newer songs are killer live too.

METALLIAN: On another note, would you agree with the notion that you are something of a grandfather or a godfather to the thrash metal scene? After all, you are already an uncle.
TOM: Erm, I don't feel like a grandfather! I am not sixty-years old. I am 43. It makes me feel proud a little. I know we influenced many younger bands with our music, but our music is now fresh again. This music is a product of the '80s and I am proud that we are still alive without any breaks or stoppage. There is no reunion. We have constantly been in the scene since 1982. That is why people respect us.

METALLIAN: Here is a question that has come up at Metallian Towers before and it would be just the thing to get an answer from the horse's mouth. Is Sodom a right-wing band or are you leaning left?
TOM: That is a really stupid question. We have never been a right- wing band or whatever. I am not politically involved in anything. We always just describe things. I describe the World Trade Centre and so on.
In Germany, I prefer the Social Democratic party. That is what I want. We are from the working class. My father was in SPD and so were all the coal miners. I talk about my SPD Partei Buch (party membership book) in the DVD. We don't have anything to do with any fascist bands or right radical scenes. We have so many problems in Germany. We get a little bit of money from the government. These have nothing to do with the lyrics though. You will never find political opinion if you read between the lines of our lyrics.

METALLIAN: Many people were dismayed to find Sodom praising US Marines on the M-16 album.
TOM: People told me I glorified the marines. I don't think so. It is a song for the marines because they are good soldiers. I was in the German military too. I like to look at Vietnam war movies and stuff. Americans glorify the Marines, but I am just a German. For me, it was just a song title. Violence and war are really stupid, but they make good song titles.

METALLIAN: Does it bother you currently that the SPD has nearly been banished in Germany at the moment?
TOM: Yes, our new chancellor is from the right-wing CDU. The states are all CDU. That's really stupid. There is a lot of fascist and nationalistic parties in eastern Germany. They are seeing success because people see it as a protest. They choose these, whatever, republican, national, whatever party, but those guys are really stupid.
I played live with my other band, Uncle Tom which plays German drinking songs, two weeks ago and we had skinheads at the show. I didn't mind though. There was no problem because we had 400 headbangers and three skinheads. The promoter came and told me to kick them out of the club. I told the promoter you let them in! I never kick someone out. It can't be a problem. It was 3 against 400.

METALLIAN: Is your side band still active?
TOM: Yes, it is a fun band for special live purposes. We might also release an album next year. Alex is busy with Desperados and is touring. He also lives 400 kilometers away from me. I also have to find more time. Alex does send me stuff as mp3, but I hate it. I think bands should get together in a rehearsal room. I also want to produce an 'Uncle Tom' album for myself. I need to find a serious record company first though.

METALLIAN: Going back to Sodom, how would you compare the band's status and sales to the late '80s around the time of the release of albums like Agent Orange?
TOM: We are selling less. You cannot compare us now with Sodom of 1988. We sold 100,000 copies of Agent Orange just in Germany. We cannot reach those numbers anymore. I think the problem is that the metal scene is getting too big in Germany. There are hundreds of new bands coming out every week. There are so many festivals and tours. Who has the money to buy all this stuff? CD prices are really high as well. You have to pay 18 or 20 Euros for a CD. The problem is not the Internet either. The problem is the price politics of the record companies. Fans have 20 Euros and they have to choose what to do with it. I don't think Blind Guardian is selling more than the past either.

METALLIAN: Do you think the German metal scene is hitting a ceiling because, while the press has always been there, radio and television has remained closed to heavy metal?
TOM: Yes, but sometimes I miss the support of the magazines too. There are big rock and metal magazines in Germany. They disappoint me though because the cover photographs are of Rammstein, Nightwish or Böhse Onkelz. These are not metal bands. These are commercial bands. I talked to the editor of one of the magazines and he said that they sell more magazines if they put Rammstein on the cover. That is the big difference between now and the '80s in Germany. The metal scene is too commercial. Everyone wants to make money from metal. They use bands like Onkelz to sell more metal magazines. I am really sad because Sodom is really a metal band. We have to get more support from magazines, from radio stations, we have to get more respect for what we did and for the last 20 years. That is what I miss sometimes. It is not the metal scene of the '80s; it is the metal scene for making money. It is about merchandise, the people who sell beer at festivals... if you go to Wacken as a fan you will spend 300 Euros. Everyone wants to make the big money. Who can pay? A couple of bands sell T-shirts for 50 Euros. That is 100 old German Marks, you know? Most metal fans don't have money or are unemployed. That is a problem with the business in Germany.

METALLIAN: Along these lines there was talk of a Sodom, Destruction and Kreator tour of North America a couple of years ago, but that apparently fell apart because you were asking for too much money. Destruction and Kreator made it over together. Can you comment on this?
TOM: We wanted to do it, but I cannot go to America for six weeks and not make money. I cannot understand why you don't get money for touring in North America. I get money when I play a show in Germany. When I play in America I get nothing. They say you have to buy your merchandise and you make your money that way. So where does the money from the tickets go? That is why I cannot do an American tour. They tell me I can tour America, but I wont get paid. When I come home what do I tell my children? I am married and I have a small house. They want me to come home from a tour without any money in my pocket. My family will say why do you tour when you have to feed your family and pay for the house?
Schmier, of Destruction for example, does not have a family. He is on his own in another country. He doesn't need a lot of money. Mille is the same. He is always on the road. It is different if I want to go on tour. I don't need $1,000 for a show, but I need a total of a couple of thousand dollars when I come back from a six-week tour. It is not a job to make money from, it is my passion, but I need a little bit of money to live. That is the reality. I never talk about a lot of money. I have to have a little money, pay the rest of the band, the road crew and all that. I do not tour if they do not guarantee me something. I do everything the contract says, I give a good show and I make the fans happy. I cannot come back from a tour and work in a coal mine again. We can't have it so the promoter makes all the money and the band gets nothing. This happens only in the USA. I get money when I go to Brazil, South America and that area. I get paid when I play in Russia and Japan. I played in Bangkok and people don't have money there. They are poor, but they paid me for the show, for the hotel and the drinks. America is rich, the promoters have money and the club is sold out, but they don't pay the band! We want to come to North America, but I need a promoter who is serious.
You know, Kreator, Destruction and Sodom are different bands and we each go our own way. Still, Schmier is my good friend and it is my dream to get all three bands to tour North America together like we did in Europe. Kreator and Destruction have been successful alone though. They toured together and then went out with support bands. I think the time will come though for the fans there to see us all together on one stage.

Singer and bassist Tom Angelripper, guitarist Bernemann and drummer Bobby Schottkowski will be busy in the coming months following the release of the current album with festival appearances, a European tour and a full-length DVD. For more information peruse the band's site at www.sodomized.info.

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