Artist: Sodom
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2010
Running time: 47:25
Rating: 4.5/5
What can we say or write about the legends of German thrash Sodom that you haven’t already managed to read or hear through the pretty rich oral tradition of your older metal buddies, comrades-in-arms and connoisseurs of lexicographic trivia, assuming the genre is close to your heart, of course? This year marks a full 29 years since they set themselves the sacred mission of making primal thrash metal the German blitzkrieg way, and after a dozen outstanding releases, this year brings album number thirteen, the record In War And Pieces!
German precision can’t fail, whether we’re talking about cars or the standard-bearers of the holy trinity of Teutonic thrash – Kreator, Destruction and the Gelsenkirchen trio Sodom. The latter, with their leaning toward a more death metal-ish racket, sparked inspiration in countless black metal, death-thrash and generally more robust metal souls (and bands). After the irrevocable departure of longtime drummer Bobby Schottkowski (due to “personal and private problems”), bassist and vocalist Thomas Such (yes, Onkel Tom, a.k.a. Tom Angelripper) and guitarist Bernd Bernemann Kost have this year welcomed a new destroyer of drumheads into the fold – Markus Makka Freiwald. But before that happened, Sodom, together with Schottkowski, sealed the chapter of their collaboration in the studio with an exceptional record. What marks it out is the superb production under the baton of Polish producer Waldemar Sorychta, who has so far left his stamp on albums by Samael, Trail Of Tears and plenty of others. The tension, if any such thing can be detected in what you hear, they channeled creatively into a run of eleven sharp sonic attacks on your ears. The opening track In War And Pieces shows that, 30 years of making music notwithstanding, Sodom find their way around their battlefield better and better, and that they won’t be taking any limp compromises (if they ever did) this time either. Instead, they cement and concrete their status as giants of European thrash with an explosion of monstrous riffs, so massive that while listening you almost forget this is the work of just three seasoned old tomcats. In War And Pieces detonates juicily and leaves a deep crater of destruction behind it. Kreator have kicked their way into the dark since then, and so have Celtic Frost, Slayer and ancient Venom, while Sodom can’t be accused of a single unimaginative, qualitatively underfed release. There are plenty of echoes of the golden age of Agent Orange, the most prominent among them undoubtedly the turbocharged sharpness of Feigned Death Throes, and the flawlessness weaves from the first track to the last. Sodom have forged such a solid monolith of sound that it’s practically impossible to find any soft tissue or anything even remotely rotten in its structure. The record is, no, I’m not exaggerating, perfect in every respect, as befits veterans of the thrasher alliance. Melody and heavyweight salvos of metronome-precise blasting, plus once again above-average production, sexy overtures (for instance on Through Toxic Veins)or relentless bursts of rhythm and riffs (a textbook example is Nothing Counts More Than Blood)are just one side of the seismic thunder. The lyrical celebration of blasphemy, violence, war and the torn state of humanity, which is losing the last inch of decency, dignity and harmony from under its feet, also leaves a distinctive patina of its own. In the tightly packed trenches of this musical massacre there’s plenty of room for the expected run of Sodom standards, both musically and lyrically – all of it, of course, drenched in phenomenal eruptions of top-notch solos. There’s enough of everything here, really, for pretty much anything you could want!
The constant of a devastating wall of sound, fueled by Schottkowski’s drumming, Bernemann’s razor-sharp guitar and Angelripper’s juicy, furious bass and vocals, pushes you into a state of mental absence, and that’s why you’ll quite naturally write In War and Pieces onto your list of the ten best metal releases of 2010. Sweet Sodom are, despite these unpredictable times, one of the rare constants of predictability and phenomenal satisfaction. For the perfect thrasher erection you don’t need to be an astrophysicist or drone on with litanies. And Sodom know that damn well, and for the thirteenth time running they prove it empirically!
This review was made in collaboration between Rock Hard Slovenija and RockLine.
Line-up
Tom Angelripper – bass, vocals
Bernemann – guitar
Bobby Schottkowski – drums
Production
Waldemar Sorychta
Tracklist
1. In War and Pieces
2. Hellfire
3. Through Toxic Veins
4. Nothing Counts More Than Blood
5. Storm Raging Up
6. Feigned Death Throes
7. Soul Contraband
8. God Bless You
9. The Art of Killing Poetry
10. Knarrenheinz
11. Styptic Parasite
