### Sodom: Epitome of torture

#### 24/05/13 || Habakuk

I’m going to get to the point right away: I think Sodom should not receive your money for this. Don’t worry, they’ll get enough. They are recording TV ads with German Schlager grands, you can stream their new album on the biggest German tabloid’s web page, the first thing you see on their website is a HUGE ad for the German equivalent to Best Buy, hosted on their own page… Yes, those are definite signs of professionalization, but that’s not even the main problem I have. After all, you can’t really blame them for leaving their tried and tested thrash path of the last years, musically. It’s more like they are losing the feel for what they do. Flirting with potential credibility-smashers as illustrated above is one symptom, the album cover gives you another idea. You can put in all the elements that supposedly make you metal and amplify them: “Let’s give the tank three turrets. Now give the main turret three guns! And Knarrenheinz’ shoulder armor should fire bullets into the sky! Thaaat’s it”. That makes for a somewhat clear statement – iconic it is not. Nor in any way relevant. It looks like one big lump of more of the same.

Admittedly, the music is not nearly as terrible as that cover, but I certainly don’t see any “future classic” potential in the material either. It’s just more guns, more turrets, more gunfire. If it didn’t have Tom Angelripper’s snarl to top it off, the material could be any other half-decent band. It’s hard to say what exactly causes the problem, too, but it definitely lies in songwriting. After all, the required elements are there, but the spark that lights them up is missing. It would be unfair to blame the departure of Bobby Schottkowski on drums, as his follow-up provides an equally solid (but not especially creative) performance. There are some great Bernemann lead sections, the choruses try their best at creating memorable slogans, but it’s hard to really remember anything apart from that. Consequentially, the only song I can really point out is “Into the skies of war” which shifts gears for once and keeps a steady midtempo. The faster numbers blend together and the production in some weird way doesn’t create enough breathing space for any attempt at thrashy rage.

Lots of steam around nothing it is. If you like the more modern, post-2000 Sodom style, everything they’ve done since the millennium outshines this album by far – not counting “The final sign of evil”, of course. A little nod to the past (reciting the “Katyusha” folk song in a short lead, like they did with the German national anthem in good old “Bombenhagel”) brings nothing to the table. It only reminds us of what a long way the originators have come, for better or for worse. And me, I’m going for some “Tapping ze vein” now. Gute Nacht.

- Information
- Released: 2013
- Label: SPV
- Website: www.sodomized.info
- Band
- Tom Angelripper: vocals, bass
- Bernemann: guitars
- Makka: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. My final bullet
- 02. S.O.D.O.M.
- 03. Epitome of torture
- 04. Stigmatized
- 05. Cannibal
- 06. Shoot today – kill tomorrow
- 07. Invocating the demons
- 08. Katjuscha
- 09. Into the skies of war
- 10. Tracing the victim