SODOM
“DECISION DAY”
Album Review By Iron Mathew
10/10
Sodom are a thrash metal band from Germany formed in 1981 releasing an E.P. in 1984 and their first full length album in 1986. Along with their countrymen Destruction, Kreator, Tankard and Exumer, Sodom helped to evolve the sound of German thrash metal, a rough and tough, aggressive and raw, in your face style. Since their first album, Sodom have released a further thirteen studio albums and four live albums. Album number sixteen, ‘Decision Day’ was released in 2016.
‘In Retribution’ opens the new album in thunderously aggressive style, sounding like a herd of stampeding rhino, showing no mercy as they rampage on. Guitars are chopping furiously, an aggressive, throaty, gravel edged rasp vocal delivery and Sodom are on fire. Guitar driven ‘Rolling Thunder’ buzzes and bristles with energy as the song forges a path of destruction through the airways. Title song ‘Decision Day’ is a storming blend of thrash and power metal with a hint of speed too. Racing like a rocket, ‘Decision Day’ sees lead vocalist and founding member Tom Angelripper delivering a superb vocal performance. Early Sodom bordered on the death metal genre and you can detect a hint of the death metal vocal style on the album. ‘Decision Day’ also has one of the best guitar solos on the album to boot.
Continuing the brutal thrash assault ‘Caligula’ is an explosive romp that rattles on and on and will have the mosh pit in a furious frenzy. ‘Caligula’ is a head banger’s dream of a song. Sodom are masters of punchy, brutal and aggressive songs that get you pumped and the adrenaline flowing. So get your heads banging and your fists in the air and go wild as ‘Who Is God?’ whips up a frenzied storm of power and passion. Probably the best song on the album to head bang furiously to. ‘Strange Lost World’ is the first slower song on the album and is a majestic foot stomp of very heavy riffs and thundering drums. Also, the vocal delivery becomes a bit cleaner too, although there is still plenty of growls and gruffness in there too. Increasing the pace with a superb guitar riff of an intro ‘Vaginal Born Evil’ will have you head banging so hard you may well need a shitload of aspirin, well, only the weak will…
Rocket fuelled and explosive is the opening minutes of ‘Belligerence’ before a dramatic slow down and the heaviest fucking foot stomp you could ever imagine takes over, before BANG and the song takes off at a hundred miles an hour. ‘Belligerence’ swings effortlessly between these two styles and is an epic thrash/melodic death metal song. Out and out thrash in abundance as ‘Blood Lions’ flies by like a small jet plane off to war. Thundering at breakneck speed ‘Blood Lions’ is a furious thrash metal assault on the senses. Sodom have really excelled themselves here and this is turning into one of the albums of the year. Mid tempo thrash with an in your face attitude sees ‘Sacred Warpath’ take control of the airways and slaps you around the head with its aggression. A superb album comes to an end with ‘Refused To Die’ incorporating acoustic elements and a very heavy doom laden stomp. Only for the first minute though…hitting hard, ‘Refused To Die’ switches style and becomes the aggressive, raw and brutal style that we have come to expect from Sodom.
Overall, full on aggressive and brutal thrash metal played at a furious pace that will have you head banging wildly and for a very long time.
TRACKLIST
In Retribution
Rolling Thunder
Decision Day
Caligula
Who Is God?
Strange Lost World
Vaginal Born Evil
Belligerence
Blood Lions
Sacred Warpath
Refused To Die
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