This week legendary thrash metal band Sodom released their 15th album, Decision day. Anyone who claims to be a fan of thrash knows that Sodom is one of the best trash acts out there still remaining true to their base. I was a very small thrash kid when I first had my face melted off by 1989’s Agent Orange, and it is still one of my favorite albums to this day and it pleases me to say that Sodom are still blitzkrieging through the metal scene in 2016. Band founder vocalist and bass player, Tom Angelripper, is the only remaining member of Sodom since their Agent Orange days. However it is really great to see Bernd Kost’s name on the new album, otherwise known as Bernemann, he has been in Sodom since the mid nineties and together they have really put together some definitive and epic thrash albums. You can always count on Angelripper and Kost to help you scratch that brutal itch, especially since other staples of thrash have stayed on the shelf long after their expiration date (**Cough** talkin’ to you James and Lars)
So how does Decision Day measure up to Sodom’s reputation? Over all it is the best thing out right now. The great thing about thrash is that you can get brutal and chunky without things getting too depressed like you could with black metal. The first couple of tracks on decision Day are pretty standard issue, nothing in those first few tracks really blasted my face off, until the album warmed up and started clicking into gear. The album started really kicking serious ass from the fourth track, Caligula, with it’s brooding bass lines and nice thrashy guitar riffs. At the beginning of the 5th track, Who is God?, the album is in full force. From then on out the album mixed enough thrash metal nostalgia with that cutting edge Sodom innovation that I love. The music develops a theme and by the end it has really told an explosive story, complete with blistering solos, acoustic tie-ins, drops, time changes and that trademark Angelripper scream. I am very impressed with Decision Day, and the back half of the album delivers a punch that should put them in contention for album of the year.
(Tom Angelripper, Markus “Makka” Freiwald and Bernd “Bernemann” Køst)
In my humble opinion, bands like Sodom are very few in number but they continue to hold the torch of Thrash metal high, and preserve the purity of one of my most beloved of metal sub genres. Be sure to buy this album! PAY MONEY FOR IT!
Check out tour info and ways to get the album here.
