Sodom (band)

Sodom
Sodom at Rockharz 2018
General information
origin	Gelsenkirchen , Germany
Genre (s)	Thrash metal , speed metal
founding	1982
Website	http://www.sodomized.info/
Founding members
Vocals , bass	Thomas "Tom Angelripper" Such
guitar	Frank "Aggressor" Testegen (until 1984)
Drums	Christian "Chris Witchhunter" Dudek (until 1992; † 2008)
Current occupation
Vocals, bass	Thomas "Tom Angelripper" Such
guitar	Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (1987–1989, since 2018)
guitar	Yorck Segatz (since 2018)
Drums	Toni Merkel (since 2020)
former members
guitar	Josef Peppi "Grave Violator" Dominic (1984–1986)
guitar	Michael "Destructor" Wulf (1986; † 1993)
guitar	Michael Hoffmann (1990-1991)
guitar	Andy Brings (1991-1994)
guitar	Dirk "Strahli" Strahlmeier (1995; † 2011)
guitar	Bernd "Bernemann" Kost (1996-2018)
Drums	Guido "Atomic Steif" Richter (1992–1995)
Drums	Konrad "Bobby" Schottkowski (1996-2010)
Drums	Markus "Makka" Freiwald (2010-2018)
Drums	Stefan "Husky" Hüskens (2018-2020)
Live support
guitar	Uwe Baltrusch (European tour: 1989)

Sodom is a thrash metal - band from Gelsenkirchen . They are among the pioneers and at the same time, alongside creator and destruction, one of the most successful representatives of the German metal scene. Their extreme way of playing also influences many of today's thrash, death and black metal bands.

Band history

Sodom was founded in 1982 by Tom Angelripper , real name Thomas Such (bass and vocals), Chris Witchhunter , real name Christian Dudek (drums), and Aggressor, real name Frank Testegen (guitar). In the beginning, “being together and drinking beer [...] were more important than trying to make music”. With their two demos, Witching Metal and Victims of Death , they quickly gained the international reputation of being one of the most aggressive metal bands through fanzines . In 1984 the band got their first record deal with the Steamhammer record company . Aggressor left the band before the first mini-LP In the Sign of Evil was recorded and was replaced by Josef "Grave Violator" Dominic. He didn't stay long either, Michael "Destructor" Wulf took his position. With him the band played their first album Obsessed by Cruelty . (Destructor was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1993.)

International rise

In 1987 the band found in the metal scene of Essen-Altenessen , which was one of the busiest in the Ruhr area, in Frank Blackfire , bourgeois Frank Gosdzik, a guitarist whose playing skills made the band move forward. First the EP Expurse of Sodomy was recorded in the Berlin Music Lab Studios. It was here that Sodom worked for the first time with their long-time producer Harris Johns . In the same year, Persecution Mania, the band's second album, was released, which is considered a stepping stone to international success. The Knarrenheinz , emblazoned on the album cover, also became a symbol of Sodom in the following years. In 1988 the band went on a longer European tour with Whiplash for the first time. On this tour, the first live album Mortal Way of Live and the accompanying live video were recorded. This so-called sodomania tour was designed as a purely promotional tour without a fee.

Agent Orange

The year 1989 began with a Metalmania concert in Katowice , Poland , the biggest ever in the history of Sodom, in front of over 12,000 metal fans. Back in Germany, the band recorded their third album Agent Orange under Harris Johns . The album reached number 36 in the national album charts. It was the first ever chart listing for a Thrash Metal band in Germany. Ausgebombt was released as a single , which can be heard on the single version with German lyrics. Bela B. von Die Ärzte , a big Sodom fan for years, played a duet on this title . Guitarist Frank Blackfire and the rest of the band already distanced themselves from each other during the recording of Agent Orange , which finally culminated in his departure three weeks before the upcoming European tour. He switched to Kreator . In a very difficult time, Uwe Baltrusch from the progressive / thrash metal band Mekong Delta was recruited as session guitarist for the tour. Sepultura played as the opening act for the first time in Europe.

Development from 1990

As a new, permanent employees guitarist to put Michael Hoffmann one which already on the album The Interstellar Experience of Assassin participated. This was followed by the recording of the new studio album Better Off Dead , whereby the band moved very far away from the Agent Orange sound. Better Off Dead is a classic, monumental metal album, which, in addition to fast Thrash titles such as Bloodtrails, also melancholy sounds (e.g. Resurrection , which is dedicated to the late father Tom Angelrippers) and two cover versions ( Turn Your Head Around by Tank and Cold Sweat by Thin Lizzy ). The band toured Japan for the first time with Better Off Dead . After the tour, Hoffmann got out again and was replaced by Andy Brings, a young guitarist unknown in the scene. The next album, Tapping the Vein, contained Wachturm for the first time, a German-language song by the band in which they turned against Jehovah's Witnesses .

After this album, Chris Witchhunter was released from the band due to personal and musical differences. A replacement was quickly found in Guido “Atomic Steif” Richter, who already played in Living Death and Violent Force . Apart from their usual style, the band covered Udo Juergens ' But please with cream! , after that they released the album Get What You Deserve , which was very punky . With Awake and Die stumme Ursel two German-language songs were represented. With the song Silence Is Consent presented as a video clip, which accuses the killing of threatened whales, a further subject area was opened up. Subsequently, the second live album Marooned with the accompanying live VHS Live was published in the Zeche Carl . The recording is from the 10-year anniversary party in Essen.

The album Masquerade in Blood (1996) is a return to Thrash Metal of the Agent Orange era. Andy Brings had to leave the band and was replaced by guitarist Dirk "Strahli" Strahlmeier, who was imprisoned shortly after the recordings for Masquerade in Blood . After Atomic Steif left, Angelripper was the only member. Atomic Steif referred to Sodom in retrospect as a band consisting of Angelripper and guest musicians; Angelripper decided what material to use for Sodom, and the pay was so ridiculous that Atomic Steif would have earned more in a month in a good job than in two years at Sodom. Angelripper needs the money because he has a wife and a daughter, and as a person he is a "funny guy", but not a fair partner.

Bernd Kost at Rockavaria 2016

Current occupation

Tom Angelripper ( Rockharz , 2018)

After short solo excursions with Uncle Tom , Angelripper found a new Sodom line-up with drummer Bobby Schottkowski and guitarist Bernd “Bernemann” Kost . The following Til Death Do Us Unite (1997) should go back clearly to the origins, but only with Code Red (1999) and M-16 (2001) a much harder orientation of Sodom became recognizable. A tour through Germany with the two thrash greats Kreator and Destruction was a great success. All three bands took turns headlining the post. In 2003, after a tour of Asia, the live album One Night was released in Bangkok . In 2005, Lords of Depravity will be followed by a double DVD which, in addition to a live performance, also contains a two-hour band documentation. All former and living band members, except Strahli, whose whereabouts were unknown, were interviewed. Witchhunter, in particular, was still very hurt on the DVD about the nature of his exit. In addition to the musicians, other scene veterans such as Peavy Wagner and Hansi Kürsch , but also international superstars such as Lemmy Kilmister and Chris Barnes gave information about their views on Sodom. In 2006 the album Sodom was released . In 2007 the band celebrated their 25th anniversary at the Wacken Open Air . Almost all former members of the band were present at the performance. At the end of the year a completely new recording of the debut EP was released under the title The Final Sign of Evil . In addition to the pieces from the EP from that time, demo songs are also included on the CD. As a special feature, the album was recorded in the old line-up with Grave Violator and Chris Witchhunter.

The band's MySpace page announced on September 8, 2008 that Chris Witchhunter had died the night before as a result of a long-standing alcoholic illness . For him was on April 11, 2009 in Oberhausen Turbine Hall , the Witch Hunter Tribute Concert played whose proceeds went to his mother. On November 19, 2010, Sodom released another studio album in Germany called In War and Pieces , which was available in the rest of Europe from November 22, 2010 and in the USA and Canada from January 11, 2011. On November 30, 2010 the band announced the separation from Schottkowski "after personal and private problems between Tom and Bobby" on their website. The planned appearances from January and the tour in February 2011 are not affected by this, as the band will "announce a replacement drummer as soon as possible". This was Markus “Makka” Freiwald in December 2010 , and the band also confirmed participation in the Wacken Open Air 2011, where they performed with Roberto Blanco .

On January 30, 2011 the band announced that their former guitarist Dirk “Strahli” Strahlmeier had died in January.

The album Epitome of Torture was released in 2013, followed by Decision Day in August 2016 . The graphic artist Joe Petagno, who had already designed numerous covers for Motörhead, was responsible for the album cover. From July 2013, the band became the jersey sponsor of the E-Youth of the Duisburg football club Eintracht Duisburg for one year , in whose team the son of the long-time tour manager Theo Papadopoulos played.

In November 2016, Sodom was awarded the German Record Critics' Prize in the “Hard & Heavy” category for the album Decision Day.

On January 5, 2018, Angelripper surprisingly announced the separation of guitarist Bernd Kost and drummer Markus Freiwald: “Sodom have always lived from the enthusiasm and passion of everyone involved. Makka was there for almost eight years, Bernemann for more than 20 years. In order to prevent a possible routine under which the creative work cannot be optimally guaranteed, I would like to attack again with new hungry musicians. At the same time, I would like to thank Bernemann and Makka for the many eventful years in which we played great shows and released some real metal pamphlets. ”Kost and Freiwald then founded the band Bonded .

With the new line-up with Stefan "Husky" Hüskens from Desaster on drums and Yorck Segatz and the returned Frank Blackfire on guitars, the band released their first new sign of life in April of the same year: the Sacrilege cover Lifeline , which was on the 63rd eavesdropping -Sampler from Rock Hard magazine was found.

This was followed in November 2018 by the Partisan EP, which, in addition to the first two original compositions by the new line-up, Partisan and Conflagration , also contained a live version of the song Tired and Red , before the 5-track promo Chosen by the Grace of God in October 2019 followed. In addition to two tracks from the Decision Day phase and the previously published Sacrilege cover, this also included the new song Down in Your Knees and an exclusive live version of One Step Over the Line . The CD is only available as part of the Legacy Music Magazine.

In January 2020, drummer Stefan "Husky" Hüskens and Sodom announced their separation due to changed living conditions. Toni Merkel became the new drummer.

style

Sodom live 2016

The English band Venom was an important influence for Sodom Tom Angelripper named their demo recording from 1980 as the initial spark. They chose the band name after the biblical city of Sodom . Above all, however, Sodom built on even more aggressiveness and speed than their role models. Outwardly and textually they were based on the satanic image of Venom, initially they referred to themselves as a "grouping of Satanists". They are therefore also part of the “first wave of Black Metal ”. Musically, Sodom have kept their own style of aggressive and very fast Thrash Metal since their early days. Due to the extremely hard riffs and the very rough vocals, in contrast to other contemporary Thrash Metal bands , Sodom are also considered to be a guide for the emerging Death Metal as well as for the Black Metal of the 1990s.

With the second album Persecution Mania , the band broke away from the satanic image of earlier days. Instead of about witches and devils, Tom Angelripper sang z. B. About sex killers (Electrocution) or about the nuclear war of annihilation (Nuclear Winter) .

In the past, Sodom was often insulted by the press as a “glorifier of war” because their song lyrics dealt (often in a rather striking way) with war and violence. However, fans claim that the truth is the opposite is true. If you read carefully, you will quickly notice the critical undertone that is mixed in with the whole thing. Songs like Persecution Mania did not glorify war, but portrayed it as a terrifying and traumatizing experience. In this context, the refrain of the piece Bombed Out ("Don't play with death, the war is not far anymore. Destroy your weapons, learn from the past!") Can be seen. An album like M-16 is therefore directed against the war between the lines, according to Angelripper.

Discography

→ Main article : Sodom (band) / discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	CH	AT
1986	Obsessed by Cruelty Steamhammer / SPV	-	-	-	First published: May 1986
1987	Persecution Mania Steamhammer / SPV	-	-	-	First published: December 1987
1989	Agent Orange Steamhammer / SPV	DE36 (16 weeks) DE	-	-	First published: June 1989
1990	Better Off Dead Steamhammer / SPV	-	-	-	First published: October 1990
1992	Tapping the Vein Steamhammer / SPV	DE56 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	First published: August 1992
1994	Get What You Deserve Steamhammer / SPV	DE45 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	First published: January 1994
1995	Masquerade in Blood Steamhammer / SPV	DE76 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	First published: June 1995
1997	'Til Death Do Us Unite Steamhammer / SPV	-	-	-	First published: February 24, 1997
1999	Code Red Drakkar Records	-	-	-	First published: May 31, 1999
2001	M-16 Steamhammer / SPV	DE88 (1 week) DE	-	-	First published: October 22, 2001
2006	Sodom Steamhammer / SPV	DE64 (1 week) DE	-	-	First published: April 21, 2006
2007	The Final Sign of Evil Steamhammer / SPV	-	-	-	First published: September 28, 2007
2010	In War and Pieces Steamhammer / SPV	DE64 (1 week) DE	-	-	First published: November 19, 2010
2013	Epitome of Torture Steamhammer / SPV	DE32 (1 week) DE	CH87 (1 week) CH	-	First published: April 26, 2013
2016	Decision Day Steamhammer / SPV	DE7 (3 weeks) DE	CH42 (2 weeks) CH	AT29 (1 week) AT	First published: June 26, 2016

timeline

literature

• Holger Schmenk , Christian Krumm : buddies in frocks. Heavy metal in the Ruhr area , Henselowsky Boschmann Verlag , Bottrop 2010, ISBN 3-942094-02-9 .

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Atomic Steif in the Tales of the Macabre , No. 5.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Thomas Strater: Couch . Tom fishing ripper . In: Metal Hammer , April 2013, p. 14.
3. ↑ Hard Fax . In: Metal Hammer , March 1993, p. 10.
4. ↑ Hard Fax . In: Metal Hammer , June 1993, p. 10.
5. ↑ Sodom: New album In War and Pieces on vampster.com ,; Retrieved October 10, 2010
6. ↑ News sodomized.info; Retrieved November 30, 2010
7. ↑ Ex-guitarist Strahli dead. Official website, January 30, 2011, accessed February 7, 2011 . 
8. ↑ Joe Petagno responsible for the new Sodom artwork | Motörhead fanbase. (No longer available online.) In: motorhead-fanbase.de. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016 ; accessed on July 16, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Metal band "Sodom" sponsors E-Jugend der Eintracht. FuPa , January 30, 2011, accessed February 7, 2011 . 
10. ↑ Sodom wins the German Record Critics' Prize. Rock Hard , November 22, 2016, accessed November 19, 2017 . 
11. ↑ BurnYourEars Webzine: SODOM separation - Tom Angelripper gives Bernemann and Makka the pass . ( burnyourears.de [accessed January 5, 2018]).
12. ↑ Various - Lauschangriff 63rd discogs , April 21, 2018, accessed November 11, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Sodom - Partisan. discogs , November 23, 2018, accessed November 11, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Sodom - Chosen By The Grace Of God. discogs , October 30, 2019, accessed November 11, 2019 . 
15. ↑ Kill 'Em All or Show No Mercy? . This is how the protagonists of the scene think of the two albums . In: Metal Hammer , No. 3, 2008, p. 39.
16. ↑ Al DiPerna: Top 15 Most Essential Death Metal Records ( Memento from October 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), December 1, 2009, accessed on April 24, 2013.
17. ^ Metalion : The Saga Of True Norwegian Black Metal. Vice Magazine , April 30, 2008, accessed July 26, 2014 . 
18. ↑ SODOM INTERVIEW .

Web links

Commons : Sodom  - collection of images

• Official website