Sodom-Epitome Of Torture

Steamhammer / SPV
2013

In a time long ago, back when dinosaurs still walked the earth & cassettes were still in vogue, I discovered the "Big Three" of Teutonic thrash metal-Kreator, Destruction and (of course) Sodom. "Agent Orange" was my first exposure to Tom Angelripper (vocals/bass) and company and since that point I've tried to follow the band as best I can (although I only have a few of their albums to my name for whatever reason). "Epitome of Torture" makes album number 14 for the band and, from the way this one shreds everything in sight, Sodom does not seem likely to call it quits anytime soon! Now, I should specify that as much as I love Sodom's brand of thrash, which is every bit as distinctive as bands like Slayer, Megadeth, etc., and I love good death metal (who doesn't?) it kind of sucked (to me) when the band would combine the two. Why? I don't rightly know. I remember hearing their one death/thrash album "Tapping the Vein" and, even though it was well-received by fans and critics, it just wasn't interesting to me. That's probably neither here or there though. I guess I'm just trying to point out that what I like best out of Sodom is when they play their own brand of killer thrash. Since this album is (top to bottom) totally crushing metal it's all good. Joined by guitarist Bernemann and new drummer Markus “Makka” Freiwald, both of whom are insanely good on this disc, Tom Angelripper unleashes hell with cuts like "My Final Bullet", "Invocating the Demons" and "S.O.D.O.M.". The only time the band flirts with death metal at all is on "Stigmatized" which, I'd wager to say, is the album's heaviest moment. Even then it's not full on death, but rather just the band being as heavy as they can. Meanwhile other tracks like "Cannibal",  "Katjuscha" and "Tracing the Victim" show off just how talented guitarist Bernemann is. Picking a favorite moment on this disc would be hard as there really isn't a off moment. Whether it's the Motörhead and Tank inspired "Into the Skies of War" or the modernized  "Cannibal" (serious crunch time!) it's hard not to find something to like about these ten new tracks. Sodom fans should love this new album for sure.