ALBUM REVIEW: M-16 (20th Anniversary Edition) – Sodom
The 90s were a weird period for SODOM. For all intents and purposes, the band were seen to be treading water on their releases for most of the decade. Although there were a few enjoyable ripples amongst them, more “experimental” offerings like Get What You Deserve were not making waves the same way polished thrash releases Agent Orange or Persecution Mania had done a few years prior. Fortunately, it didn’t take long into the 21st century for the band to right the ship and return to the thrashier sound that made them one of the lead proponents of the Teutonic thrash scene. 2001’s M-16 marks that turning point, building on the less immaculately realised return to roots of its predecessor Code Red. With M-16, SODOM entered the 00s literally kicking and screaming, telling the world they still had something vital to add to the genre. Twenty years later, M-16 is still a joy to behold.
For the uninitiated, M-16 is a concept album of sorts. Ostensibly about the Vietnam War, M-16’s perception is undoubtedly shaped by the grim inverse romanticism of films like Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, as made clear by samples from both being featured and overt lyrical references. However, it’s this thematic framing that ensures M-16 as an album flows together well and unquestionably provides the furious venom to frontman Tom Angelripper’s searing lyrics and vocals. The album looms with modern SODOM classics that still get an occasional live airing and are some of the most memorable amongst their discography; the ferocious rhythmic stomp of Napalm In The Morning’s build in to a surprisingly catchy, venomously spat chorus is unrivalled, and the title track’s menacing main riff is as penetrating as the bullets Angelripper barks about.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, M-16 is an album of little reprieve, with the vast majority of tracks nothing short of vicious. Tracks like the fiercely fast I Am The War and the battering ram of Minejumper are sensibly balanced out by slower numbers like Little Boy and Marines, which make up for their measured pace with intimidatingly heavy grooves. The album is essentially an audial bludgeoning from start to finish, even down to the bizarre closer – a cover of THE TRASHMEN’s Surfin’ Bird (yes, that Surfin’ Bird – you’ve not lived until you hear Tom Angelripper angrily spitting “the bird is the word”).
As great as the original album is, what would be the point of a 20th Anniversary Edition without some changes and additions? The main draw here is a thorough remastering of the album. While the original still stands strong, this version provides a great modernisation of the album’s sonics. Across the board, light touches of echo, hiss and delay are dialled down to create something much tighter and more metallic. While it may lose a little bit of the warmth of the original, the colder production style accentuates the razor-blade burn of the guitars and suits M-16 perfectly. Moreover, the entire album has a much stronger bottom end than its original incarnation. All instruments are far weightier than before, only amplifying M-16’s already high intensity. In this remastered guise, you’d be hard pressed to believe M-16 is 20 years old – it sounds excellent.
For SODOM die-hards, the bonus material accompanying this reissue varies across formats. The standard releases boast a slightly meagre two bonus tracks, live cuts of old school classics Remember The Fallen and Blasphemer taken from Wacken 2001. Contemporary to the album’s original release, it’s great to hear these older songs re-articulated by that line-up of the band as they were clearly on top form. They are short and sweet additions, but certainly not vital.
The deluxe box set version of the album is far more generous with its extra content, providing two “bootleg” LPs of live material spanning the following few years of the band. Bootleg LP 1 provides further songs from the Wacken 2001 performance, such as classics Agent Orange and Code Red, and an unexpected pick of Der Wachturm. Supplemented by a turbo-charged rendition of M-16, the Wacken tracks are a great snapshot of 2001 SODOM – filled with piss and vinegar. The rest of Bootleg LP 1 is rounded out by a few tracks from a Tokyo 2002 set. The recording on these is noticeably muddier than the Wacken tracks, but the vitriolic passion remains the same, with a sped-up rendition of Eat Me! being a particular highlight.
Bootleg LP 2 is more of a mixed bag – not due to the performances themselves, but rather the quality of the recordings. Even rougher than anything on Bootleg LP 1, the tracks taken from Bang Your Head 2003 aptly sound like a genuine bootleg. There are benefits to this; Angelripper’s bass sounds huge and his vocals even more cutting, but a little more clarity wouldn’t hurt. The second half of Bootleg LP 2 boasts tracks from Bangkok 2002 and is far more polished production-wise, while losing none of the raw power of the SODOM gang’s live show. Ultimately, both Bootleg LPs are enjoyable but only for absolute die-hards – they are not essential and are billed as “bootlegs” for a reason.
M-16 (20th Anniversary Edition)’s core offering of a remaster of its namesake is an excellent celebration of a historically important SODOM album. It would provide a great entry point to the band for newcomers and is enough of a revitalisation for old fans too. Where this edition falls short however is bonus material. The live cuts are appreciated and there are some genuinely great moments within them, but the varied sound quality and the very small amount available outside of the deluxe edition are a little underwhelming. It would have been great to hear anything else from the vault, whether demos or off-cuts, but presumably there simply wasn’t anything else available. Regardless, M-16 (20th Anniversary Edition) stands firm as a great way to revisit an underrated platter of modern SODOM.
Rating: 8/10
M-16 (20th Anniversary Edition) is out now via BMG.
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