EP REVIEW: 1982 – Sodom
It’s been a few years since Tom Angelripper overhauled SODOM, reshaping the band’s historic power trio structure into a two-guitar quartet – replacing everyone but himself to boot. Since then, the new line-up has had time to gel and move forward, getting their feet wet with 2020’s Genesis XIX in particular. With latest EP 1982 then, it feels like SODOM are trying to bring things full circle by having its latest incarnation revisit the band’s history.
Of the five tracks that make up 1982, only the titular number is a new song. Even then, itself and the other tracks all appeared as part of the bonus material comprising SODOM’s 2022 retrospective, 40 Years At War. It’s all excised here on a separate release as a commemorative nod to the band’s beginnings. Fittingly, the song 1982 is an ode to when SODOM was in its infancy, with Angelripper reminiscing on the first steps in shaping what would become one of European thrash’s most important bands. It’s a suitably heavy and catchy number for sure, but chugs along more so with the slower and measured pace of the band’s 21st century material than it does evoke the early 80s.
The rest of the EP sees modern SODOM delve right back to the band’s genesis, primarily pulling tracks from the Victims Of Death demo. Often when bands re-record material from the early days, the results can be mixed. Yes, things can be technically perfected and terrible production jobs finally rectified, but sometimes you just can’t recapture the primal energy that emanated on those original recordings – take TESTAMENT’s First Strike Still Deadly, for instance. Perhaps wisely then, the band are focusing on tacks that, beyond some crusty bootleg cassette recordings, are borderline lost to the annals of time. If you can find the originals of some of these tracks, you’ll be experiencing a sonic mess at best.
That’s not quite the case with first re-record, Witching Metal, which did see a professional reappearance on the In The Sign Of Evil EP following the demo. Here, some of its rougher edges are sawn off, but the extra heaviness and heft of upweighted guitars more than make up for it. It’s a more than competent rendition of the song, bringing it in line with the SODOM of 2023.
With the next couple of cuts however, SODOM breathe new life in to once embryonic thrash. Like punk played through metal distortion, Victims Of Death is a simple, straight-for-the-jugular number that sees an onslaught of repeated guitar riffs pummel forward. Angelripper’s voice is doused in generous amounts of delay, giving the roar of his gnarled vocals more of a loose old-school feel. Similarly, Let’s Fight In The Darkness Of Hell benefits from a recording where you can actually make out what’s happening. Fast and furious, the influence of metal’s extreme side like VENOM is abundantly clear. Wailing guitar, relentless drumming and Angelripper’s hellbent screams culminate in a song that feels like it could fall apart at any second. It’s genuinely a treat to hear these two demo tracks with a proper production job.
The EP closes with a rendition of Equinox, originally from the band’s debut album Obsessed By Cruelty. While less essential than the other tracks, it benefits greatly from a new lick of paint where the intensity of the aggressive drumming comes through at full throttle.
More than anything, Angelripper and the latest incarnation of SODOM have pulled off something impressive on 1982. Perhaps it’s the fire of a new-ish line-up with something to prove, but SODOM succeed in capturing more than enough of the original spit and venom in these re-recordings. Coupled with the clarity and depth of a modern production job, the 1982 EP is a great way for more recent SODOM fans to explore the roots of one of Germany’s greatest exports.
Rating: 7/10
1982 is set for release on November 10th via SPV/Steamhammer.
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