Sodom
In The Sign Of Evil

THE REVIEW

In 1982, a young sprout from the Ruhr, enchanted by his sacred idols (Venom, Motorhead, and Tank) and unwilling to rot in a coal mine, founded a band with a friend called "Sodom": this refers to Thomas Such and Frank Testegen, respectively. With the enlistment of drummer Rainer Focke, the trio could finally start their activity, characterized by a music that harks back to their Muses but is simultaneously taken to the extreme, in the name of a raw and overwhelming sound that will remain a constant in German thrash.

The band members do not hesitate to assign themselves charming and vaguely eerie nicknames (Such becomes "Angelripper," meaning "angel ripper") and, after some lineup changes (Focke and Testegen leave, Christian "Witchhunter" Dudeck and Josef "Grave Violator" Dominic join) and a contract signed with the prestigious SPV, Sodom is ready to produce their first historic EP, dated 1984: "Into The Sign Of Evil." The record sees Such as both bassist and singer (almost a tribute to his three inspiring bands), Dudeck on drums, and Dominic on guitar.

In the intro that gives the EP its name, the cherub slasher immediately plunges us into the most demonic of infernal circles with his evil and ghostly voice; from this moment on, the profaner and the hunter will back him up, for nineteen minutes of dark sonic violence. "Outbreak Of Evil," destined to become a classic, presents those features that blend all the tracks on the record: an overwhelming and minimal thrash wherein the influence of Motorhead and Venom is evident, and a musical attitude and lyrics that confer a proto-black atmosphere to the work; also for this reason, the EP will exert a significant influence on many other bands. The presence of Tank is immediately noticeable in the track "Burst Command 'til War," which focuses on the theme of war, so dear to Algy Ward's group, denouncing it fiercely.

"Sepulchral Voice," "Blasphemer," "Witching Metal," "Burst Command 'til War"... there is no escape: the listener is battered and annihilated with every dirty guitar riff. And if occasionally we find a quiet oasis - such as the beginning of "Sepulchral Voice" - it is just a sadistic illusion. Sodom achieves so much even with tracks marked by noticeable simplicity of execution ("Blasphemer") and that rely on just a few notes ("Witching Metal", perhaps the most remarkable track of the EP). This is typical of the elite of great bands, to which Sodom - in hindsight - belongs and whose door they begin to knock on with "In The Sign Of Evil."

My sincerest thanks to wrecking crew for recommending this album to me.