Sodom
Persecution Mania

THE REVIEW

I am here to review one of the many masterpieces of the 80s Thrash era, 'Persecution Mania' by the German band Sodom. The album is undoubtedly one of their masterpieces and certainly the hardest of their early years.

Unjustly considered technically unprepared, the band only gained the recognition they deserved after the release of 'Agent Orange' in 1989. This, in my opinion, is unfair because I found this album very beautiful and important. The guitar riffs are original and well-played, the solos are technical and fast, Tom Angelripper on vocals is fantastic and holds his own on bass, even playing solo parts, and the drummer plays incredibly fast behind the drums. The album kicks off with the lightning-fast Nuclear Winter, where Sodom makes it clear they are not joking around; in fact, the song is very violent, and Onkel Tom unleashes a gritty and fierce voice. The second song is called Electrolution and starts with riffs much slower than the previous one, then progresses to become even faster with a fantastic solo. The third track is Iron Fist, the famous Motorhead song for which Sodom delivers an even harder and faster cover.

The fourth song is the title track, Persecution Mania, starting with very scratchy muted guitars, followed by Tom's bass solo with its very distorted sound, leading to sheer destruction. The song is full of tempo changes, the voice is very low and husky, the drumming is lightning-fast, and the solo is one of the best in Sodom's entire discography. The fifth track is titled Enchanted Land and is as fast and powerful as the others. The sixth, Procession To Golgatha, is a very slow instrumental song in which the bass stands out. The seventh is Christ Passion, one of the group's classics, like Conjuration and Bombehnagel, three devastating and lightning-fast songs covered by many bands (especially black metal). Indeed, throughout the album, there are many black metal influences, particularly concerning the vocals. The next song is titled Outbreak Of Evil, in which the buzzing guitars penetrate directly into your brain. The third-to-last track is Sodomy and Lust, a beautiful song but, in my opinion, recorded much worse than the others. The second-to-last, The Conqueror, is characterized by very high tones in both vocals and instruments. The album concludes with My Atonement, a song that begins with an arpeggio, then slow and heavy riffs, and only at the end fast and crazy like the others.

In conclusion, I found this album very compelling, in some ways more violent than 'Agent Orange', although technically inferior. Thank you for reading.