Sodom
Tapping The Vein

THE REVIEW

This is an album that, as they say in technical terms, literally kicks ass.

It's 1992, and having set aside the melodic temptations of the nonetheless good "Better Off Dead," Tom Angelripper and company return determined and redeemed to put the pedal to the metal, realizing that in the end, hard rock is really not their thing (and especially not for their fans!).

So "Tapping the Vein," with its powerful and up-to-date production (though not perfect: the guitars sound excessively unfocused while the drums, on the contrary, are too dry and prominent), is undoubtedly one of the most tremendous blows the German band has managed to strike over the course of their long career.

Thus begins a new season for Sodom: that of uncompromising repetition.

As raw and unpretentious as they are, Our Heroes seemed to believe in it up until "Better Off Dead." From the incompetence of their beginnings, improving and refining album by album, they managed to forge a personal and unmistakable sound, fully represented by real eighties thrash classics like "Persecution Mania" and "Agent Orange": not just punches to the teeth, but well-crafted refrains, heavy grooves, raw irony, perversion, and a taste for excess. In other words: seminal works destined to influence the evolutionary course of extreme metal.

Having reached their peak, "Better Off Dead" represented a bold attempt, albeit not entirely convincing, to somehow progress and emancipate from the armor of their own well-tested sound corpus.

But evidently, melody was not their path, and so from "Tapping the Vein" onwards, Sodom decided to go back and retrace their steps, contenting themselves with being simply Sodom (which, mind you, is not a small thing!, and just listen to the excellent "Code Red," probably the best Sodom in recent years!), at most looking to the past, and in particular to the primordial roughness of the likes of Motorhead and Venom, always a source of inspiration for Our Heroes (and my mind inevitably flies to the amusing "Get What You Deserve," which, although a bit tame, sounds quite good on the stereo!).

Thus, they will abandon any sort of "evolutionary ambition," simply riding the myth: darlings of sonic intransigence, coherence, and absolute fidelity to the metal word, Sodom will become the typical band that, as often happens in metal, will be idolized not so much for the music but for the attitude, or for the conservative instinct, or simply for the idiocy of their members.

Speaking of members, it's worth noting a new (yet another) line-up change: Michael Hoffman leaves, Andy Brings steps in, probably the most useless guitarist ever to have played in the ranks of Sodom. Poor Brings!, not that he is technically inferior to his predecessors and successors (and that would be serious!), it's just that his riffing seems somewhat anonymous and lacking in bite.

But folks, let's not pontificate on trivial details: the game works, and damned well! After all, in a world where thrash metal is totally messed up, Sodom has the merit of having understood, more than others, that to make good thrash metal, one doesn't need a conservatory: it only takes two tempos. And just alternate them appropriately! And into this, the veteran Chris Witchhunter takes charge, firm at his post behind the drums, incisive as ever in his dry tempo changes, beastly more than usual in chasing really high speeds.

As for Tom Angelripper, really little to say, except that his "English" with its strong German accent (or maybe better his German with strong English accents!) is always proudly showcased to make the sound of his creature unique and inimitable: indeed, his spitting on the microphone sounds rougher and more guttural than ever, so much so that the opener "Body Parts" slaps us with the violence of a death metal lashing!

And it's certain that "Tapping the Vein," in terms of power and audacity, will not disappoint the band's fans, particularly those still cringing at the thought of "Better Off Dead": "Tapping the Vein" dumps eleven tracks on us that are an absolute pleasure, unstoppable, dizzying, denying any possible melodic digression. Perhaps somewhat anonymous overall, these tracks, which more than to be appreciated as individual anthems, are to be endured in their furious succession: a flow of violence, hammering rhythms, and high-intensity riffs that will delight any self-respecting headbanger.

Nonetheless, worthy of mention are at least two fundamental tracks: "One Step Over the Line" is a solid mid-tempo that shows how badass Our Heroes can be when they decide to stick it to punk and supersonic tempos, while the irresistible "Wachturm," destined to become an immortal classic of the band, is a thrilling punk'n'roll song sung strictly in German (complete with beeps to censor the indecencies spewed by that pig pervert Angelripper!).

Also worthy of mention is the powerful title track, featuring an atmospheric break and the inevitable ultra-mosh section, and the concluding "Reincarnation" which, at nearly eight minutes long, is undoubtedly the most complex and anomalous episode of the lot: it is, in fact, an imposing and funeral piece that, boasting Gothic keyboards and an arpeggiated bridge, finally sprinkles some melody on an album that contains very little of it!

The essential, at this point, seems to have been said: if you like Sodom, this album must be in your collection at all costs; if you don't like them, feel free to skip it; if you're simply curious, start with the classics of the eighties and then go through the rest of the discography!

Komm Wir F....N to everyone!