Reunions. That is all the talk nowadays. VENOM, CELTIC FROST, DEATH ANGEL, I could go on. They get all the press, while bands like MOTÖRHEAD, KREATOR and SODOM continue to toil and release records year after year. Are some of the aforementioned records better than others? Absolutely. Should we give credit where credit is due, recognizing that these bands have stuck together through thick and thin, hard times, and the like? Hell yes! It's easy to walk away, and come back years later fresh and revived to put out a good record, but how hard is it to continue, day after day, soldiering on to remain creative? You be the judge. Who thinks there hasn’t been a LOUDNESS album after “Thunder in the East”?

Well, on to SODOM’s newest, the best thing since “Agent Orange”. This is a killer disc with only one thing on it’s mind: Tom Angelripper shouting, “I am still fucking here, and I’m gonna kick your ass!” The raw emotion of "Sodom" is well worth the price of admission alone. Face it, when is the last time you listened to any of the post-reunion era DESTRUCTION records? Is there something missing there, that you just can’t put your finger on? Could it be that heavy guitar and ridiculous double bass can’t be a cure-all for weak songwriting? Let me spell it out. If you want true thrash metal sincerity, get this new SODOM release. From the opening track’s acoustic intro to the thrash mayhem we've come to expect from the kings of German metal, Angelripper’s vocal and bass attack prove an atomic holocaust could not even slow him down. After a few rippers, “Buried in The Justice Ground” slows the attack to a more sinister level; the first few tracks thrust the knife in, and this one grabs the handle and slowly turns. Yeah, I have issues. The KREATOR-esque “Enemy Inside” is a prime example of the versatility SODOM has shown through the years; the well is far from dry. Tom’s vocals are as strong as ever, from raspy growls to rampant screams, he is a machine. To top it all off, the musicianship here is outstanding. Nothing flashy, just the hard, the fast and the heavy synonymous with a SODOM record.

Looking for the aggressiveness of old SODOM? You got it. Curious to see the route SODOM will take in the future? You got it. Don’t wait till the best of 2006 comes out to pick this one up, as it will be on many lists. Don't be left out.

- Murtaugh

OFFICIAL SITE: www.sodomized.info

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