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 If you had feared that the passage of years would have mellowed the sound of these Ruhrpotter legends, panic not. From the barely-controlled chaos of early releases through to the harnessed aggression of latter day platters, this act has spent more a tad more than 1000 days in sodom... twenty years in fact. FKOTLD strapped on the bulletbelts and spoke to Tom Angelripper (vocals/ bass) about new album, 'M-16' and the genesis of Sodom...
"In Germany, everyone is talking about the Thrash Metal revival because of the Destruction reunion. Schmier's back, and Kreator's new album is more Thrashy, you know? Sodom was always there for the fans and that's the reason why the band still exists after twenty years. Because we never changed our way, never changed our music."
Herr Angelripper requires little in the way of prompting to get him enthusing about his latest album, 'M-16', and the context into which it is being launched. He's entirely correct when he points to Sodom's never-wavering path toward the Unholy Grail of Thrash. It's this integrity (perhaps wilful pigheadedness), which accounts for Sodom's strength, making it a truly cult act.
"I always think that Sodom is the most successful underground band in Germany. I hope that Nu Metal fans get interested in Thrash Metal music. My opinion is that Metal has to get more aggressive, more extreme. I miss the revolution in the music. When I look back, I listened to my favourite bands like Venom, Motorhead and my mother would come into my room, she hated it!" he laughs. "Now, parents like bands like Hammerfall, you know?"
Just in case you're a Johnny-come-lately to extreme Metal, Sodom was one of the first extreme German acts, a classic manifestation of the bestial invasion which exploded forth from a thousand bedrooms in the early 80s. It has been whispered that if Motorhead were the granddaddy of Thrash, and Venom the father, that Sodom would then be the bastard son. A thought which appeals to Tom...
 "I think that a lot of Black and Death Metal bands are into our first two albums ('In the Sign of Evil'/ 'Obsessed by Cruelty'), I'm really proud about it. Black Metal bands in the beginning were Venom, Hellhammer, also Sodom. It was another kind of Black Metal. Now, bands do 'Black Metal' in a different way. I don't like it, because there's too much keyboards in it, they paint their face..."
It's a vital point made here by Tom. Back then, Sodom seen as a 'BlackThrash' or Black Metal band, weaned on the unholy tit of Venom and characterised by filthy, primal malevolence and blasphemy. Metal's clearly moved on from those early days, so I'm keen to ask Tom why he feels Sodom should be of interest to a 16 year old from Cologne or Essen? Or Belfast, for that matter? His answer is characteristically to-the-point.
"Because it's pure Metal. It's 100% pure Metal, without any other influences. This is pure thrash." How has been received by fans? "A lot of people compare it with Agent Orange. I think that Agent Orange isn't the best album. Maybe it's the most successful or best selling, but I think that M-16 is definitely better. If you listen to a song once or twice you'll never forget it. I think that on M-16 there are six or seven real classics that we have to play live, like 'Napalm in the Morning', 'Lead Injection'. I'm really satisfied with it".
I'd say it's as good as 'Better Off Dead', which has always been one of my favourite Sodom albums. Though Tom's not quite in agreement with my taste it seems... "Yeah, hmm, 'Better Off Dead'... I like it really much, but it wasn't so heavy. A lot of people say it could have been heavier, like 'Masquerade in Blood' or 'Code Red'. But other people say, for example of 'Masquerade', that there was too much hardcore in it, too heavy. Or that 'Get what you Deserve' was too punky, too short songs, you know? I don't know, because they're completely different albums with different line-ups. If you change the guitarist or drummer, I think the music will also change a little bit. But the 'new' line-up is really strong, we've been together for six years".
Quite. Bobby and Bernemann (previously of German acts 'The Crows' and 'Randalica') impressed me mightily on this outing, just as they had on 98's mighty 'Code Red'. But does Tom never get pissed off when fans persist in ranting on about 'classic' Sodom line-ups with the likes of Witchhunter and Blackfire? Is it not vexing that some deadheads insist that anything after that time isn't the 'true' Sodom?
"Yeah. The record company before, Drakkar, had this idea to get the two guys back. I said 'Never. No way'. I think if I did a reunion with Frank Blackfire and Chris Witchhunter, most people will say I just do it for the money."
It's oft been supposed that Sodom are war-fixated psychotics. Yet you've stated time after time that your lyrics are solidly anti-war. Nevertheless, it's a given that they're always going to be open to misinterpretation. Would I be correct in assuming that it's a much more sensitive issue in Germany?
"Yes, I have to be careful. I cannot write lyrics about WWII and German history for example, because a lot of people may think I'm a fascist, there would be a lot of misunderstandings. So we just use some symbols or fragments of the Vietnam War to describe how bad war is."
Though you have touched on WWII et al in past. How about 'Stalinorgel', that's an Eastern Front song for sure.
"Yeah, this is a little bit of WWII, but it's just history. You'll never find any political opinion. We just describe how bad war is. I just try to write the lines in a fantasy way, based on historical facts, because I'm interested in history. It's like with The Desperados, I'm really interested in Wyatt Earp, y'know?"
Ah, The Desperados. One of Tom's side-projects, described enticingly by the man himself as "a mixture between old Metallica and Ennio Morricone". But what of Onkel Tom, your legendary paen to Bacchus, which seems to manifest itself at every German Metal festival? Is that project still going strong? "Yeah, we just support the beer-drinking culture!"
However, it's Sodom which remains the principal focus of the man's energies. It's been a long road from '81 for the sixteen year old creator of 'Knarrenheinz' the band's soldier-mascot. Tom's reminiscence serves as a fitting conclusion to this interview...
"When we formed the band, we didn't make music, we just drank beer in the rehearsal room. I'd bought my first bass guitar, Aggressor bought a guitar, Witchhunter a drumkit. We tried to make music, and we recorded the first 'Witching Metal' tape. We were really influenced by Venom and Motorhead, you could hear that, but we tried to create a new sound. We wanted to be the heaviest band in the world!"
Interview and words by Spandex Oo-er
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