To conclude the unholy trinity of teutonic thrash there is one last band that needs to be mentioned - Sodom. Founded in 1981 in Gelsenkirchen by Thomas Such aka Tom Angelripper the band has undergone numerous line-up-changes, leaving Tom Angelripper as the only constant member. For me save to say: Sodom features the most hilarious stage names I've come across so far. Tom Angelripper is in best company with Chris Witchhunter, Grave Violator, Aggressor, Destructor, Atomic Steiff, Bloody Monster and Blasphemer. They use those names so seriously it really had me laughing. "Der Herr Angelripper und der Herr Witchhunter..."
The documentaries Lords of Depravity Part I and Part II on YouTube are quite lenghty but they paint a nice picture of the time when Sodom started and I enjoyed watching it. Those documentaries are a great way of getting to know bands. Tom Angelripper is such a down-to-earth guy, I find him really likeable.
So, Sodom started out in Gelsenkirchen and was part of the same thrash scene as Kreator and Tankard. Their sound started out as black metal, heavenly influenced by Venom. Their second studio album Persecution Mania (1987) brought them first success and marked the shift from black metal to thrash metal. Their third studio album Agent Orange (1989) was the first album that was commercially successful. It entered the German charts at number 36 as the first thrash metal album ever and sold over 100.000 copies in Germany. For me it was a logical place to start listening to Sodom.
I've listened to the album Agent Orange several times by now. I think the first three times, I did not care for it that much. But it grew on me. I had to take some time to really get into the music. When recording Agent Orange, Sodom consisted of Tom Angelripper (bass and vocals), Chris Witchhunter (drums) and Frank Blackfire (guitars) who later went on to play for Kreator and has been a member of Sodom again since 2018.
Agent Orange is considered a classic among the thrash metal albums. Lyrically it focuses on the Vietnam War and the shift to political themes is said to be Frank Blackfire's influence on Tom Angelripper. The album has a total length of around 40 minutes and delivers solid, straighforward and no-nonsense thrash metal. The songs are relatively similar to one another, but compared to Destruction's The Antichrist the songs in itself give you time to breathe as they offer a lot of tempo changes. Incredibly fast sections fade to mid pace sections and then the speed picks up again.
The second song Tired an Red features an acoustic interlude that divides the fans. Some hate it, some love it. I am part of the latter group. The acoustic part in itself is beautifully played and when the drums set in it gets you really moving. The guitar solo is played perfectly. Of course the interlude is totally different from the thrashing beginning and end of the song but that is not a bad thing in my opinion.
Another song that gives some listeners a headache is Remember the Fallen which is basically a ballad and features clear vocals. Remember the Fallen is the fourth song on the album and it gives you a break after three very thrashy and straightforward songs that sound rather similar. It makes a nice change. The chorus is catchy and I like Tom's way of singing in this one. It is a ballad but in no way cheesy.
Undisputed favourites among fans on this album are the opening track Agent Orange and the seventh track Ausgebombt. Both songs are considered real Sodom classics and are fixtures on their live setlists. Agent Orange features really great and catchy riffs and the song features different musical styles that blend in well together and make it very intersting. I love Tom's way of snarling in the chorus.
Where Agent Orange is a bit complex, Ausgebombt gives you the total opposite. It is only three minutes long and very hardcore-punk influenced. The chorus only consists of the gang shout of "Ausgebombt" and you have it stuck in your head the whole day.
To sum it up: Agent Orange is a great album and I really liked it. It is well produced for 1989 and if you can open up to Sodom's rough and brutal style of playing thrash, then it is a real treat. Yes, it is not as technically refined as Kreator's work and the riffs have not reinvented thrash but it is a solid piece of work and it was a real milestone for Sodom.