Sodom (band) Totally Explained

Everything about Sodom Band totally explained

Sodom is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They are considered one of the three biggest German thrash metal bands; the other two being Kreator and Destruction.
While the other two big German thrash metal bands created a sound that would later influence death metal, Sodom stands out uniquely among its contemporaries as creating a sound that would later greatly influence many black metal bands, among others, that would form in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

History

Sodom's original line-up consisted of Tom Angelripper, Bloody Monster and Aggressor. The band was initially formed by Tom as a desperate attempt to get out of having to work in coal mines in his home town of Gelsenkirchen. Taking inspiration from bands such as Motörhead, Tank, Slayer, Venom and Accept, they released two demos which led to a record deal with Steamhammer (none of which were recorded with Bloody Monster, who was replaced by Chris Witchunter). Aggressor left the band shortly before releasing the In the Sign of Evil EP (generally regarded as an important early black metal release), and was replaced by Grave Violator, who didn't last long himself, and left following the recording of In the Sign of Evil. A replacement was found in the form of Michael "Destructor" Wulf. They then went and recorded Obsessed by Cruelty, their full length debut. It featured music that was mostly in the same vein of In The Sign of Evil. Wulf didn't last long himself, and later went and joined Kreator (this relationship wouldn't last long either, and the man would later die in 1995 after a tragic motorcycle accident).
   For the most part, the band wasn't taken seriously at first, as various press sources stated them as nothing more than "a second rate Venom clone with semi inventive lyrics". One member would change that. This member was Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik, who came in to fill the empty guitar spot Wulf left behind thrash metal. Frank had convinced Tom that thrash metal was moving beyond the realms of the horror/occult/satanic themes of bands like Venom, and that themes such as politics, society, and war were being embraced. Tom was already very interested in various wars, yet viewed them as stupid and outright dumb. This new inspiration culminated into Frank's full length debut with the band Persecution Mania. The new lyrical approach and increased musicianship on the part of Frank gave the band great praise (as well as a mascot Knarrenheinz, who appeared for the first time on Persecution Mania's cover), and they soon embarked on a tour of Europe with the Swiss thrash metal outfit Coroner. After touring for the better part of 1987 and 1988, the band returned to the studio to make another album. The final product was titled Agent Orange, and it sold 100,000 copies in Germany alone. This made Sodom famous, giving them world wide critical acclaim, and securing their place alongside Kreator and Destruction as one of the great three teutonic thrash metal bands. To this date, Agent Orange has sold more than any other German thrash metal album all over the world.
   However, problems were brewing inside of the band. Tom and Chris became entangled further into alcoholism (and in the case of Chris, drug use). Furthermore, Frank was sick of the fact that he was composing new music that his band-mates would often perform poorly live. Mille Petrozza of Kreator offered Frank a position with his band, after they lost their second guitarist. Feeling the need to move on, Frank left Sodom to go with Kreator. Angelripper then went out looking for a replacement. He ended up selecting Michael Hoffman, formerly of fellow German thrashers Assassin.
   With this line-up, the album Better Off Dead was released in 1990. During the South American tour however, Hoffman decided to stay in Brazil and therefore was forced to quit. His replacement was found in Andy Brings and a new album was recorded, titled Tapping the Vein, which had a more death metal sound than before. This proved to be the last album with the drummer Witchhunter who was kicked out of the band. Atomic Steif formerly of both Holy Moses & Living Death found his way behind the drum kit.
   This line-up recorded the next album, Get What You Deserve. Out were the death metal influences; in came the punk influences. Get What You Deserve had an arguably grotesque album cover and many fans were disappointed with the new direction. Also, this marked the beginning of less international visibility for Sodom as thrash lost its commercial viability for the remainder of the 1990s. Also at this time, Angelripper also started a solo career doing metal impressions of drinking songs, German schlagers and even Xmassy Carols. Another live album was recorded of the tour in support of this album called Marooned - Live.
   In the same vein as the previous album, Masquerade in Blood was released in 1995. Again another guitarist was to be found. The new axeman was Strahli, but he didn't stay very long with the band, as he was arrested and imprisoned on drug related matters and has since been difficult to locate, most likely due to being homeless. Atomic Steif also left and again Angelripper needed to search for new members. These were found in Bernemann on guitars and Bobby Schottkowski on drums. This line-up has stabilized the band significantly and is still current.
   The album 'Til Death Do Us Unite featured a controversial album cover, depicting the belly a pregnant woman and a beer gut of a man pressing a human skull together. This album marked the beginning of return to thrash, but was more along the lines of thrash/crossover sound and had much in common with bands like Suicidal Tendencies. It also spawned the song that Sodom would make their most famous music video for, the highly controversial song Fuck The Police. After this album, Sodom returned to the studio and released Code Red in 1999. This was a full return to the teutonic thrash metal sound of the 1980s, and was met with great praise from fans and press alike. A limited edition featured a bonus CD containing a tribute to Sodom album called Homage to the Gods. With 2001 came the release of M-16, a concept album about the Vietnam War, which took its title from the famed M16 assault rifle. A tour followed with the other two big German thrash metal bands Kreator and Destruction, but Sodom ended up leaving and going on its own halfway through the tour due feuding between Destruction bassist Marcel Schirmer and Tom Angelripper. The reason of the feuding was due to the fact that Destruction claimed Sodom ripped them off in terms of music and sound.
   In 2003, a double live album was recorded in Bangkok, Thailand, titled One Night in Bangkok. A new album simply titled Sodom was released in 2006, in the same vein as its predecessor M-16. The title was chosen - as Angelripper explained - because every band needs a self-titled album. The album was however delayed, because the DVD Lords of Depravity took more time to compose than initially thought.
   In 2007, Tom was asked by the record label Steamhammer if there were any tracks that were to be released on the In The Sign Of Evil EP. Tom stated there were, and the label gave Tom the idea to get ex-members Chris Witchhunter and Grave Violator (real name Franz Josef Peppi) to re-record the EP with the bonus tracks. This new album is titled The Final Sign of Evil. At the same time, Tom has also revealed that the lineup of him, Bernd, and Bobby are making a new album, which the band expects to release in 2008. There is no name for the album as of now.

Members

Current members

Tom Angelripper (Thomas Such, Onkel Tom) - Vocals/Bass (Desperados)
Bobby Schottkowski - Drums (ex-Crows, ex-Tom Angelripper)
Bernemann (Bernd Kost) - Guitars (ex-Crows)

Former members

Aggressor (Frank Testegen) - Guitars (1983-1984)

Grave Violator (Pepi Dominic) - Guitars (1984-1985)

Destructor (Michael Wulf) - Guitars (later Kreator) (1985-1986) R.I.P. in 1993.

Assator (Uwe Christophers) - Guitars (ex-Darkness (Ger)) (on tour in 1986)

Frank Blackfire (Frank Gosdzik) - Guitars (later Mystic (Bra) and Kreator) (1987-1989, special appearance in the December 28, 2006 concert in Bochum)

Uwe Baltrusch - Guitars (on tour in 1989/1990) (also in Mekong Delta, later House of Spirits)

Michael Hoffman - Guitars (ex-Assassin (Ger)) (1990)

Andy Brings - Guitars (later Powergod) (1991-1995)

Strahli (Dirk Strahlimeier) - Guitars (1995-1996)

Chris Witchhunter (Christian Dudeck) - Drums (1983-1992) (see also Destruction and Bathory)

Atomic Steif (Guido Richter) - Drums (later Stahlträger and Assassin (Ger), ex-Sacred Chao, ex-Holy Moses, ex-Living Death, ex-Brotós) (1992-1996)

Discography

This is a list of their studio albums. For the full discography, check Sodom discography Studio Albums

Obsessed By Cruelty (1986)

Persecution Mania (1987)

Agent Orange (1989)

Better Off Dead (1990)

Tapping the Vein (1992)

Get What You Deserve (1994)

Masquerade in Blood (1995)

'Til Death Do Us Unite (1997)

Code Red (1999)

M-16 (2001)

Sodom (2006)

The Final Sign of Evil (2007)Further Information

Get more info on 'Sodom Band'.

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