Sodom "Epitome Of Torture" CD

The discography of Sodom is longer than the wish list of a ten years old child at Christmas. But although they made some musical experiments, they never became unfaithful to extreme sounds. If you are a fan of their excellent albums around the turn of the millennium, "´Til Death Do Us Unite", "Code Red" and "M-16", you will surely enjoy the here presented record. It follows a similar path. Fans of their punk-influenced outputs such as "Masquerade in Blood" and worshipers of the less quick songs of "Sodom" and "In War and Pieces" will maybe not have much pleasure with "Epitome of Torture". However, they should give the album a chance, too.
To start with the most significant feature of the record: the band has finally rediscovered its joy of speed. The partial boring mid-tempo approach of the last two full-lengths does not exist any longer. Tom Angelripper, Germany´s incarnation of Lemmy, proves emphatically that he is still full of energy. He and his bandmates deliver pristine thrash metal with the boldness of young debutants. The straight designed songs are simple and effective without sounding primitively. I promise you that there exists no link between the rumbling dilettantism of "The Final Sign of Evil" and this mature output. This is not only due to the fact that the production can be described as powerful and flawless. The band just demonstrates a keen instinct for catchy song parts while acting on a high professional level. Consequently the album is almost overloaded with highly explosive thrash grenades.
As implied above, rapid up-tempo rhythms dominate the sonic attack. Two examples: the fast-paced band anthem "S.O.D.O.M." with its brilliant bridge and the superior chorus hits the spot while offering a pretty decent adrenaline kick. Due to its name, the song appears as a compensation for the lukewarm self-titled album. Honestly, this giant has the potential to mark the climax of their future concerts. "Shoot Today - Kill Tomorrow" takes the same line and impresses not only with the "poetic" title. Despite its harsh and speedy aura, the tune shows a fantastic smooth flow. Clearly, songwriting experts were at work here and therefore you will not find any downer among the many high velocity pieces. All of them achieve a noteworthy level. But mid-tempo tracks such as the cruel "Cannibal" - which is equipped with very detailed lyrics - must receive attention as well, because Sodom demonstrate in a fairly perfect manner that using this kind of songs is an appropriate tool to loosen the speed inferno. That´s the (only?) way how mid-tempo tunes work on a thrash metal album. What´s even better, the story about the mad maneater is equipped with a highly memorable riff and crowned by a strong chorus.
The coherent record ends with two bonus tracks that mark a satisfying conclusion. All in all, the CD leaves a huge impact, not least because the band appears as a well-established team. Makka thrashes his drum kit accurately, Bernemann´s guitar does not lack of pressure. Tom´s raw voice is naturally an indispensable element of any Sodom album and the same applies to his pumping bass. Finally, as indicated in the booklet, the songwriting process has also been a teamwork. So it comes as no surprise that "Epitome of Torture" presents a fine combination of maturity and savagery. The long-lasting band is in its element. Hopefully, Sodom go on in this direction. We will know it after having listened to their upcoming EP "Sacred Warpath".

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