German thrashers Sodom have been pretty consistent as far as new material is concerned in their long career, the last 10 years alone has been steady with a new album every 3 years. 2016 sees the veterans release one of their finest efforts yet in “Decision Day”, a great blend of some of the band’s finest aspects of their musical abilities and by the sounds of it, there’s still plenty left in the tank yet.
On the surface upfront with the opener “In Retribution”, things seem like standard stuff as far as Sodom’s style and sound is concerned and to be fair, it is in retrospect after giving the album a few more spins in between penning down thoughts on each track. But like frontman Tom Angelripper says in the initial press release for the album, the songs go much deeper, musically as well as in terms of their lyrics, at least in comparison to albums like “Persecution Mania” where there was a shift in the sound. Take the next track for example “In Rolling Thunder”, while it’s not breaking new grounds by any means, it’s got some diversity in a song that is filled with double kicks and high energy tempos, the acoustic guitar part midway through really gives some dynamics between the heavier and mellower parts. More of that acoustic stuff can be found in later tracks like “Sacred Warpath” which again shows another side of Sodom but don’t fret, the thrashy stuff is still pretty damn prevelant on the album. The title track has a very Slayer-esque vibe in the main riff while “Blood Lions” which deals with the capturing and slaughter of Lions in the wilderness combines both the speedy stuff and a kind of rock n’ roll/punky beat which is very cool!
Continuing on the more classic/punky inspired stuff, the biblical “Caligula” has a bit of Motorhead influence in the main riff which may or may not be connected to the album cover which is done by an artist named Joe Petagno who also did some of Motorhead’s artwork including Overkill and Bomber. Either way, it’s hard to not hear that Motorhead riff in this song! “Who Is God” is one of the more catchier songs on the album, a meaty hook with another punk vibe slotted in with a darker overall tone which makes this track a standout. “Strange Lost World” is more mid-tempo stuff that sits in a more classicly inspired style while the interestingly titled “Vaginal Born Evil” despite it’s name in the chorus, is catchy as hell and one to be a future live staple hopefully.
“Belligerence” is a highlight on the album though with a huge contrast between an almost doomy style slower tempo which quickly switches to lightning speed beats. Add to that a fairly mellower part towards the end and it’s one of the more cracking and diverse songs on the album yet with it’s lyrical content touching on the fragile and fear based nature that politics in war like nations seem to be flinging around right now. It’s funny how those same subjects Sodom touched on back in the 80’s seem pretty relevant right now, like thrash metal in general, not much has changed. And the same can be said about Sodom when it comes to the quality of the music and even in the production which in actual fact, seems bigger and slicker than previous albums. “Decision Day” is pretty much an all out thrash metal affair but with hints of their original black metal sound and a little punky vibe here and there, it’s definitely one of the finest efforts yet from the extreme metal veterans.
TRACKLIST
In Retribution
Thunder
Decision Day
Caligula
Who Is God?
Strange Lost World
Vaginal Born Evil
Belligerence
Blood Lions
Sacred Warpath
Refused to Die
