Clipped of all protruding shrapnel and cauterized back to pure as they return for an umpteenth full-length album Gelsenkirchen, Germany-borne thrash metal quartet SODOM don’t necessarily sound like they’re in their twenties again on ‘The Arsonist‘ but their sound is vitalized as ever as they aim for an authentic, un-fucked with record set to contend with their monstrous four-plus decade spanning discography. Though it isn’t the most outright tuneful record from these folks to date, and they’re not necessarily trying to kick it back to the witching 80’s at any rate, this record -does- deliver the ‘tude, the riffs and speeding aggression most any fan would hope for heading into one of their nowadays albums. Though it is a long album by their standards it is yet necessarily complete as a representation of their enduring signature, a still-imposing wave within the realm.

When a band has over forty years and 17+ full-length albums under their belt a recap of their entire discography rarely works in brief… though I would suggest that from 1982 ’til now Sodom have been mercilessly consistent in developing hardcore punk and NWOBHM inspired speed metal from its most germinal state. In the process they’ve faltered less than any other still-standing “legacy” thrash metal band and’ve always managed to look and sound like themselves despite swapping producers, album artists, labels and navigating changing tastes. Both the original soul of thrash metal and the seedlings of extreme metal are embedded in the band’s history, so, understanding the context of the ‘Witching Metal‘ (1982) demo tape and all of the releases leading up to the breakout of their second LP (‘Persecution Mania‘, 1987) is vital education for any fan of black, death and thrash metal nascency. While my fandom is largely centered around contributions from original drummer Chris Witchhunter (R.I.P.) and (later on) guitarist Frank Blackfire, who rejoined back in 2018, I would suggest that the band’s first ten years (1982-1992) shouldn’t be your stopping point. Once again I’d recommend taking a closer ear to both ‘Code Red‘ (1999) and the indomitable ‘M-16‘ (2001) as some of the band’s finest songwriting to date, at least their most memorable voice beyond the at times underappreciated ‘Agent Orange‘ (1989).

Bassist/vocalist Tom Angelripper has always been willing to not only look back to the past and celebrate it but also re-record, tribute and revive those old ways and this is perhaps why the band remain undaunted, still standing more secured with their sonic identity than most. I say this because for the last ~decade Sodom have celebrated their past, albeit partially to busy their hands during peak pandemia, and I see no shame for their history in their works or their words. Part of what stoked ‘Genesis XIX‘ (2020) in mind when I’d reviewed it was this sense of meeting up with a band nowadays and still proudly thumping the chest of fandom for the sake of their secure identity being expressed via a believable thrash metal album. This thankfully extends into ‘The Arsonist‘ to some degree as an arguably even more sentimental and nostalgic creation which captures the Sodom spiritus and applies it once again to modern warfare. If you’re not so prone to care about such things or haven’t been interested in the band’s work beyond 2007 I’m not sure this one’ll change your mind but for my own taste it offers a worthy step beyond their previous LP.

The messaging provided for this album focuses on authenticity first and foremost, particularly in conveying Sodom‘s efforts to develop this album using analogue recording techniques and no digital tricks/edits of the trade. Just as they’d intended this yields a superior result in terms of the listening experience, a rare natural sounding thrash metal record which still rakes itself through the gravel as one’d expect from these fellowes. This speaks more broadly against the cheap cost-cutting, soul-souring nonsense that folks are so quickly accustomed to (re: AI garbage generation, overproduced mundanity, etc.) and at the end of the day makes for a better, longer-lasting statement in high definition. With that said ear-gripping songcraft hasn’t always been the band’s strong suit beyond their well-developed signature gesturing and solid variety of pacing. Despite the broad decades-loaded oeuvre expressed on ‘The Arsonist‘, and some very strong nostalgia flowing, the challenge here for the longtime fan will be sourcing lasting, standout pieces from the glut of these thirteen tracks included.

That isn’t to say that ‘The Arsonist‘ is piled with duds, not at all, but rather that they all bleed together into a shouting and riffing meld which reeks of the band’s strong personae yet lacks the inventive cadence of certain past releases, be it the late 80’s or the early 2000’s. This places it well within the natural trajectory of the band beyond 2010 or so, fairly straightforward records delivered clean and clear. The only major difference is that they’ve got all hands on deck for the songwriting and that means even more riffs-per-minute than ‘Genesis XIX‘ in most cases and the new blends with the old as the mid-paced, heavier grooves of the band are deployed alongside signature strikes. Vietnam themed opener “Battle of Harvest Moon” centers its message around the human cost of war, a common subject for the band and one which comes at a decent clip with what sounds like a fair number of Blackfire specific riffcraft rolling out the chamber, it isn’t as neck-snapping as say “Nuclear Winter” but it does have many of those tics in hand.

I dunno if I’d characterize the pulse of ‘The Arsonist‘ album as a flame-thrower wielding trooper so much as a commando with four loaded shotguns strapped to his back, pumping at a howling mid-to-fast pace and cracking after their target. “Trigger Discipline” is actually about a maniac sniper on the loose but you get the idea anyhow, a rhythm which appears simple enough before they lean into it and grind out a set of punkish riff or Motörheaded lick. Some of my favorite lyrics and guitar solos fire off within this song alongside the appearance of the Araya-esque side of Angelripper‘s vocals as they spark up on a couple of these songs. Those first four songs carry a brisk and harsh rally of fire, smoothing in some choice leads and slightly melodic movement here and there. I’d appreciated that the general feeling of this record’s first third was head-down, headbanging riff-focused thrash.

If you’re one of the enlightened few who’ve gone back to ‘Tapping the Vein‘ and appreciated its deathlike maul in recent years you’ll feel some of that within “Scavenger”, a muddied low-slung groove with sinister leads atop. It feels like it should be a bad groove metal event to start but as they kick into the faster-stepped grooves it feels all the most classic 90’s Sodom, a finer point of their discography that goes on unappreciated. Throw in “Taphephobia” just as well and these songs represent some of the more standout interest on the album for my own taste as they’d prove catchy despite their simplicity; Otherwise we get two sentimental pieces in “Witchhunter” a tribute to the band’s founding drummer, and “A.W.T.F.” for legendary Tank vocalist Algy Ward who passed away more recently. These songs offer both speeding energy to the album with the latter emphasizing the rocking touch that the slower pieces on this album often carry, “Twilight Void” excepted.

The full listen of ‘The Arsonist‘ never had a change to stick in mind with big choruses or outright melodicism in hand but those were never key features of Sodom‘s unique command of thrash metal wares. I had to tap into the cliche here but they’ve done well to show up with plenty enough riffs and sound like Sodom, that alone sound please the average fan. I’d appreciated the arc of the tracklist though there is at least one too many mid-paced songs amongst the thirteen and the album felt overlong by at least eight to ten minutes when leaving it on repeat and following the thread. With that said I’m enough of a fan to appreciate one of their better sounding records, some of their best cover artwork (via Zbigniew M. Bielak) and the gamut which this album presents between high-density action and bigger snarled-at grooves while also bringing in a personal hit with some odes to the greats. A high recommendation.

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