24. March 2025
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Media Review

Sodom – Genesis XIX

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Sodom - Genesis XIX

Sodom - Genesis XIX
4.4

Rating

 4.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Powerful, speedy thrash metal
  • Feels like a great party
  • Sodom connecting to their successful roots

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Lyrics are a bit too thin here and there

Sodom is one of the finest names for Thrash Metal made in Germany. The band is already having a 38 year history and was a huge influence for the German metal scene. Headed by their unique Tom Angelripper, Sodom is releasing their seventeenth studio album, which is called Genesis XIX. It will be available as CD, 2LP, download and multiple vinyl packages from 27th November 2020 onward.

Sodom – About The Artists

Sodom has been found in 1982 in Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhrgebiet metropolitan region, Germany. The head of the band is Thomas Such (vocals, bass), who is much better known as Tom Angelripper or Onkel Tom. The other founding members are Frank Aggressor Testegen (guitar, until 1984) and Christian Chris Witchhunter Dudek, wo did the drums until 1992 and dieed in 2008. Apart from Tom Angelripper, the current lineup includes the two guitar players Frank Blackfire Gosdzik and Yorck Segatz as well as Toni Merkel on the drums. All these band members joined Sodom 2018 or later. Gosdzik, however, already was part of the project from 1987 to 1989.

The band grew quite quick and became a quite important name in the German metal szene. In 1984, Sodom signed their first recording deal Since their third album Agent Orange (1989), they regularly make it to the German Top 100 charts (all genres!). Their biggest success, however, has been their recent 2016 release Decision Day, which was the band’s first album placing into the German Top 10. The album also peaked 42th in Switzerland and 29th in Austria.

 

Sodom – Genesis XIX – Track by Track

The twelve track album lasts 55 minutes.

1. Blind Superstition

Blind Superstitution is something like the amuse gueule of the Genesis XIX: one minute of guitars – like the warm-up for the band and your ears – just in case you had the Teletubbies’ Greatest Hits before 🙂

2. Sodom & Gomorrah

Sodom & Gomorrah – did they really need so many years to get to a song of that title? Finally, that is the only criticism I have about that in-fact opener of the album. Toni Merkel is starting with very buzy four minutes on the drums, Tom Angelripper is giving his characteristic dirty voice and the guitars don’t have a rest as well. If you feel that sodom is nothing but terrible noise, this album has no chance to win your heart anyway. Metalheads are already in party mood after five minutes of the album.

3. Euthanasia

Which drum kit manufacturer is Toni Merkel playing? The four minutes of Euthanasia are definitely like a high quality award to the drumheads of the toms and the drumsticks (apart from the gym Mister Merkel is attending on top of being a Sodom drummer…). The remaining band is doing a great job as well. Well done, guys!

4. Genesis XIX

The title track comes with an epic duration of seven minutes. Especially the guitars stay in beast mode for this duration – even though the track has a melodic break, where the song has its quiet and almost relaxing moments. Good one!

5. Nicht mehr mein Land

As a German native speaker, the German lyric Nicht mehr mein Land (“Not my country any more”) is of course in special focus. Being fully able each and every lyric sometimes also reveals rather that the quality of Sodom is rather on the instrumental and vocal side than in lyrics. Luckily for Sodom, there are musical genres which would rather insist on good lyrics.

6. Glock`n`Roll

Glock’n’Roll is a track which is not feeling to add too many more aspects – if there wasn’t the catching guitar solo, which is indeed the highlight of the track.

7. The Harpooneer

There are three long tracks (with 6:20 minutes playing time and more) on the album – The Harpooneer is the second of them and plays a lot with different tempos. This feels like Sodom in the 1990’s – brutal, tough and just doing their thing. Thus, their fans will enjoy this track.

8. Dehumanized

In case you felt during the last tracks that Sodom might have become a group of old man who cannot do the full speed thrash any more – Dehumanized is metal with the speed and power of an afterburner. “High speed” feels a too vague description for that bullet of a song. Impressive.

9. Occult Perpetrator

After metal at speed of light, Occult Perpetrator rather feels unremarkable. Might be quite a nice track on stage though with they animating Hey! shouts in the second half of the track.

10. Waldo & Pigpen

The last long song of the album. After a slow intro, the guitars really incept after some 90 second (out of 6:26 minutes). After so many Sodom tracks about war, this is another one about Vietnam War. Really powerful one.

11. Indoctrination

A good work-out finishes with some powerful exercises – maybe that’s about the motivation to push the beats per minute closer to the band’s maximum and let the fingers fly over the strings of the bass and the guitars. Great speed and a lot of power – entertaining 3:11 minutes.

12. Friendly Fire

Friendly Fire has been released just the week before the album – and finally, I could more or less repeat my comments from Indoctrination here: the album closes with power and speed – and thus: with no doubt that we had a great metal time at Genesis XIX.

 

Sodom – Genesis XIX – Spotify

Here is the Spotify widget to Genesis XIX:

 

Sodom – Genesis XIX – My View

Danke, Tom Angelripper and friends (especially to Toni Merkel on the drums) – this is a thrash metal lection at the very finest level. Sodom is trying to connect with their early works – and even though there are some weaknesses here and then, the album is indeed a great party for all friends of the hard guitar sounds. Well done!

 

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