Kreator, Destruction, Tankard and Sodom, these names go together and roll off the tongue as well as Hansel and Gretel and have become the very cornerstones of Teutonic thrash. Yet, unlike their counterparts Kreator and Destruction who have concentrated on studio releases, Sodom have been a little bit more bit-part finding an unquenched love for EP’s. Although the band released a frankly excellent studio album last year, it would appear that the Sodom cannot shake the grip of the EP and have returned with their latest offering ‘Bombenhagel’.
Why does Sodom do this? It is clear from ‘Genesis XIX’ that the well of creativity is nowhere near dry, but the German band are intent on re-recording tracks from their back catalogue. The world does not need a re-rerecording of the title track of this EP originally featured on Sodom’s seminal ‘Agent Orange’ album; the mould was made back in 1989 and after that, it should have been thrown away, we’re done here, we don’t need it anymore. Alongside this rather frankly pointless waste of time, Sodom have included two brand new tracks in ‘Coup De Grace’ and ‘Pestiferous Posse’, these tracks are decent enough, the latter of which wouldn’t be out of place on an early Sodom EP, but ultimately, they’re not actually anything to write home about, they’re enjoyable when playing, but quite forgettable otherwise.
The ‘Bombenhagel’ EP is actually perfect for the streaming generation, it can fit easily into any thrash playlist and be quite insidious, but to rush out and activity purchase the EP you have to be either one of two things, a massive Sodom fan or insane with too much money. If you want the answer to that, look at your Sodom collection and the contents of your wallet.
