Sodom: Collection (1987-2010) [14CD, Japanese edition] Re-up

German four-piece speed/thrash metal band, regarded as very influential to the modern black metal scene.

Sodom's original line-up consisted of Tom Angelripper, Bloody Monster and Aggressor. The band was initially formed by Tom as a desperate attempt to get out of having to work in coal mines in his home town of Gelsenkirchen. Taking inspiration from bands such as Motörhead, Tank, Venom and Accept, they released two demos which led to a record deal with Steamhammer (none of which were recorded with Bloody Monster, who was replaced by Chris Witchunter). Aggressor left the band shortly before releasing the In the Sign of Evil EP (generally regarded as an important early black metal release), and was replaced by Grave Violator, who did not last long himself, and left following the recording of In the Sign of Evil. A replacement was found in the form of Michael "Destructor" Wulf. They then went and recorded Obsessed by Cruelty, their full length debut. It featured music that was mostly in the same vein of In The Sign of Evil. Wulf did not last long himself, and later went and joined Kreator (this relationship would not last long either, and the man would later die in 1993 after a tragic motorcycle accident).

For the most part, the band was not taken seriously at first, as various press sources stated them as nothing more than "a second rate Venom clone with semi inventive lyrics". One member would change that. This member was Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik, who came in to fill the empty guitar spot Wulf left behind thrash metal. Frank had convinced Tom that thrash metal was moving beyond the realms of the horror/occult/satanic themes of bands like Venom, and that themes such as politics, society, and war were being embraced. Tom was already very interested in various wars, yet viewed them as stupid and outright dumb. This new inspiration culminated into Frank's full length debut with the band, Persecution Mania. The new lyrical approach and increased musicianship on the part of Frank gave the band great praise (as well as a mascot Knarrenheinz, who appeared for the first time on Persecution Mania's cover), and they soon embarked on a tour of Europe with the Swiss thrash metal outfit Coroner. After touring for the better part of 1987 and 1988, the band returned to the studio to make another album. The final product was titled Agent Orange, and it sold 100,000 copies in Germany alone. This made Sodom famous, giving them world wide critical acclaim, and securing their place alongside Kreator and Destruction as one of the great three teutonic thrash metal bands. To this date, Agent Orange has sold more than any other German thrash metal album all over the world.

In January 2018, Tom Angelripper announced the departure of Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and Markus "Makka" Freiwald from the band. Two weeks later he announced the new line up including Frank Blackfire and Yorck Segatz on guitars and Stefan "Husky" Hüskens on the drums. This is the first time in the history of Sodom that the band has four members.

Actual lineup:
* Tom Angelripper - vocals, bass
* Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik - guitar (1987-1989, 2018-)
* Yorck Segatz - guitar
* Stefan "Husky" Hüskens - drums

Former band members:
# Frank Testegen - guitar (1983-1984, 2007)
# Josef Dominic - guitar (1984-1985, 2007)
# Michael Wulf - guitar (1985-1986)
# Uwe Christophers - guitar (on tour in 1986)
# Uwe Baltrusch - guitar (on tour in 1989/1990)
# Michael Hoffman - guitar (1990)
# Andy Brings - guitar (1991-1995)
# Dirk Strahlimeier - guitar (1995-1996)
# Bernd "Bernemann" Kost - guitar (1996-2018)
# Christian Dudek - drums (1983-1992)
# Guido "Atomic Steif" Richter - drums (1992-1995)
# Konrad "Bobby" Schottkowski - drums (1996-2010)
# Markus"Makka"Freiwald - drums (2010-2018)

Chris "Witchhunter" Dudek died on 7 September 2008 from liver failure after a long battle with illness.

~ discogs

Tracklist CD1 - 1987 - Persecution Mania (TECX-20527):

01. Nuclear Winter (5:24)
02. Electrocution (3:14)
03. Iron Fist (2:43)
04. Persecution Mania (3:39)
05. Enchanted Land (3:59)
06. Procession To Golgatha (2:01)
07. Christ Passion (6:12)
08. Conjuration (3:42)
09. Bombenhagel (5:08)
10. Outbreak Of Evil (3:32)
11. Sodomy And Lust (5:13)
12. The Conqueror (3:30)
13. My Atonement (6:05)




Tracklist CD2 - 1989 - Agent Orange (TECX-20525):

01. Agent Orange (6:04)
02. Tired And Red (5:26)
03. Incest (4:40)
04. Remember The Fallen (4:21)
05. Magic Dragon (6:00)
06. Exhibition Bout (3:36)
07. Ausgebombt (3:05)
08. Baptism Of Fire (4:04)
09. Don't Walk Away (2:57)




Tracklist CD3 - 1990 - Better Off Dead (TECP-25561):

01. An Eye For An Eye (4:25)
02. Shellfire Defense (4:23)
03. The Saw Is The Law (4:11)
04. Turn Your Head Around (3:23)
05. Capture The Flag (6:08)
06. Cold Sweat (3:10)
07. Bloodtrails (4:45)
08. Never Healing Wound (2:26)
09. Better Off Dead (3:44)
10. Resurrection (4:50)
11. Tarred And Feathered (3:02)
12. Stalinorgel (4:42)




Tracklist CD4 - 1991 - The Saw Is The Law + Ausgebombt (TECP-20784):

01. The Saw Is The Law (Splatting Remixed Version) (5:52)
02. Tarred And Fathered (3:02)
03. The Kids Wanna Rock (2:49)
04. Cold Sweat (3:10)
05. An Eye For An Eye (4:26)
06. Better Off Dead (3:45)
07. Ausgebombt (German Version) (3:05)




Tracklist CD5 - 1992 - Tapping The Vein (TECX-25342):

01. Body Parts (3:02)
02. Skinned Alive (2:27)
03. One Step Over The Line (5:07)
04. Deadline (3:52)
05. Bulled In The Head (3:01)
06. The Crippler (4:10)
07. Wachturm (3:47)
08. Tapping The Vein (5:12)
09. Back To War (3:14)
10. Hunting Season (4:28)
11. Reincarnation (7:50)




Tracklist CD6 - 1993 - Aber Bitte Mit Sahne (TECX-12644):

01. Aber Bitte Mit Sahne (3:17)
02. Sodomized (2:39)
03. Abuse (1:43)
04. Skinned Alive '93 (2:31)




Tracklist CD7 - 1994 - Get What You Deserve (TECX-25677):

01. Get What You Deserve (3:45)
02. Jabba The Hut (2:30)
03. Jesus Screamer (1:42)
04. Delight In Slaying (2:40)
05. Die Stumme Ursel (3:47)
06. Freaks Of Nature (2:07)
07. Eat Me (3:22)
08. Unbury The Hatched (2:29)
09. Into Perdition (2:46)
10. Sodomized (2:44)
11. Fellows In Misery (2:18)
12. Tribute To Moby Dick (Instrumental) (4:21)
13. Silence Is Consent (2:30)
14. Erwachet ! (2:17)
15. Gomorrah (2:19)
16. Angel Dust (Venom Cover) (2:40)




Tracklist CD8 - 1995 - Masquerade In Blood (TECW-25045):

01. Masquerade In Blood (3:19)
02. Gathering Of Minds (4:16)
03. Fields Of Honour (3:24)
04. Braindead (2:29)
05. Verrecke! (2:48)
06. Shadow Of Damnation (2:57)
07. Peacemaker's Law (3:24)
08. Muder In My Eyes (2:38)
09. Unwanted Youth (3:33)
10. Mantelmann (2:10)
11. Scum (5:24)
12. Hydrophobia (3:23)
13. Let's Break The Law (2:57)
14. 20000 Feet (3:39)




Tracklist CD9 - 1997 - 'Til Death Do Us Unite (Promo CD, BVCP-6021):

01. Frozen Screams (2:56)
02. Fuck The Police (3:27)
03. Gisela (2:39)
04. That's What An Unknown Killer Diarized (4:42)
05. Hanging Judge (2:46)
06. No Way Out (2:48)
07. Polytoximaniac (2:27)
08. 'Til Death Do Us Unite (5:12)
09. Hazy Shade Of Winter (Paul Simon Cover) (1:59)
10. Suicidal Justice (2:47)
11. Wander In The Valley (3:51)
12. Sow The Seeds Of Discord (2:30)
13. Master Of Disguise (3:03)
14. Schwerter Zu Pflugscharen (4:01)
15. Hey, Hey, Hey Rock'n Roll Star (4:17)




Tracklist CD10 - 1999 - Code Red (HWCY-34):

01. Intro (0:49)
02. Code Red (3:55)
03. What Hell Can Create (3:31)
04. Tombstone (3:56)
05. Liquidation (2:44)
06. Spiritual Demise (2:52)
07. Warlike Conspriracy (2:50)
08. Cowardice (4:17)
09. The Vice Of Killing (4:22)
10. Visual Buggery (3:13)
11. Book Burning (2:35)
12. The Wolf And The Lamb (3:18)
13. Addicted To Abstinence (2:07)




Tracklist CD11 - 2001 - M-16 (VICP-61756):

01. Among The Weirdcong (5:08)
02. I Am The War (4:07)
03. Napalm In The Morning (5:57)
04. Minejumper (3:11)
05. Genocide (4:49)
06. Little Boy (4:08)
07. M-16 (4:49)
08. Lead Injection (6:24)
09. Cannon Fodder (3:53)
10. Marines (3:56)
11. Surfin' Bird (2:39)
12. Witching Metal (Bonus) (3:10)
13. Devils Attack (Bonus) (3:12)




Tracklist CD12 - 2006 - Sodom (KICP 1126):

01. Blood On Your Lips (4:43)
02. Wanted Dead (3:58)
03. Buried In The Justice Ground (3:09)
04. City Of God (4:36)
05. Bibles And Guns (3:32)
06. Axis Of Evil (4:36)
07. Lords Of Depravity (2:48)
08. No Captures (4:47)
09. Lay Down The Law (3:57)
10. Nothing To Regret (2:54)
11. The Enemy Inside (4:08)
12. Kamikaze Terrrorizer (Bonus Track For Japan) (3:43)




Tracklist CD13 - 2007 - The Final Sign Of Evil (KICP 1248):

01. The Sin Of Sodom (5:41)
02. Blasphemer (3:21)
03. Bloody Corpse (3:56)
04. Witching Metal (3:38)
05. Sons Of Hell (4:23)
06. Burst Command 'Til War (2:30)
07. Where Angels Die (4:48)
08. Sepulchral Voice (4:36)
09. Hatred Of The Gods (3:15)
10. Ashes To Ashes (4:22)
11. Outbreak Of Evil (3:22)
12. Defloration (3:53)




Tracklist CD14 - 2010 - In War And Pieces (KICP 1533):

01. In War And Pieces (4:11)
02. Hellfire (3:07)
03. Through Toxic Veins (4:44)
04. Nothing Counts More Than Blood (3:49)
05. Storm Raging Up (5:08)
06. Feigned Death Throes (3:59)
07. Soul Contraband (3:51)
08. God Bless You (5:11)
09. The Art Of Killing Poetry (4:39)
10. Knarrenheinz (3:17)
11. Styptic Parasite (5:13)
12. Muder One (Bonus Track) (3:27)



All thanks go to the original releasers