Everything about “The Arsonist”, from its eerie opening instrumental title track to the maelstrom that is “Battle of the Harvest Moon”, is exactly what you’d want from Sodom.
In a world where everything feels watered down and there’s precious little actual thrash metal left, “Trigger Warning” and its ilk give the impression that they’d fight you if you weren’t on board in the mosh pit.
Suitably for this endeavour, Sodom went old school and recorded the album analogue. According to frontman Tom Angelripper: “no plastic.”
And most certainly—this is meant as a compliment—”The Spirits That I Called” sounds like it could have come out in 1983, when thrash was raw, fresh, and a little bit scary.
This is very much a band effort. Frank Blackfire (guitar), York Segatz (guitar), and Toni Merkel (drums) all played their part, but more than that, it’s the sheer force of Angelripper that seems to carry it.
“Witchhunter” features the fastest drumming you’ll hear all year, but the vocals have a real Lemmy-like feel—as if he’s gargling even more sandpaper than usual.
“Scavenger” slows the pace a touch but somehow still manages to sound like Slayer in the middle of a nightmare.
“Gun Without Groom” ramps things back up again, and there’s more than a little Venom (in every sense) here as Angelripper gets good and guttural.
One of the joys of listening to and reviewing thrash for 40 years is discovering words you didn’t know existed—so hello, “Taphophobia”. The fear of being buried alive, apparently, and it makes one hell of a soundtrack to your struggle.
“Sane Insanity” is as glorious as it gets. Proper slashing solos abound, and the energy they’ve found throughout is remarkable.
“A.W.T.F.”—all Tom is giving away is that it’s a tribute to Algy Ward of Tank, his favourite singer—is a thing of beauty, bristling with punk spirit.
But even nearly 40 years after their debut, the Germans can still scare the living shit out of you. “Twilight Void” heads straight for hell—happily, it seems.
If you’re going to end humanity, then “Obliteration of the Aeons” is the track you’ll want playing as you do it, while “Return to God in Parts” sounds rather like they’d like to send bits of Him to Jesus Himself.
At 13 songs, this is longer than most albums these days, and by and large, it feels like being bludgeoned with a concrete block for 48 minutes.
However, in a world where thrash metal has been diluted and often turned into hard rock, meet the antidote.
“The Arsonist” doesn’t just burn it down—it salts the earth just to make sure.
Rating: 8/10
