:: Sodom - The Final Sign Of Evil

Sodom

In as little as twelve months since their last release, German black/thrash metal act Sodom are back once again with another new release in ‘The Final Sign Of Evil’. As the title would suggest, ‘The Final Sign Of Evil’ sees vocalist/bassist/founding member Tom Angelripper celebrating the band’s twenty-fifth anniversary by revisiting Sodom’s past. The new album is a re-recorded and expanded version of their 1984 debut EP ‘In The Sign Of Evil’, which sees Angelripper reunite with original guitarist Grave Violator and drummer Witchhunter. As acts such as Testament, Anthrax and Destruction have shown us, re-recording old material can be a double-edged sword, with as many positives as there are negative results. On the one hand, it’s always interesting to hear just how the old songs sound with today’s recording technology, or with a particular line-up. But on the other hand, attempting to recapture the energy and feel of the source material can sometimes be hard, with the results losing the spark or sound of the original recordings.

On their latest release, Sodom have managed to bypass some of the problems that plague most re-recorded efforts with the band retaining the sound they had all those years ago. The five original tracks that appeared on ‘In The Sign Of Evil’ (‘Blasphemer’, ‘Witching Metal’, ‘Burst Command ‘Til War’, ‘Sepulchral Voice’ and ‘Outbreak Of Evil’) sound as close to the originals as you could expect. One notable difference is the production, which is far superior to that heard on ‘In The Sign Of Evil’. As for the seven previously unreleased additional tracks, they all fit seamlessly with the original tracks, with ‘Where Angels Die’, the riff led ‘Hatred Of The Gods’, ‘Defloration’ and the blackened thrash of ‘The Sin Of Sodom’ standing out as the strongest. With ‘The Final Sign Of Evil’, Sodom have successfully taken a step back in time, and unveiled the album that should have announced their arrival on the scene.