For Sodom, 2021 has been a pretty productive year, as well as bringing out a mega remastered bells and whistles boxset of M-16 on its 20th anniversary they have also brought us this new EP. In their current line up as a 4 piece (since 2018); original member Tom Angelripper (bass/vocals), Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (guitar), Yorck Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums) decided to release this 3 track EP in time for the summer festival season but yet again many of the dates had been postponed till 2022 however they still put Bombenhagel out in August '21 to prove to fans that they are still around.
The first track "Bombenhagel" is a re-recording of the original from their 1987 album Persecution Mania. A statement from Angelripper declares "I wanted a recording of our old classic by the new line up. This new arrangement of our anthem definitely holds a few surprises in store." I can vouch for that but it still has some old familiar touches like Harris Johns as a guest guitarist again. Johns produced Persecution Mania (1987) and guests on the original "Bombenhagel", returning for the 2021 recording as a huge thank you from the band to Harris, they say "without Harris, Sodom wouldn't be where we are today'. The new version of "Bombenhagel" is a full minute longer than the original and even though it has the extra guitar it still manages to keep that stripped back feel. Musically it is very accomplished as is the original but this is a bit cleaner so separating the instruments better and that extra minute makes way for some great solos kept short and sweet which is the way it should be. Do not fear "Bombenhagel" still contains the German national anthem piece midway through and has a nice moody official lyric video to boot. The ending of the song is still rather abrupt and random, much like the original which is a bit of a bugbear of mine. Like the remastered M-16 this re-recording of "Bombenhagel" has lifted and enhanced the original rather than replaced it. Times and techniques have changed a lot since Persecution Mania and it has certainly cleaned up this classic track for a modern day audience.
Track 2 is a brand new song "Coup De Grace". The music was composed by Yorck Segatz with the lyrics penned, of course, by Angelripper. Described by the band as "a true thrash sensation" gets no argument from me. This is Sodom proving they are still on top form. Sticking with their short blasting solos, shout along lyrics and setting the pace at maximum. "Coup De Grace" is about humanities tendency for self destruction be it climate change, war or destroying/hunting the creatures we share the world with, lyrics like "can't hear your voice of desperation. Killing prey is my vocation" push that message across with brute force. The shortest track on the EP at just over 3 minutes it holds nothing back.
The final track is "Pestiferous Posse" and is about the famous gunfight at the OK Corral in Arizona 1881. Not the normal story of war you would expect from Sodom but more of a metaphor for the current US (and German) political situation according to the band. This might be about the wild west but it certainly is not country (see what I did there??!!), erm, this has a distinctly dark and sinister feel to it. Another brand new track from the band it has some great technical elements to it. In parts it has the signature Sodom chugging pace to it but also takes things down a notch midway through giving way to a glorious and hefty bass riff throwing everything back up to the way it started. Again this track ends rather abruptly but not as distracting as "Bombenhagel".
Bombenhagel (2021) is available on CD, 12" vinyl and digital download on Steamhammer/SPV. With their extensive back catalogue and long career we know that it will take more than a global pandemic to keep Sodom down and this new EP has whet our appetites for more of their new material. Fingers crossed for a new full length album soon.
