As we’ve seen in part 1, Thrash Metal took off like wildfire. It immediately established itself within the pantheon of Heavy Metal sub-genres, and continued to spread the popularity of Heavy Metal itself. It also wasn’t a purely American/British invention: bands like Motörhead & Megadeth helped create Thrash, but America & England aren’t the only countries that have angry headbangers. This month, we’re heading over to Germany, to check out the legendary Sodom!
That’s right, Sodom! Part of the Big 4 of “Teutonic” Thrash Metal, Sodom’s has had a lengthy career, starting back in the early 80s where they were more know as one of the leaders in the first wave of Black Metal. Now, they’re known as titans of Thrash Metal, which is something I wholeheartedly go along with. In the early 90s, Sodom continued down their own special path of Thrash Metal, with nary a slipup. So let’s take a look at their first release of the 90s, Better Off Dead, and see if their deserve their mantle. Let the review begin!
Background
Prior to their tour for Agent Orange, guitarist Frank Blackfire left Sodom due to his conflict with Chris Witchhunter, and ultimately joined Kreator to work on their excellent Coma Of Souls album, which was also released in 1990 (Coincidence?). Luckily, the band didn’t suffer because of this, and managed to pick up Uwe Baltrusch from Mekong Delta for their tour with Sepultura without an issue. When it came time to get a permanent member, however, their choice came in the form of Michael Hoffmann, whose previous commitment was with the underground Thrash band Assassin on their second album (Interstellar Experience). With this new lineup, the band eventually released their 4th album, Better Off Dead, on October 1st, 1990. To date, Better Off Dead remains a controversial release from Sodom. Why? Take a look below.
Basic Description
Speedy......Restraint.
Seriously Sodom, what the hell!? Here you are, one of the pillars of the Teutonic Thrash movement, and here you are holding yourselves back. Why!? Was it because of Tom Angelripper moving the band towards his style? Was it because of the new guy, Michael Hoffman? What is it!?
Despite that momentary outburst, I should state that Better Off Dead isn’t a bad album. Far from it, this is actually a very good record! Because of the restraint they show there’s kind of a sameness among the tracks, but Sodom still put in a great amount effort & polish into the record, and while the music drifts away a little from their previous output, every song on here is still nice & heavy. There’s seems to be a little more rhythm within them, and at times comes across as rather Motörhead-ish (More on that in a bit).
Best Track
The Saw is the Law is a great track on this album. Itself an altered version of the same track taken from an EP with the same name, the song is a healthy blend between two mediums. You’ve got the intensity of their first 3 albums, but you also got the more relaxed/restraint stylings of this release. It actually works quite well, as while I may have a problem with where the band went with this album, for some reason I don’t mind what’s going on here. Definitely a strong track!
The Saw is the Law
Worst Track
Like I said earlier, Better Off Dead isn’t a bad album. Sodom is certainly going at it during it’s 12-song run, but as I said at the beginning, the bad is acting with a level of restraint that was quite unusual. If you’ve listened to the band’s first 3 albums, you’ll know that restraint was not in the band’s name. With Better Off Dead, the band goes for a pacing reminiscent of Motörhead, Raven, and Tank. Great bands in their own right, but maybe the kind of bands that Sodom shouldn’t emulate.
Other
If you’re interested in listening to this album before you buy it, check out the link below.
Better Off Dead
Overall Impression & Rating
Better Off Dead remains a controversial album within the Sodom discography, and for good reason. While the quality is still great, Sodom doesn’t quite seem like themselves as they sing & play. They seem to be imitating other bands, not being themselves. Whether it was because of personal issues, new band members, or what, I don’t know. Again, despite this, you shouldn’t ignore Better Off Dead. It’s definitely a unique release from Sodom, and it’s it one that you should listen to at least once or twice.
Better Off Dead gets a 9 out of 10
So this was my review for Sodom’s initial album of the 90s. Not God-awful. Not unlistenable. Not even mildly terrible. But this restraint....it might be a turnoff for some of you. Luckily, the band would not be this restrained for long, so join me two weeks from now, when we’ll be tapping that vein. See you then!
**
I say two weeks from now, since Connecticon is coming, and my annual review for it will be up the day after the convention. Hope you don’t mind the wait!
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