So 2 weeks ago, we took a look at Sodom’s inaugural output of the 90s, Better Off Dead. While not an awful album by any stretch, it’s more restrained nature came out of nowhere, and surprised most if not all of the band’s fans. It was an odd time that left many fans worried, but this worry would soon be gone when 1992 rolls around, as an album would appear that would simply be, in my personal opinion, the best album Sodom ever made. So grab a needle, find that sweet spot on your arm, and take a look at my review for the bloody Tapping the Vein. Let’s begin!
Background
After the excellent yet subdued Better Off Dead, Michael Hoffman didn’t last long in Sodom. He left the group, and the rest of the band had to look for another new replacement. Said replacement came in the form of Andy Brings, a younger & more vibrant guitarist. Brings’s arrival also marked another shift in Sodom’s career, as the group embraced more of a Death Metal influenced when compared to their previous records. The band released Tapping the Vein on the 1st of August 1992, surprising fans once again.
Basic Description
You got your Thrash in my Death Metal...You got your Death in my Thrash Metal...hehe, I like it!
Words cannon describe how much I love Tapping the Vein. Actually, they can, but they would do things justice. For starters, Sodom decided to grab the restraint that was on Better Off Dead, strangle it a little, and throw it off the roof of a 20-story building, letting the body splatter all over the ground. This album embraces a Death Metal-like atmosphere, adding a fierceness to their music that hasn’t been harnessed by any other metal band, and seems to be the only time the band ever embraced this style. The group didn’t forget their Thrash origins, and they mix the two together, creating perhaps their most brutal & heaviest album in their entire career. If you listen to Tapping the Vein, be sure to have some earbuds, cause your skull might shatter from the sound!
Best Track
Best Track? What best track!? This whole album from beginning to end is nothing short of gold! Each & every single song is such a sonic assault on the mind, and it's one that you’ll never want to forget! However, my personal favorite comes in the form of One Step Over the Line. The 3rd song on Tapping the Vein, One Step Over the Line is a more downpaced track in terms of speed, but what it lacks in fast pacing, it makes up in intensity & atmosphere. Dealing with the subject of prostitution, the damage it can cause, and perhaps a bit of desperation, One Step Over the Line is just a dingy & dirty track.....and I love it!
One Step Over the Line
Worst Track
Ultimately, your impression of Tapping the Vein depends on what your feelings are on Death Metal. Like I said earlier, this album borderlines that sub-genre constantly. Vocal work, instrumentation, doesn’t matter. This album is constantly walking on the razor’s edge, and succeeds quite well at this balancing act. Because of this, the Thrash & Death Metal elements bleed into each other, creating a mix that is just magical, although some songs come across as one or the other more than others.
Simply put: If you’re not a Death Metal fan, you won’t like this album. If you are a fan, then you’ll want to marry it. If you’re like me, where you’re not a full-blown but have some respect for it, then you’ll still enjoy Tapping the Vein. I know I did!
Other
If you’re interested in listening to this album before you buy it, check out the link below.
Tapping the Vein
Also, I’ve got a more.....personal reason why I enjoy Tapping the Ven, and why it means so much to me. We have to rewind the clock to early December of last year: my Dad took my Mom to the doctor’s for a checkup, and the results came back saying that my Mother had a case of Diverticulitis, which is a condition involving the intestines. If you’re familiar with Brock Lesnar from his UFC period, you’ll know that this is what killed his career. So my Mom spent the majority of a week in the hospital, getting the Diverticulitis cleared up. Meanwhile I’m at home, and I’m on the verge of wailing, along with being quite afraid. In what seemed to be a strange twist of fate, I saw a link to this album in my “suggestions” section on Youtube. I had known about Sodom a few months prior to finding Tapping the Vein, but I never gave the band a single thought. Upon listening to this record, any sorrow or worry I was feeling was gone, and Tapping the Vein has since taken it’s rightful place along the pantheon of albums I hold close to my heart.
Overall Impression & Rating
Tapping the Vein is just one of those albums that only comes around once in a long while. It has the right kind of brutality, rhythm, polish, and everything else. Like I said earlier, Sodom threw restraint right out the window, and embraced a level of savagery the likes of which haven’t been seen for ages. If you want a Death Metal album with a little bit of Thrash, or a Thrash Metal album that has a little bit of Death mixed in, then Tapping the Vein is the album you desire!
Tapping the Vein gets a 10 out of 10. A perfect album, and one that all of you metalheads should have in your collection!
So this concludes part 2 of the Summer of Thrash, where we see that it’s not just the United States where Thrash Metal can expose it’s head. I’ll see you all next month, when we’ll look at some Thrash bands.....that maybe should have had more time in the spotlight than they should. See you then!
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If you’re curious about Diverticulitis, check out the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverticulitis
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