Sodom – The Arsonist

Written by on 03-12-2025 at 23:46.

You never forget your first time, right? For me it was at the end of May 1989, when I attended my first metal show. In the small Frisian village where I lived back then—a place where not much ever happened—the local heroes of Luncay opened on a sultry early-summer evening, followed by Pestilence, with Sodom as the headliner. From the very first notes I was hooked on the genre and wanted to go through life as a thrasher from that moment on. My parents must have thought: “that kid will never turn out right.” In some respects they were probably right, but at least my musical taste is solid, because you can still wake me up for a healthy dose of thrash! The Arsonist already came out this past summer. Due to an overloaded schedule of one of my fellow writers, it sat on the shelf for a while until I was asked to take over the review. Curious whether our Teutonic friends have delivered another strong album this time? Read on.

The first thing that stands out is that with The Arsonist, Sodom delivers a record that sounds modern while still being deeply rooted in their own thrash tradition. The choice to record on a 24-track analog tape machine proves to be the foundation of the album’s entire sound. Where predecessor Genesis XIX leaned more clearly toward a modern, sometimes slightly clinical production, The Arsonist breathes the rawness of classic Sodom titles such as Persecution Mania and Obsessed By Cruelty. Tom Angelripper’s credo “no plastic!” is more than a slogan: the warm tape compression gives the whole an organic sound you rarely hear in contemporary thrash.

That production would mean little without strong songs, and that’s exactly where the current line-up once again shows its strength. It may not sound as commercial as Agent Orange anymore, but the fact remains that since the return of Frank Blackfire, Sodom has sounded fully balanced again. On The Arsonist, the interplay between Frank and Yorck Segatz seems tighter than ever. Frank’s typically venomous hooks are seamlessly complemented by Yorck’s more epic approach, giving the album both relentless fury and room to breathe. Compared to earlier line-ups (think of the Decision Day era, where the compositions largely stemmed from one creative corner), this album feels much more like a collective product.

The biggest surprise, however, comes from drummer Toni Merkel. His energetic playing not only gives the songs an old-school vibe, but his contributions as a songwriter provide remarkable variety. The fact that a drummer who is also a guitarist helped write the material can be heard in the structure of the songs: compact, rhythmically inventive, yet melodic enough to stick with you. In older line-ups, songwriting focus often rested on one or two core members, but here it’s truly four in a row.

The single Trigger Discipline clearly showcases the album’s hardest, most uncompromising side. The track deals with a sniper who loses all sense of control, and it sounds like Sodom at their most merciless: cutting guitars, an Angelripper deploying his most biting vocal rasp, and drums that—thanks to the analog recording—punch straight through the mix. This might be their sharpest statement in years.

Yet a shadow of nostalgia—but above all respect—also hangs over the drums on this album: Sodom dedicates a song to their late former drummer Chris “Witchhunter” Dudek, one of the architects of the classic Sodom sound. Where earlier line-ups sometimes drifted apart musically, this homage is a reminder of how defining Witchhunter’s rough, all-or-nothing style has been for the band’s identity.

With The Arsonist, Sodom proves that tradition and innovation can coexist perfectly when a band is operating at full strength. The current line-up is probably the tightest and most versatile that Angelripper has assembled around him in a long time. The result is an album that not only reaches back to the glory days, but convincingly pulls them into the here and now: warm, raw, authentic, and filled to the last note with pure, unadulterated thrash. If this doesn’t end up high on the year-end lists, then I want to be personally exiled to the biblical Sodom.

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