The band was formed by Tom Angelripper and Aggressor in 1981 in the Western German industrial town of Gelsenkirchen. Initially, they were mostly influenced by bands like Motörhead, Tank, Raven, and Venom. Sodom's own music style would greatly influence many late-1980s and early-1990s thrash and black metal bands, among others.
They soon found a drummer called Bloody Monster who was, however, quickly replaced by Chris Witchhunter, with whom they released two demos, "Witching Metal" and "Victims of Death" in 1982 and 1984, before signing a deal with SPV GmbH. After a gig in Frankfurt in 1984 (with Destruction and Tankard) Manfred Schütz of SPV GmbH came to the band and spoke the legendary sentence "You guys are so bad, you will sell a lot of records!". This led to the recording of their debut EP "In the Sign of Evil". Missing was Aggressor, who had meanwhile left the band. He was replaced by Grave Violator (recommended to the band by Kreator's Mille Petrozza), who also wouldn't stay very long. In his place, Michael Wulf joined, just to leave the band shortly after the recordings of their first full-length album "Obsessed by Cruelty" in 1986 to join Kreator (where he would last only one show). Michael Wulf died in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
After "Obsessed by Cruelty" was released, the band abolished their satanic image and replaced it with the (pacifistic motivated) war theme that can be found on most of Sodom's records. With their new guitarist Frank Blackfire, the most legendary Sodom line-up recorded two albums (plus a live album, "Mortal Way of Live", the first of various Sodom releases which had a censored cover in Germany): "Persecution Mania" (wich was the first Sodom album produced by the band's long-time producer Harris Johns, and also had the first cover that featured the band's mascot "Knarrenheinz") and "Agent Orange" (including the single "Ausgebombt"). This album made Sodom the first German Thrash band to ever enter the charts (it reached number 36 on the German Media Control charts).
Blackfire left in 1989 (like Destructor before he joined Kreator) and was replaced by ex-Assassin guitarist Michael "Micha" Hoffmann.
In 1992 Tom fired Chris Witchhunter, who had alcohol problems. Atomic Steif, who would stay in the band until 1996 (and is, like many former Sodom members, still embittered that Tom fired him) became the new drummer.
From 1997 to 2010, Sodom had a consistent lineup consisting of Tom Angelripper, Konrad "Bobby" Schottkowski (Crows) and Bernemann. In 2001 Tom, who meanwhile also released various solo albums as Onkel Tom Angelripper, has been awarded double platinum for more than 1.000.000 sold Sodom albums.
Sodom collaborated with famous German schlager singer/actor Roberto Blanco in 2011, making a commercial intended to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease. He also joined them on stage at various gigs (including Wacken 2011) for a metal rendition of his song 'Ein bisschen Spaß muss sein'.
Current members:
* Tom Angelripper (Thomas Such, Onkel Tom) - Vocals/Bass (Desperados)
* Frank Blackfire (Frank Gosdzik) - Guitars (later Mystic) and Kreator) (1987-1989, special appearance in the December 28, 2006 concert in Bochum, 2018–present)
* Yorck Segatz – guitars (2018–present)
* Toni Merkel – drums (2020–present)
Former members:
* Aggressor (Frank Testegen) - Guitars (1983-1984)
* Grave Violator (Pepi Dominic) - Guitars (1984-1985)
* Destructor (Michael Wulf) - Guitars (later Kreator) (1985-1986) R.I.P. in 1993.
* Assator (Uwe Christophers) - Guitars (ex-Darkness) (on tour in 1986)
* Uwe Baltrusch - Guitars (on tour in 1989/1990) (also in Mekong Delta, later House of Spirits)
* Michael Hoffman - Guitars (ex-Assassin) (1990)
* Andy Brings - Guitars (later Powergod) (1991-1995)
* Strahli (Dirk Strahlimeier) - Guitars (1995-1996)
* Chris Witchhunter (Christian Dudek) - Drums (1983-1992) (see also Destruction and Bathory)
* Atomic Steif (Guido Richter) - Drums (later Stahlträger and Assassin), ex-Sacred Chao, ex-Holy Moses, ex-Living Death, ex-Brotós) (1992-1996)
* Bobby Schottkowski - Drums (ex-Crows, ex-Onkel Tom Angelripper) (1997-2010)
* Bernemann (Bernd Kost) - Guitars (ex-Crows) (1996–2018)
* Markus "Makka" Freiwald – drums (2010–2018)
* Stefan "Husky" Hüskens – drums (2018–2020)
Official website:
www.sodomized.info
2) ＳＯＤＯＭ were an early-mid 80's Japanese punk group, who played mid-speed hardcore punk. Their style takes cues from The SS, Discharge, Typhus, as well as American hardcore. They have one tape (Sodom & Requiem) and were featured with 7 songs on the ADK Omnibus Vol.1 compilation.
Fansite:
www.sodom.hu
City of God
Sodom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for decline
Delivered from their passion
To spill the blood tonight
Laughing dead corruption
The truth is just a fake
Undying hate is buried
Don't be afraid
Don't run away
Their past has been divided
Emperor's sacrifice
The dead will take the reign
Blessed by the guns
City of God
Crawling deep into your soul
A life that fades away
Balanced on the edge of scorn
For whom you gonna pray
Terror without pity
Insane and tearing minds
All wars could be forgotten
When life is so unkind
Don't be afraid
Don't run away
Their past has been divided
Emperor's sacrifice
The dead will take the reign
Blessed by the guns
City of God
Don't be afraid
Don't run away
Their past has been divided
Emperor's sacrifice
City of God
The dead will take the reign
Blessed by the guns
City of God
The lyrics of Sodom's song 'City Of God' seem to be a commentary on the destructive nature of human societies and how the pursuit of power and violence ultimately leads to the downfall of those societies. The opening lines "Silent calls of solitude, waiting for decline" could be interpreted as a sense of foreboding about the state of the world and the inevitable decline that comes with it. The next lines "Delivered from their passion, to spill the blood tonight" could be seen as a reference to the destructive tendencies of those in power who engage in wars and violence for their own gain.
The chorus of the song reinforces the idea of a society lost to violence and corruption. The lines "Their past has been divided, Emperor's sacrifice, the dead will take the reign, blessed by the guns, City of God" suggest that the past has been forgotten and replaced by a culture of death and sacrifice. The use of the phrase "City of God" may be a reference to the 2002 movie of the same name, which explores similar themes of corruption and violence in modern-day Brazil.
The second verse continues to emphasize the bleakness of the situation, with lines like "Crawling deep into your soul, a life that fades away, balanced on the edge of scorn, for whom you gonna pray". These lyrics suggest a feeling of hopelessness and despair, with no escape from the violence and corruption around them. The final chorus repeats the phrase "City of God", emphasizing the idea that this violent dystopia is all-consuming and impossible to escape.
Line by Line Meaning
Silent calls of solitude
The quiet and lonely cries of those who feel isolated
Waiting for decline
They are anticipating the downfall of something or someone
Delivered from their passion
They have been freed from their desires and longings
To spill the blood tonight
They plan to shed blood this evening
Laughing dead corruption
The corruption of those who have already died is a joke to them
The truth is just a fake
They believe that what is real and true is actually false and misleading
Undying hate is buried
Their hate is not forgotten, but is buried away
Into a nameless grave
Their hate and negativity is hidden away, without any recognition or acknowledgment
Don't be afraid
There is nothing to fear
Don't run away
They should not flee from what is to come
Their past has been divided
Their history has been split into different parts or sections
Emperor's sacrifice
The ruler's death or sacrifice
The dead will take the reign
The deceased will take power and control
Blessed by the guns
The weapons of war are seen as sacred and revered
City of God
This is the name of the place they are in or describing
Crawling deep into your soul
Feeling as though something is penetrating and exploring the depths of one's inner self
A life that fades away
A life that is slowly disappearing into the ether
Balanced on the edge of scorn
Living on the line between contempt and disgust
For whom you gonna pray
Who or what will they pray to when they are in trouble or distress
Terror without pity
Frightening and ruthless behavior that lacks any compassion or mercy
Insane and tearing minds
Thoughts that are confusing, deranged, and destructive
All wars could be forgotten
The struggles and conflicts of humanity could be left behind in the past
When life is so unkind
When things are so cruel and difficult
Their past has been divided
Their history has been split into different parts or sections
Emperor's sacrifice
The ruler's death or sacrifice
City of God
This is the name of the place they are in or describing
The dead will take the reign
The deceased will take power and control
Blessed by the guns
The weapons of war are seen as sacred and revered
City of God
This is the name of the place they are in or describing
Don't be afraid
There is nothing to fear
Don't run away
They should not flee from what is to come
Their past has been divided
Their history has been split into different parts or sections
Emperor's sacrifice
The ruler's death or sacrifice
City of God
This is the name of the place they are in or describing
The dead will take the reign
The deceased will take power and control
Blessed by the guns
The weapons of war are seen as sacred and revered
City of God
This is the name of the place they are in or describing
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: THOMAS SUCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jordan220
The difference between German thrash and American thrash is stunning.
@-zva-group5230
Ухе дело не в trash'е
@Taller705
German thrash is great, American thrash is great too ! i say
@ThePrimordialBeing
Tell it to Chuck Schuldiner...
@willukyagronk
he was death metal...
@jordan220
Avril Morgan
lol what? Death is death metal
@reinforcedsteel3340
Teutonic thrash is the best thing ever happened to music.
@Mitchery
It is indeed.
@YesMan-uy4cj
You have litterly a american thrash band on your profile
@xXThePhilosopherXx
Angelripper has one of the best voices in metal.