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
Hellfire
Sodom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rulers of the global fire
Death in perpetuity
To contaminate the clean
Spiteful anger
Devotion carved in stone
There is no redeemer
Hellfire
Hellfire
Hellfire
Can`t push my face into the ground
Trapped and collapsed internal parts
Watch the fading blood red lights
Avert from moon and stars
Thrashing the tomb
To reveal what is inside
Disfigured rotten corpses
Leaving crucified
Hellfire
Hellfire
Hellfire
They sleep the wrath of aeons
Life that drowned in fire
With ghosts and the ancient stones
Leave the sentenced fate behind
Haunt the dreams in endless wars
Praying for the day of doom
Never find somebody`s lap
To die into
Sudden gleams arise the sky
Rulers of the global fire
Death in perpetuity
To contaminate the clean
Hellfire
Hellfire
Hellfire
Hellfire
The lyrics to Sodom's song Hellfire seem to be about the end of the world, described as sudden gleams in the sky which are the rulers of the global fire. It appears that there is a destructive force that seems to have taken over everything, and it can't be redeemed. There's also a sense of anger and spite, with devotion carved in stone, indicating an unwavering commitment to destruction.
The lyrics also describe scenes of disarray – internal parts are trapped and collapsing, blood red lights are fading and the moon and stars are being averted from. This ties into the idea of death in perpetuity and corruption of the clean. The thrashing of the tomb to reveal what is inside and finding disfigured rotten corpses leaving crucified also reinforces the theme of decay.
Finally, the lyrics speak of haunted dreams in endless wars where someone is praying for the day of doom but never finding somebody’s lap to die into. This last line paints a vivid picture of despair and solitude at the end of everything. All in all, the song seems to highlight a sense of hopelessness and chaos that may be experienced in a scenario where the world is ending.
Line by Line Meaning
Sudden gleams arise the sky
There are sudden flashes of light that appear in the sky.
Rulers of the global fire
Those who are in control of the fire that consumes the world.
Death in perpetuity
The idea that death will last forever and never end.
To contaminate the clean
The purpose of the fire is to poison the pure things in the world.
Spiteful anger
A feeling of deep hatred and resentment.
Devotion carved in stone
A commitment that is unchanging and set in stone.
There is no redeemer
No one can save you from the impending doom.
Darkened skies above
The sky is obscured by darkness.
Hellfire
Refers to the fire from hell that will destroy everything.
Can`t push my face into the ground
Unable to escape the destruction.
Trapped and collapsed internal parts
Unable to physically survive the onslaught.
Watch the fading blood red lights
Watching everything slowly disappear into a mist of bloody light.
Avert from moon and stars
Avoid looking upwards because there is nothing left to see.
Thrashing the tomb
Trying to uncover what is hidden away, no matter what the cost.
To reveal what is inside
Determined to uncover the truth, no matter how horrible it might be.
Disfigured rotten corpses
The grotesque remains of those who were unable to survive the fire.
Leaving crucified
The dead will be left behind, unable to escape their fate.
They sleep the wrath of aeons
Those who have died are now at rest and waiting for the end of time.
Life that drowned in fire
Everything has been completely destroyed by the fire that consumed it.
With ghosts and the ancient stones
Remnants of a once-vibrant world, now overtaken by death and destruction.
Leave the sentenced fate behind
Give up on saving yourself and accept your inevitable demise.
Haunt the dreams in endless wars
The fear of what is to come obsesses and torments people even in their sleep.
Praying for the day of doom
Hoping for an end to their suffering, no matter how terrible it may be.
Never find somebody`s lap
No one will be there to comfort you in your time of need.
To die into
Accepting death as your only escape.
Hellfire
The fire of hell is all-consuming and unavoidable.
Contributed by Audrey O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.