Despite Sodom being one of the Big Three in the so called Teutonic thrash metal scene, I must admit to not having heard them all that much, not nearly as much as the other two of the three anyway, those two being Destruction and Kreator.
Honestly, I do believe this is only the second time I’ve seen the band, and probably the first time where I was really paying attention to what was going on…

So, what did I see then?
Well, for one thing I saw another German thrash band which was absolutely loved by the native crowd.
Actually, this love made it a quite difficult to see anything at all at times, this due to an enormous dust-cloud which covered the place, a dust-cloud which bore witness of the massive moshing going on in the crowd!
I also managed to see, and this struck me as an interesting, funny even, contrast; the band members counting leader/vocals/bass Tom Angelripper (a.k.a. Thomas Such), guitarist Bernd 'Bernemann' Kost and to some smaller degree new drummer Markus 'Makka' Freiwald all had the look of kind, older gentlemen (maybe I’m completely off target here, you be the judge) but still they came on and immediately began playing this really fast and aggressive thrash metal which would knock other bands of about the same age and persuasion (yes, I’m talking about you Metallica) right out of their socks!

Sadly for the band, who were really going at it in creating an energy-filled thrash show for the fans, the sound problems with the silent speakers which had begun with Belphegor was still present up through Sodom’s show as well. This didn’t really help my view of the band (even though I know it was out of their hands), as it made hearing and getting to know them all that much harder…
Still, they did raise my spirit with the very sing-along friendly M-16, and in general Angelripper had a very good grasp of the situation, and knew how to lead the crowd. Sadly, although understandably, it was all in German, and again I was a bit left out…

So, do I see the bigger picture with Sodom now?
Sadly, no. It was a pleasant enough gig, and had I known the band better, and understood German, there is a good chance that this review would have looked quite differently than it does, but as things are now, I will probably not be jumping out of my seat the next time I see Sodom announced somewhere near me…

Setlist (incomplete):

M-16
Outbreak Of Evil
Agent Orange
The Saw Is The Law