With Angelripper, Witchhunter, and new guitarist Frank Blackfire serving as the group's core, Sodom began issuing a string of authoritative albums for the label, beginning with 1986's seismic Obsessed with Cruelty. Raw and uncompromising, the five-track collection, which helped spur the black metal movement, yielded future fan favorites like 'Outbreak of Evil' and 'Blasphemer,' and eventually caught the attention of Steamhammer.

Looking to escape a future spent in the region's coal mines, the band, which was now operating as a trio - Arius was fired, Aggressor was replaced by Grave Violator, and Witchhunter took over for Bloody Monster - began cutting demos, resulting in the release of their debut EP, In the Sign of Evil in 1985. Despite enduring multiple personnel changes, the band has remained continuously active, with bassist/vocalist Tom Angelripper serving as the only constant member.įormed in 1981 in the city of Gelsenkirchen, the group's earliest incarnation consisted of Tom Angelripper, Aggressor, Bloody Monster, and Arius Blasphemer. Landmark albums like Persecution Mania (1988) and Agent Orange (1989) followed, with later offerings such as Tapping the Vein (1992) and Sodom (2006) introducing elements of death, crossover, and groove metal into the mix. Emerging in the early 1980s, the group took cues from Mercyful Fate, Accept, and Venom, among others, and from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, to create a tougher, leaner form of metal. Considered one of German thrash metal's 'Big Four' along with Kreator, Tankard, and Destruction, Sodom is one of the genre's longest-running and most influential bands.

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