Search - Sodom :: Persecution Mania & The Sign of Evil: Obsessed By

Three of the Best 80's Thrash Albums

B. Fanciulli | United States | 06/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While others have disappeared, changed beyond recognition, or just started, Sodom was one of the pioneers and remains true to their roots to this day. One of the "big 3" of German thrash with Kreator and Destruction, Sodom pumps big sound as a 3-piece. Motorhead and Venom influences are quite prevalent on these, their first three albums. The albums were originally released in the following order (and unfortunately they appear in order of production quality in this package--best to worst):IN THE SIGN OF EVIL (1984) - debut EP. Extremely evil sounding with lots of heavy breathing and grunting. Somewhat juvenile, but a very powerful, fast album that sets the tone for thousands of future death metal bands, most notably Sepultura. The production quality is excellent. Witchhunter's drumming is insane--galloping double-bass with amazing solos at nearly every time change.OBSESSED BY CRUELTY (1986) - first full length album. This is what should be the band's best album, had it not been for the production. In fact, it could have been one of the best thrash albums of all time. Once again, Witchhunter's drumming is excellent--he traded-in some of the solos for tighter, faster sound. Unfortunately, the drums are the only instrument that even sound half decent. The guitar work is excellent with lots of good hooks, but with the overall tinny sound, the guitar is often lost to a hiss heard over the entire album. The vocals sound distant and were poorly mixed. I can't wait for the day that Sodom returns to the studio to rerecord this masterpiece and do it the justice it deserves. PERSECUTION MANIA (1987) - this one put Sodom on the map. By most fans, this is their number one album, with the followup "Agent Orange" being a close and very similar sounding second. Produced by the thrashmaster Harris Johns (also known for his work with Helloween, Coroner, Kreator and Voivod). Witchhunter once again tames his drumming for a slightly slower, more consistent tempo and new guitarist Frank Blackfire lends the band a Motorhead-esque full sound that they continue to churn out today. Definitely one of the top ten albums every thrash fan should own. The "Expurse of Sodomy" EP bonus tracks (Sodomy and Lust, Conqueror and My Atonement) typically packaged with "Persecution.." are present and are the pinnacle of this collection, combining the brutally evil early sound with Persecution production quality."

Sodom's best Album!

Leaf | 08/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"German's trash metal gods ( next to Kreator of course ) entered the German Charts with this Album. Sodom weren't that cult band anymore, more and more people were realising their potential! Persecution Mania is their best ( and heaviest ) Album, they emerged from the garage-status they had with their Debut (In the Sigin of Evil / Obessesed by Cruelty ), to a technical more professional but not less brutal style. "Nuclear Winter", "Christ Passion", "Bombenhagel" and the Highspeed Mayhem of "The Conquerer" are my listening sugestions. I think Sodom reached their peak with Persecution Mania, not Agent Orange ( which entered the Charts as first-trash metal album ever). Their first Two-Records ( also on this CD ) are well worth purchasing too, don't expect a high professional affair, but it's like the german version of Venom and stands the test of time ( I bought this album in 1994 and I'm listening to it right now )"

Hardcore Thrash/Death these albums are brutal and they rule!

Captain_Blade | Everett, WA | 04/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a 2-cd set with 2 albums on the first cd and one one the other. The first cd with In the Sign of Evil is the Harder of the two with songs like blasphemer and witching metal sounding like prototype death metal. The songs on these cd's are some of the fastest thrash around, think beneath the remains sepultura style maybe even faster, the only thing that kind of sucks is Tom angelrippers voice back then was kind of weird. His voice is way better now. Trust me, his voice isn't as bad as like Steve Souza's or anything and it won't keep you from enjoying the hell out of these two cd's. 5 stars for some of the fastest hardest thrash around."