German thrash metal veterans SODOM have released a new single, “1982”. The track is taken from the bonus CD of the box set version of the band’s upcoming 40th-anniversary album, “40 Years At War – The Greatest Hell Of Sodom”, which will arrive on October 28 through Steamhammer/SPV.
“1982” is a brand-new song in which SODOM bassist/vocalist Thomas “Angelripper” Such reminisces about the group’s beginnings.
“At first, we just wanted to be a band; the music was almost an afterthought,” he says. “We were against everything and everyone, wanted to shock the world and the more people hated us, the more motivated we got. Nobody would have expected that 40 years later, we’re still alive and playing. Those 40 years have gone by in a flash, but we continue to look forward.”
“40 Years At War – The Greatest Hell Of Sodom” sums up SODOM‘s history in an unusual and highly ambitious way.
“Our goal was to re-record one song from each of our previous albums,” Angelripper explains. “Not necessarily the most obvious ones, we wanted to go for rarities or tracks we’ve never or very rarely played live.”
The CD and vinyl double LP with their martial cover artwork penned by Eliran Kantor (KREATOR, TESTAMENT, GWAR, among others) include 17 tracks, all newly recorded by the current SODOM lineup featuring Frank Blackfire (guitar),Yorck Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums).
Angelripper explains: “We cover the songs unaltered, that’s to say in exactly the same key and with the original lyrics. We’re better musicians now than we were back then, of course, so the new versions sound tighter and more up to date but the arrangements of the songs were deliberately kept unchanged.”
SODOM‘s 40th-anniversary festivities will be carried over into their concerts in the fall. “We’ll not only play the SODOM classics but also consider fan requests,” Angelripper says. “We’re launching a poll about songs we’ve rarely or never played live on a tour to find out which ones the fans want to hear.”
That’s exactly what SODOM is about: being close to their fans, full of ideas, burning for action while keeping their eyes on the goal ahead.
Angelripper says: “If you want to draw a summary of the past four decades, it can only be this: 40 years later and we’re still here.”
“40 Years At War – The Greatest Hell Of Sodom” track listing:
01. Sepulchral Voice
02. After The Deluge
03. Electrocution
04. Baptism Of Fire
05. Better Off Dead
06. Body Parts
07. Jabba The Hut
08. Gathering Of Minds
09. That’s What An Unknown Killer Diarized
10. Book Burning
11. Genocide
12. City Of God
13. Ashes To Ashes
14. In War And Pieces
15. S.O.D.O.M.
16. Caligula
17. Euthanasia
SODOM‘s latest studio LP, “Genesis XIX”, came out in November 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and Steamhammer/SPV in Europe. The disc was recorded by Siggi Bemm and mastered by Patrick W. Engel and comes shrouded in the cover art of Joe Petagno of MOTÖRHEAD fame.
Angelripper described “Genesis XIX” as “one of the toughest and most diverse studio recordings that SODOM have ever released.”
