### Sodom: Persecution mania

#### 12/03/10 || Smalley

Why is it that metal albums from ’87 get overlooked so often? Sure, ’86 was a pretty bang-up year for the genre, with lots of classics for us to drool over, but I still think certain albums from ’87 deserve more attention than they currently get, like “Terrible certainty”, “Schizophrenia”, and of course, “Persecution mania”. This was the first truly good Sodom album, and while it doesn’t reach the impressive heights of follow-up “Agent orange”, it does lay down the template for that great album, and is more than good enough on its own to make up for the average foot the band got off on with “Obsessed by cruelty”.

Opener “Nuclear winter” wages scorched-earth war and takes no prisoners with its sharp, gritty guitar work from Frank Blackfire, energetic (if a bit imprecise) drumming by Chris Witchhunter, and the thick buzz of Tom Angelripper’s bass, who also gives a great, snarling, pissed-off vocal performance, suiting the music superbly. Some wild guitar solos, an ominous breakdown, and a few creepy nuclear bomb samples later is the icing on top of the irradiated cake, and the driving tempo of following track “Electrocution” keeps the energy level up, ensuring our neck muscles get a very thorough workout with this record.

Motörhead cover “Iron fist” is a lot of fun, maybe not as much fun as the Tank cover “Don’t walk away” is on “Agent orange”, but it’s still probably better than Lemmy’s version anyway (sorry OT!!!). And from there, the title track, “Enchanted land”, “Conjuration”, and “Bombenhagel” are all satisfying, high-energy thrashers, with smart song structures, laid out in ways that just make sense, and while the instrumental “Procession to Golgotha” is pretty much a dud, it doesn’t leave too big a dent in the album’s overall quality.

I can’t neglect to mention how enjoyable the speedy drum intro on “Conjuration” is, which just begs you to play it live, perhaps in an extended version, as the crowd shouts that “HEY HEY HEY” thing they love. Also deserving of praise are some of these damned catchy choruses: “Make… us die… slowly, nuclear winter!!”, “Living… in the land… of… promise!”, etc. Sodom simply had the knack for catchy, high-impact songwriting during this era, you know? Oh, and don’t forget about that sweet instrumental version of “Das lied der deutschen”, the German national anthem, that Blackfire plays towards the end of “Bombenhagel”- Bismarck would be proud! But, pretty much every solo Frankie plays on “mania” is awesome, so it’s no surprise he can make even a national anthem sound cool.

And the overall obsession with war here reminds me, why the hell didn’t we put Sodom on our nerdiest bands list? Just take a look at these lyrics from “Nuclear winter”: “Eternal darkness, artificial brightness/Exclusive possession of death/Defaced skulls of radiation/Mutilated past recognition”. Is that some awesomely nerdy fixation on war or what? Anyway, now go splatter some Knarrenheinz on your thrash fries, don’t listen to K about Sodom, and get your lightning war on with “Persecution mania”!! No, it isn’t the most engaging or awe-inspiring thrash album out there, but it’ll still give you a very worthy ass-kicking anyway, so enjoy.

- Information
- Released: 1987
- Label: Steamhammer/SPV
- Website: http://sodomized.info/
- Band
- Tom Angelripper: bass, vocals
- Frank Blackfire: guitar
- Chris Witchhunter: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Nuclear Winter
- 02. Electrocution
- 03. Iron Fist
- 04. Persecution Mania
- 05. Enchanted Land
- 06. Procession To Golgotha
- 07. Christ Passion
- 08. Conjuration
- 09. Bombenhagel