{"id":105064,"date":"2025-06-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105064"},"modified":"2025-07-04T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T12:33:56","slug":"album-review-sodom-the-arsonist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-sodom-the-arsonist\/","title":{"rendered":"SODOM – The Arsonist (2025) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SODOM
\nThe Arsonist<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSteamhammer \/ SPV (2025)<\/span>
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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With their latest full-length studio outing, German thrash veterans Sodom reel off another volatile yet somewhat predictable batch of heavily armed and armoured songs.<\/p>\n

Like fellow countrymen Destruction<\/a>, Sodom has remained unflinching with their catalogue, gradually over time shifting from a primitive thrash streaked with blackness through to a far more refined gloss. Their war-torn belligerence has remained consistent if a little uninspiring over the last 20 or so years, but every time I revisit their catalogue it\u2019s still like being hit by a bulldozer. The Arsonist<\/em> is no different; it seethes like a pack of rabid wolves, snapping viciously as they corner the listener to a soundtrack of monstrously metallic riffs and lethal shards of percussion.<\/p>\n

There are no surprises hidden within the precise formation of imposing tanks. The songs are delivered with the same military precision we, as fans, have come to expect. However, there are still nods to ye days of yore, mostly through Tom Angelripper\u2019s rust-coated pipes and Frank Blackfire\u2019s destructive riffs.<\/p>\n

Sodom is just that eternal grinding machine that revels in the smouldering spoils of war. Their current sound is epitomised by the missile strikes of \u2018Battle Of Harvest Moon\u2019 and the even more combative yet Slayer<\/a>-ized \u2018Trigger Discipline\u2019. The riffs dance through landmines for fun as Tom Angelripper commands his troops to march into enemy gunfire, knowing full well that the rolling bass can just bat away the bullets with ease. York Segatz\u2019s axe work teams up with Blackfire to construct a formidable frontline of fiery, streamlined walls of steel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always interesting to observe the Sodom plan of attack; no thrills but to the point, it’s only aim being to mow down the audience. Admittedly, over the years I have been frustrated by the band\u2019s unwavering style, a stubborn and immovable force of nature, but now, in their fourth decade of existence, I\u2019m mature enough (I think!) to reflect on this literal powerhouse of a band and stand in awe beneath leaden skies they pollute.<\/p>\n

And so, The Arsonist<\/em> is another ferocious feather in their rugged metal cap, a surging beast of a record that reminds me a lot of the more recent Slayer outbursts; crisp yet frashin\u2019 madness but with suspenseful intros (\u2018Twilight Void\u2019). In fact, \u2018Twilight Void\u2019 is one the strongest cuts on offer, building to a mid-paced and grisly black thrash traipse before exploding as a frantic retaliatory strike. \u2018Gun Without Groom\u2019 is equally as volatile, but littered with jabbing rhythms through the veil of grey menace.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s such a freshness and vigour here, the quartet just refusing to dip in quality as the spits rain down with acidic aplomb. Much of what is offered here is akin to a shrapnel-laced tornado, with the only respite being the snarling trudge of \u2018Scavenger\u2019. It could be argued that much of The Arsonist<\/em> is formualic, but it\u2019s not as if, after 40 years, that Sodom has ever promised progressive funk jazz fusion.<\/p>\n

With The Arsonist<\/em> and every album previous, Sodom just wants you there in the trenches with them. Songs like \u2018Sane Insanity\u2019 and \u2018Obliteration Of The Aeons\u2019 rage hard as exemplary thrash workouts of razor tongue and steaming riffs. Throughout this opus you\u2019ll also find a splattering of zany solos which thread into your ears and hook into your already charred brain. Only the coming of Armageddon could surely cease the tireless onslaught of Sodom, but even then I\u2019d hedge my bets towards a win for the German dogs of war.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SODOM The Arsonist Steamhammer \/ SPV (2025) Rating: 8\/10 With their latest full-length studio outing, German thrash veterans Sodom reel off another volatile yet somewhat predictable batch of heavily armed and armoured songs. Like fellow countrymen Destruction, Sodom has remained unflinching with their catalogue, gradually over time shifting from a primitive thrash streaked with blackness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-sodom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105065,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105064\/revisions\/105065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}