New Sodom Webshop online!


shop.sodomized

Hi! After three days and three (accidental) police operations we've finished the video shoot of Sodoms "Stigmatized". We, the production department and the band as well, want to thank our unfailing crew and each of the 18 great actors. Well, at 15 points below zero there is no fun left at all (for that moment). We are editing diligently and are proud to present you the final result as soon as possible. The photographs, by courtesy of Robert Schmidt (thanks, buddy), are a little sneak-peek of what to expect. So stay tuned, remain true to Sodom and hit the recordstore of confidence as soon as Sodom have released their new masterpiece "Epitome of Torture" !

Best wishes,

your Roax Media Team

SODOM
EPITOME OF TORTURE

"The devil is in the detail," as the old saying goes. Translated to Sodom vocalist/bassist Tom Angelripper's sharp-tongued and highly critical powers of observation, you might also say: the worst perversions often hide behind seemingly harmless terms. What are we referring to? For example to 'Katjuscha', one of twelve hard-as-nails songs which Sodom present on their latest studio album, Epitome Of Torture. After all, Sodom's 'Katjuscha' has little to do with the same-named folk song by Mikhail Isakovsky, but is about the Russian rocket launcher which has been responsible for death and destruction thousandfold. "The Katjuscha has been produced since World War II and is still used today," the Sodom frontman explains. "It's been responsible for the death of more people than Stalin's organ. To name such a deadly weapon after a girl is as grotesque as giving the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima the code name 'Little Boy'." It's obvious that Sodom 2013 haven't changed their scornful view of the world, presenting an album in Epitome Of Torture that is as uncompromising as ever in musical as well as lyrical terms. "Unfortunately there's still plenty of inspiration for angry lyrics around," says Angelripper.

The bitter thrash metal attack 'Waterboarding', which deals with torture methods, fits perfectly into this context. "It always surprises me how inventive - in the most negative sense of the word - people can be when it comes to torturing others," states the vocalist, who recorded Epitome Of Torture together with guitarist Bernemann and new drummer Markus "Makka" Freiwald. "At the same time, Epitome Of Torture features not only typical Sodom numbers, like the title track, our new hit 'S.O.D.O.M.' and 'Stigmatized', the toughest Sodom number in ages, but also two or three recordings which are slightly more moderate and melodic than what people have come to expect from us," Tom Angelripper points out. He is referring to songs such as 'Cannibal' and 'Tracing The Victim', which allow guitarist Bernemann to present his impressive musical skills, as well as 'Into The Skies Of War', on which Angelripper allowed himself to be inspired by icons such as Motörhead and Tank: "Luckily, it's impossible to hide my influences."

Epitome Of Torture was produced by Waldemar Sorychta, whose expertise as a sound engineer and audio magician thoroughly benefitted Sodom's 2010 release In War And Pieces. Tom Angelripper: "Waldemar is an exceptional producer, who always succeeds in evening out an artist´s weak spot and promoting his strengths. He doesn't let you get away with anything, he knows all our weak spots. Which occasionally makes working at the studio a little demanding, but at the end of the day it's all worthwhile, as the result shows." The Sodom frontman describes the sound on Epitome Of Torture as "hard-as-nails and contemporary, without ignoring our tried-and-tested old-school attitude."

The new album will be available in four different formats: as a limited-edition DigiPak including two bonus tracks and a poster, in a regular jewel case, as a double gatefold vinyl and for download. The cover artwork featuring Sodom's popular "Knarrenheinz" logo was developed by graphic designer Meran Karanitant, who has caused a stir with his work for Six Feet Under, Hatebreed and Dimmu Borgir, among others.

Sodom's first tentative steps on the scene date back to the year 1982. Be it the early demo tapes, their In The Sign Of Evil-EP (Steamhammer), their 1996 debut album Obsessed By Cruelty: Sodom intimidated the world at large from the very beginning. Two years and one album later, the band toured Europe with the likes of Whiplash, recording the live cut Mortal Way Of Life at the legendary Tor 3 in Düsseldorf in the process. In Agent Orange, the band from Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr area unleashed a milestone of the genre. Sodom toured all over the world, travelled Europe repeatedly and played a number of successful gigs in Japan and South America. Albums like Better Off Dead (1990) or Tapping The Vein (1992) manifested the success of the band, who - despite a number of personnel changes - managed to maintain their characteristic sound, mainly thanks to bassist and vocalist Tom Angelripper. Throughout the Nineties, Sodom lost none of their authenticity on albums like Masquerade In Blood or 'Til Death Do Us Unite, remaining firmly grounded and never losing touch with their roots. With their 1999 release Code Red, a title that refers to the US Marines' infamous punishment code, the trio consisting of Angelripper/Bernemann/Schottkowski proved as politically committed as ever. This tradition was continued in 2001 with an "educational journey" to the Far East, namely two shows in Bangkok and Saigon and the explosive subject matter of their album, M 16. Subsequently, Sodom embarked on the preparations for their first DVDs, Lords Of Depravity Part I + II, went on to bring out another two studio albums in Sodom (2006) and In War And Pieces (2006) and are manifested on Epitome Of Torture as remorseless as ever.

TRACKS
My Final Bullet * S.O.D.O.M. * Epitome Of Torture * Stigmatized * Cannibal * Shoot Today - Kill Tomorrow * Invocating The Demons * Katjuscha * Into The Skies Of War * Tracing The Victim * Waterboarding * Splitting The Atom

DISCOGRAPHY
IN THE SIGN OF EVIL (1984, EP)
OBSESSED BY CRUELTY (1986)
EXPURSE OF SODOMY (1987, EP)
PERSECUTION MANIA (1987)
AUSGEBOMBT (1989, EP)
MORTAL WAY OF LIFE (1988)
AGENT ORANGE (1989)
BETTER OFF DEAD (1990)
THE SAW IS THE LAW (1991, EP)
TAPPING THE VEIN (1992)
ABER BITTE MIT SAHNE (1993, EP)
GET WHAT YOU DESERVE (1994)
MAROONED (1994)
MASQUERADE IN BLOOD (1995)
TEN BLACK YEARS (1996)
´TIL DEATH DO US UNITE (1997)
CODE RED (1999)
M-16 (2001)
ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK (2003)
SODOM (2006)
THE FINAL SIGN OF EVIL (2007)
IN WAR AND PIECES (2010)
30 YEARS SODOMIZED (Box-Set, 2012)
new: EPITOME OF TORTURE (2013)