Sodom - Sacred Warpath
While 2010's magnificent In War And Pieces was as close to perfection as Sodom will ever get, last year's Epitome of Torture was a crushing letdown; a failed attempt to get back to the 'thrash' sound from Agent Orange and Persecution Mania, only without the quality songwriting. It says something when the two bonus tracks that you've recorded are superior to everything that you've put on the main album itself, so needless to say, my expectations for the Sacred Warpath EP weren't through the roof. Thankfully, Onkel Tom seems to have come through... kind of.
Sacred Warpath is a very odd song, as it seems to mix the melodic tendencies from Sodom's recent works with the aggression of 1992's Tapping the Vein and the black metal atmosphere of their very earliest releases. Yes, when Tom screams the title, it immediately brings back memories of Obsessed by Cruelty and In the Sign of Evi lwith it's sinister, reverby sound, which... well, it's further proof that Sodom are trying to go 'back to their roots', only this time it's actually worked a bit. The song tends to trail off a bit after the solo, but ultimately it's a massive improvement over the majority of Epitome of Torture. It's heavy, relatively mid-paced, has a nice clean interlude and a fantastic solo, but there's just something that feels wrong about the whole proto-black metal vibe being employed once again.
The live tracks fare much better, thankfully. Recorded in Germany earlier this year, it presents Sodom at their finest as usual - and the brief snippet of The Trashmen's 'Surfin Bird' at the start of the first track was a very welcome surprise. But overall, this EP is kind of... I don't know, it's not a pointless release, but it doesn't really grip me the same way Sodom's past material has. Again, all the facts are pointing to Sodom trying so fucking hard to be as old fashioned as possible, but why bother? In War And Pieces was an absolutely staggering release, why not continue to build upon those foundations? I guess we'll find out when the album drops next year, but this isn't an entirely unworthy release. It's an interesting indication of what's to come, but at the same time, that's part of the problem.
Sacred Warpath is a very odd song, as it seems to mix the melodic tendencies from Sodom's recent works with the aggression of 1992's Tapping the Vein and the black metal atmosphere of their very earliest releases. Yes, when Tom screams the title, it immediately brings back memories of Obsessed by Cruelty and In the Sign of Evi lwith it's sinister, reverby sound, which... well, it's further proof that Sodom are trying to go 'back to their roots', only this time it's actually worked a bit. The song tends to trail off a bit after the solo, but ultimately it's a massive improvement over the majority of Epitome of Torture. It's heavy, relatively mid-paced, has a nice clean interlude and a fantastic solo, but there's just something that feels wrong about the whole proto-black metal vibe being employed once again.
The live tracks fare much better, thankfully. Recorded in Germany earlier this year, it presents Sodom at their finest as usual - and the brief snippet of The Trashmen's 'Surfin Bird' at the start of the first track was a very welcome surprise. But overall, this EP is kind of... I don't know, it's not a pointless release, but it doesn't really grip me the same way Sodom's past material has. Again, all the facts are pointing to Sodom trying so fucking hard to be as old fashioned as possible, but why bother? In War And Pieces was an absolutely staggering release, why not continue to build upon those foundations? I guess we'll find out when the album drops next year, but this isn't an entirely unworthy release. It's an interesting indication of what's to come, but at the same time, that's part of the problem.
- Sacred Warpath
- The Saw Is The Law (live)
- Stigmatized (live)
- City Of God (live)
Label: http://www.spv.de
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Dec 13, 2014
Dec 13, 2014
Next review:
All Seeing Eyes - Trinity Road
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