SODOM “Epitome Of Torture” /CD/

The fourteenth full-length album by legendary German Thrash Metal band.
On their fourteenth platter, Sodom continue to deliver their battle-tested (and themed) Thrash lunacy. A good description of Sodom’s sound would be the clean sound of Ride The Lightning-era Metallica with the angriness of pre-1991 Megadeth. That’s simply a recipe for greatness. So, with "Epitome Of Torture", one can clearly say that this is Sodom in their most destructive, meanest, fastest and furious forms to date. 
Kicking off with a grand Thrash number, "My Final Bullet", the album gets a perfect start with a dulcet clean melody, which turns, into the main riff that a Thrash Metal fan will simply adore. The song is loaded with guitar harmonies and melodic sections, and at the same time delivers total no nonsense Thrash Metal with its cult up-tempo verse riff. The album enters into its mosh-prone zone with the tracks "S.O.D.O.M", "Epitome of Torture" and "Stigmatized". These songs are no doubt among the best works of Sodom. 
The album takes a very peculiar bounce with the track "Cannibal". It has a sort of melodic and groovy touch to it and the riffs are very progressive in nature. It’s a very different approach taken by Sodom, and certainly not a bad one. "Shoot Today Kill Tomorrow" and "Katjuschka" bring us back to pure Teutonic Thrash mode with the aggression-laden progressions that they offer throughout, whereas "Into The Skies Of War" gives us the 80’s Hard Rock sound with the brilliant guitar riffs that it offers. "Into The Skies Of War", being a radio-friendly track, offers us kickass main riff and a pretty catchy chorus. Tom seems to be at his best with simply awesome vocal delivery. From laying the words on the music to a tremendous voice texture to covering a good range, his performance has been ace. 
"Invokating The Demons" is a melodic track which carries a Heavy/Power Metal-ish essense and "Tracing The Victim" consists of low-tempo paced progressions which possess strong modern sounding melodic punches. 
The album has many dimensions; most of the tracks stick to the trademark Sodom sound, ending up being a treat for the fans while many tracks have something very new to offer. The highlight of this album is clearly the maniacal guitar work along with Thrash-style vocals that fit the music perfectly. This is an extremely guitar-oriented album, if there ever was one. Sodom is a band that have never been too proud or overconfident. They have always followed a pragmatic approach, and that is what makes them good! This is yet another slab of righteous, riotous Thrash Metal with tons of hooks, and it demands the horns be raised high in homage. And yes, those Germans are still around and are still releasing devastating stuff!!
Steamhammer/SPV/Vectorscoope, 2013 (SPV 260562 CD). Made in Mexico.


Tracklist:
1. My Final Bullet 4:40 
2. S.O.D.O.M. 3:46 
3. Epitome Of Torture 3:31 
4. Stigmatized 2:56 
5. Cannibal 4:19 
6. Shoot Today - Kill Tomorrow 4:01 
7. Invocating The Demons 4:25 
8. Katjuscha 3:43 
9. Into The Skies Of War 3:51 
10. Tracing The Victim 4:47
Total playing time: 39:59 min.