June 2021 Feature Release – The Pit Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Pit has been selected by myself. It's 1989's classic third album "Agent Orange" from Teutonic thrash metal legends Sodom. I recently revisited Sodom's previous album "Persecution Mania" which I've always regarded as my favourite Sodom release but found it's appeal to have faded just a touch over time so I'm interested to see if "Agent Orange" may finally have overtaken it's older sibling in the competition for my affection.

https://metal.academy/releases/1570

Let's start with some context here. By the time 1989 rolled around Sodom had been around for eight years. In that time they had already treated us to their particular brand of blackened speed metal on In The Sign of Evil before hitting a more conventional thrash metal sound on Obsessed By Cruelty and their second full-length Persecution Mania. With Expurse of Sodomy bridging the gap between the debut and the sophomore the band had already set themselves a reputation for delivering some ripping thrash metal with real menace and danger behind it. By the time we got to album number three things really had taken off for the band with a live album and video (remember those?) already released.

Agent Orange is the crowning glory of the bands (near) first decade of existence and for me their career as a whole. For all of its obvious maturity and great structure it retained all of the raw energy that we had enjoyed on previous releases and honed this into a more consistent and robust form. The opening and title track shows this perfectly, probably one of the best opening tracks I have ever heard, setting the tone and tempo for the majority of the album with a chopping riff from the word go. By the time we get to Remember the Fallen we get a cool groovy riff running through the track which breaks up the pace of the record really nicely at the halfway point.

Throughout the album the guitar sits front and centre, with Frank Blackfire's riffs at the forefront of the mix and his leads similarly high in the proceedings also. Angelripper's vocals sit perfectly just underneath the guitar in the mix with his bass audible enough to be a rumbling thunder that never quite cracks into a distraction to take away from anything else. Tracks like Magic Dragon are a great example of the tightness of the band with all parts clear in the sound but none of them dominating proceedings to negative effect, the bass fills the lower stratosphere perfectly allowing the vocals, drums and guitar to occupy the upper realms and sound fully supported.

I think there's an argument to say that Tom's vocals would always give the band a blackened edge even at this developed stage of their career but the sound overall here is absolute classic thrash as the tempo changes between cutting riffs and galloping rhythms to give a real sense of variety whilst maintaining that thrash metal authenticity. The performance of the sadly missed Chris Witchunter on the skins is superb, fully of energy and deft technique.

The punky vibes to Ausgebombt is catchy as fuck and on my CD version which is a reissue it is on CD2 twice as a live track and also as a studio German version so that track is never leaving my head in 2021 at least now. My version also has a cover of Tank's Don't Walk Away which is a superb edition to the album at the end and I would say improves it even more than I first thought possible.

This album for me is pivotal in Sodom's career, firstly because I don't believe they have ever come close to topping it in terms of quality, intensity and variety. Secondly the timing of this perfect record was so important for the growth of the band as I believe without Agent Orange Sodom would not be as important as they are today in the realms of their legendary status in thrash metal. Better Off Dead which is the album that followed this is a pale effort in comparison and I have little memory of Tapping The Vein be anywhere near this record. A simply essential thrash metal record that should be in every fan of the genres collection.

5/5

So, just like with our The Gathering feature release, I've found that my feelings are very much the same as the last time I reviewed "Agent Orange" back in December 2013. I've always thought it was a very solid example of the Teutonic thrash sound however I've never regarded it as the classic that so many seem to & there's a few reasons for that. The faster & thrashier sections are absolutely sublime & sit amongst the absolute elite of the thrash scene with Tom Angelripper's vocals ripping shreds off my brain & force-feeding them to me. This is a much cleaner & more cohesive Sodom than we'd ever heard before with the tightness in the rhythm guitars & bass making for a more professional sounding package. But as with their previous album "Persecution Mania", we find Sodom making a conscious effort to include chuggier & much more generic sounding mid-tempo sections in every song, often at the expense of any sort of fluency in the song-writing &, in the end, leaving the strong impression that the band had simply pasted together unrelated parts in a haphazard fashion & called it a song. Some of Frank Blackfire guitar solos leave a lot to be desired too & I think a bit more attention to detail could have been shown there. Still, I can't deny how much I love the thrashier parts of the album & the simple hooks which see the song-titles more often than not making up the entirety of the choruses.

Songs like the title track & "Incest" have become thrash classics for me but none of them are perfect due to the band's insistence on those mid-tempo sections. I don't think there are any weak tracks though so there's an undeniable consistency about the tracklisting. The slower & heavily Celtic Frost influenced "Remember The Fallen" & the energetic Motorhead-worshipping "Ausgebombt" provide the album with some good variety however I'd also argue that they do sound a little out of place between the other six thrashers. I dunno.... "Agent Orange" is certainly essential listening for any fan of the genre but I simply can't agree with those that place it on a pedestal & I think it's fair to say that this sums up my feelings on Sodom in general actually. The rawer "Persecution Mania" remains my favourite Sodom release but I don't think I'll ever regard any of their records as genuine classics.

For fans of Kreator, Slayer & Destruction.

4/5

Really enjoyed this one, some nice, aggressive Thrash with enough variation to keep me interested. I really enjoy the mid-tempo riffing much to Daniel's dismay since it provides a great offset to the ripping riffs that most will seek out Agent Orange for. I'll agree that "Remember the Fallen" falls a bit short thanks to its more generic riffs and structure, but the switch-up in "Tired and Red" and the opening chug in "Magic Dragon" makes these tracks much more interesting to me rather than if they were purely focused on the aggressive parts. I don't know enough about the history and state of Thrash Metal at this time to really give a full review, but I can say that while Agent Orange might be one of my favorite older and more heavy Thrash albums, I still prefer the more melodic and riff focused Megadeth and Artillery offerings over something like this. It's not going to keep me from giving it a good score, definitely an amazing Thrash record, but I'm starting to find out my preferred style in the world of Thrash. 

4/5