Reviews list for Sodom - The Arsonist (2025)

These Teutonic thrashers just don’t want to quit, do they? As we push into the middle of the 2020’s Sodom, Tankard, Kreator and Destruction continue to work on new material long into their careers, all of which now span beyond forty years. Whilst I am sure we could very easily dig out many turkeys from the backlog of records over the past four decades, it is hard not to admire the tenacity and resilience of any band that still sounds as committed to their artform as Sodom still do. Look, it would be remiss of me to suggest that The Arsonist is another Agent Orange. It is not of the same calibre and peak albums in a bands career are usually moments in time, specific to circumstance, influences and a good old lavishing of fate too.

The Arsonist is however probably the best Sodom record I have heard since Decision Day in 2016. It possesses a vigour that most other releases in the thrash world have lacked, based on my limited and often quickly tired listening experiences in 2025 anyways. There is a sense of great fortitude to this record, sounding like a record made by a band from their sheer dogged determination to just keep pushing on regardless of what the clock or calendar may say. Whilst it may lack any truly remarkable moments, The Arsonist burns with an intensity that belies the age of the participants. Scathing thrash attacks like ‘Trigger Discipline’ are what Sodom have based their career on, and it is good to see that fire in their bellies still. Tom sounds as pissed off as ever and the rest of the band miss no beat whatsoever.

At nearly fifty-minutes, it is a bit on the long side. When I am sat listening to some of the less well-arranged tracks like ‘Gun Without Groom’ this lengthiness seems to grate a little more during those minutes that so easily could have been left in the studio for a future compilation of B-sides and rarities. As I said earlier on in the review, my interest in thrash metal has been limited to but a few records this year and so The Arsonist is hardly jostling for position in a packed field of quality participants. However, it stands out for just being true to the style we know and love from Sodom and it further cements an already solid legacy. Whilst it may not be flawless, the same roots are showing in 2025 that were visible in 1982.

I never really know how to approach an album like Sodom's latest. A band that are into their fifth decade and with a lengthy string of releases put out an album of familiar-sounding material that, nevertheless, I still find hugely entertaining. This leaves me wondering exactly what I can say about it that may be of any interest or value to anyone other than "here is another Sodom album where they do their thing". Whether you love it or hate it depends entirely on your already probably long-established opinion on the band because this is so typical of them that it won't budge your prevailing opinion one way or the other. In fact, Sodom are so established a name that most people had probably made up their mind about The Arsonist long before actually hearing it. I don't think the Germans always get the praise I feel is their due and when they do it almost feels grudgingly given compared to the plaudits for their countrymen like Kreator or Destruction. In that respect I kind of look on them as the german version of Anthrax. Personally I look on Sodom as a bit of a poseur-filter, by which I mean that I see them as a band beloved only by dyed-in-the-wool thrashers and not really being one for the casual genre tourist.

Anyway, on to the Arsonist. I have to say I have had a pretty good time with this over the last two or three days. Their aggression seems undiminished by time with Angelripper often sounding like he is about to burst a blood vessel such is the viciousness of his vocal delivery, they still dish out some titanic thrash riffs and unleash several pretty tasty solos. There are two or three real belters on here with "Trigger Discipline", "Sane Insanity" and "Twilight Void" being the tracks that particularly tickle my fancy. I don't feel the need to say that this is a great album considering the band has been in existence for so long, because that would be condescending, but I have to say that is a good album by a band who have been around the block many times and who know exactly what they are about and who their target audience is.

If there is one caveat to all this positivity then it is the album's production. The Arsonist is undoubtedly the latest casualty in the Loudness Wars, with massive compression that sees everything cranked up well beyond 11. The drums also feel pushed too far forward in the mix and even run the risk of occasionally drowning out the riffs. That aside though, this is a decent album that shows that Sodom can still deliver the thrash metal fix that some of us stubborn thrash-heads crave and for that I am extremely thankful.