Reviews list for Sodom - Tapping the Vein (1992)

German thrash metal heavy-weights Sodom & I have enjoyed a generally fruitful relationship since I first discovered them through the "Ausgebombt" video clip shortly after the release of their 1989 "Agent Orange" album. Sodom’s early work was a bit too rough for my taste but, once they hit their stride with 1987’s “Expurse of Sodomy” E.P., I found them to offer a consistently energetic, high-octane brand of thrash that very much appealed to my tendency towards the more aggressive & generally gnarly exponents of the genre. Interestingly though, it’s 1990’s “Better Off Dead” fourth full-length that still sits at the top of the pile for me which is a little unexpected given that it saw Sodom watering down their approach a touch, instead focusing on some high-quality song-writing that was ultimately very successful. My positive experiences with that record saw me hanging out for the follow-up in 1992’s “Tapping The Vein”, an album that I’d purchase on CD as soon as it hit the shelves & one that would see Sodom turning up the heat significantly on the sound I’d enjoyed so much on “Better Off Dead”. Sodom had very clearly made a conscious effort to produce their most intense thrash record to date & I for one was totally up for it. “Tapping The Vein” is still a record that I revisit every so often these days but I’ve never gone to the effort of seeing where it sits in the overall Sodom back catalogue until now so let’s see how it’s faired, shall we?

“Tapping The Vein” is a rip-roaring, middle-finger-raising beast of a thrash record that would seem to be very much an attempt to draw back any parts of their fan base that they may have lost with their more accessible sounding previous record. The Harris Johns production job is nice & raw which suits the generally frantic material very well & most of the eleven-song tracklisting is made up of light-speed thrashfests with new guitarist Andy Brings showing some very impressive right-hand speed & endurance. In fact, I’d suggest that the dude must have seriously gone to town on himself as an early teenager based on the evidence here. There’s not a lot of originality or creativity in the majority of the riffs though with many of them sounding suspiciously like Sodom’s previous work or relying heavily on straight-forward, tremolo-picked bottom-string pedal-points. Band leader Tom Angelripper performs his role admirably, spitting out his words of war with an unbridled ferocity that only adds to the album’s dark & aggressive feel.

The tracklisting is pretty consistent with only the lacklustre German-language speed metal track “Wachturm” failing to reach a reasonable level of quality. “Bullet In The Head” relies on similar musical themes with Motorhead’s more metallic numbers being the order of the day. Sodom had successfully slowed things down a number of times on their last couple of albums & “One Step Over The Line” is another solid example of them taking more of a classic heavy metal direction, although it's admittedly pretty similar to the popular “The Saw Is The Law” single from “Better Off Dead” if you look at it closely. The rest of the record can only be described as a relentless bombardment of maximum-velocity Teutonic thrash metal which may not take many risks but still offers plenty of reward for an old-school thrasher like myself. The high point comes in the form of the wonderful “Hunting Season” which I rate alongside most of Sodom’s best work although opener “Body Parts” & the excellent title track are also worthy of mention as some of the stronger inclusions.

While “Tapping The Vein” can be seen as being fairly regressive from an artistic perspective, I’m not sure that most of Sodom’s fan base cares to be honest. I certainly don’t, particularly when the results are as rock solid as this collection of German thrash anthems are. I honestly can’t see too many Kreator, Slayer or Destruction fans complaining too much when presented with a vicious, bruising affair like “Tapping The Vein”, even if it might not be the Sodom record that they immediately reach for when they feel like revisiting the band. After looking at it closely, I’d suggest that “Tapping The Vein” might even slip into my top five Sodom releases these days, sitting just behind “Better Off Dead”, “Persecution Mania”, “Agent Orange” & “Expurse of Sodomy”. I’d easily take it over their highly regarded pre-1987 works but then I’ve never been much of a fan of releases like “In the Sign of Evil”, “Obsessed by Cruelty” or their earlier demo tapes.

Tapping the Vein is the most intense sounding album from German thrashers Sodom. When I put my MP3 player on random and one of these tracks comes on, the first thing I'm trying to figure out is which death metal band I'm listening to. While it soon becomes apparent that it's in fact Sodom, mostly once Angelripper's distinct vocals kick in, the drumming and riffs are all much more brutal than their previous solely thrash metal releases. Yet other than this slight change in style and production, Tapping the Vein is more of the same, and doesn't offer as much as I would have hoped. There are some good tracks throughout the album, but at least half of it is forgettable, making this one of the lesser respected Sodom records.

Some of the faster, more intense tracks are the album's highlights with Body Parts, Skinned Alive, The Crippler and Hunting Season all thrashing madly with good riffs and vocals. I also enjoy closing epic Reincarnation, which is an 8 minute slower paced track that even brings some symphonic elements into their sound. But tracks like Back to War and Bullet in the Head are just so stock standard. I don't generally expect Sodom to venture all that far from their thrashing roots, but at times they seem to be on automatic pilot, with no real inspiration or passion. Tapping the Vein is not one of Sodom's best albums, but nor is it completely worthless. Just make sure you check out Persecution Mania and Agent Orange first.