SODOM – M-16

Absolute masters. Always have been. Sodom never lost its way. Not even when its own genre was in crisis. The late ’90s were a difficult time—thrash metal seemed neglected and stagnant. Releases then didn’t show the inspiration of the prior decade, but all of a sudden, three albums changed the trend: The Gathering (1999) by Testament, Violent Revolution (2001) by Kreator, and a bombshell that still sounds explosive, violent, and direct like never before.

 

The name says it all: M-16. Like the assault rifle, it’s a perfect metaphor for the fury on this album. The Gelsenkirchen thrashers bring it in both style and concept. It’s no surprise. Tom Angelripper pushes the sound harder with every release—he always has. Think of Persecution Mania (1987). Agent Orange (1989). Tapping the Vein (1992). Then Masquerade in Blood (1995). And With M-16, the escalation was definitive. Sodom chose to recount the Vietnam War in all its atrocities, a theme already touched on in Agent Orange. The band strives for coherence not only in the lyrics—raw and brutal—but also in the music itself.

 

From the opener Among the Weirdcong, your ears are thrown into a full-on boxing match, making the music immediately intense and aggressive. Bobby Schottkowski’s militant drumming and Bernemann’s razor-sharp solo introduce Angelripper’s acid vocals. Everything unfolds over a fast, oppressive backdrop. Occasionally, the music gives way to slower passages. The sonic onslaught continues with I Am the War. This track is relentlessly vicious, heavy, and explosive. The bone-crushing chorus stands out, with nonstop double bass hammering. Napalm in the Morning opens with a line from Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. An arpeggio follows, leading into a crushing, slower-paced track. Angelripper lays his corrosive vocals over it. The next three tracks hit hard again. Minejumper leads the charge with pure thrash energy. Then comes the title track, among the album’s most memorable. Though mid-tempo, it loses none of the heaviness in the vocals or instruments. The second part solo delivers extra power. Lead Injection, another standout, runs for more than six minutes. Here, the trio combines every technique used on the album. The result? A song that builds, explodes, and slows just enough to highlight those massive, precise riffs and solos. How could we forget the final two blows? Cannon Fodder is a full-frontal attack, meaning the song immediately assaults the listener with relentless, forceful energy. It is driven by Bernemann’s riffs and Schottkowski’s pounding double bass. Marines mirrors the title track. It also features a sample from Full Metal Jacket. To close, fittingly, there’s a cover of Surfin’ Bird, the iconic Trashmen hit featured in Stanley Kubrick’s movie. It leaves listeners immersed in the battlefields of Saigon.

 

Describing an album like M-16 is simple. Sodom has delivered another classic. It’s a worthy entry in their discography, even a decade after their first releases. Thrash wasn’t in a good place then. It needed a rebirth. This album helped achieve that. There’s no filler here. The quality is high. The impact? Immense. In typical fashion, Sodom maintains its musical vision. Once again, they deliver flawless thrash metal in its purest form.