365 Days of Metal: You Win This Round Agent Orange

Day 114

Sodom - Agent Orange

Band Origin: Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Genre: Thrash
Label: Steamhammer Records
Running Time: 37 minutes 
Release Date: June 1, 1989

Best Part: Pure, vintage thrash metal speed and riffs through and through.

Favorite Tracks: Ausgebombt, Magic Dragon, Agent Orange, Baptism of Fire, and Don't Walk Away

Grade: 4.5

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Agent Orange in way more than 20 words or less: 

While Persecution Mania was the album that would define Sodom's sound, Agent Orange was the follow-up breakthrough success that would mark them as a dominant force in the thrash metal movement during its peak years, and explores Tom Angelripper's fascination with the Vietnam War.

The Band: 

Sodom is a thrash metal trio from Germany formed originally in 1981 and spent their first five years as a black metal band before making the switch to thrash metal in 1986 with the release of their highly influential and sound defining record Persecution Mania. Sodom is credited as being one of the big three of the Teutonic thrash metal movement along with Kreator and Destruction whom share many similar traits. Sodom has experienced notable lineup changes over the years, with vocalist and bassist Tom Angelripper being the sole original member of the group. Between 1990 and 1998 the band also went through a number of changes in direction, leaning more to a punk influenced style of crossover thrash, which alienated many fans, but would end up returning to their roots. Angelripper has announced a new album is in the works, to be released later in 2012.

Sodom's other releases include: Obsessed by Cruelty (1986), Persecution Mania (1987), Agent Orange (1989), Better Off Dead (1990), Tapping the Vein (1992), Get What You Deserve(1994), Masquerade in Blood (1995), 'Til Death Do Us Unite (1997), Code Red (1999), M-16 (2001), Sodom (2006), The Final Sign of Evil (2007), and In War and Pieces (2010)

Jay's Take on Agent Orange: 

When seeking to delve deep into the roots of thrash metal one must not look any further than the original thrash metal scenes of the 1980's and earl 90's, particularly the Bay Area thrash scene which spawned bands including Metallica, Death Angel and Exodus among others, the Teutonic thrash metal scene which spawned dozens of groups primarily in Germany, and the Brazilian thrash scene, which eventually merged the sounds of early 80's thrash and the rise of death metal, fronted by bands such as Sepultura. As huge as the Big Four have become in the world of thrash metal, the Three Kings of Teutonic thrash are just as important in the evolution of the genre. Agent Orange was the record that pushed Sodom into commercial success following their entry into the thrash metal genre, all but abandoning their early work in what was the first wave of black metal in the early 80's. Persecution Mania really is the record to point to when wanting to define what Sodom was about, and what the rest of the primarily German thrash metal movement was about. But Agent Orange is just as interesting an entry because of its superb musicianship in the thrash metal vein, but also because of Tom's fascination with the Vietnam War, which was a focus for a number of tracks, including the title track and Magic Dragon. It is also a gateway album as it was from this point onward where lineup changes and shifts in direction would slowly drag Sodom away from the sound they had built in the late 80's - and would not return to until the late 90's. Despite these future facts, Agent Orange remains the highest selling German thrash metal album in the world, and defined Sodom as one of the iconic thrash metal bands of their time.

Sample of the Day:



- J