Sodom is a thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, Germany, formed in 1982 by bassist and singer Tom “Angelripper” Such, its only constant member. Its raw early records helped invent the black/thrash sound. Its sixteen studio albums of new material run from Obsessed by Cruelty (1986) to The Arsonist (2025). Start with Persecution Mania (1987).
The Short Version
- Formed in Gelsenkirchen in 1982; Angelripper is on every record.
- Start with Persecution Mania (1987), then Agent Orange (1989).
- Newest album: The Arsonist (June 2025), No. 4 in Germany.
- As of October 2026: no shows. Angelripper stopped touring in 2025.
Who Are Sodom?
Sodom began in 1982 with Angelripper, Bloody Monster, Arius “Blasphemer” and Aggressor. The name reportedly came from Venom’s “One Thousand Days in Sodom.” Angelripper started the band partly as a way out of the coal mines of his hometown. “I could give up my job in a coalmine,” he told Decibel in 2012.
The band’s own site sets the scene: spring 1982, a small, musty rehearsal room on Stauderstraße in Essen’s Altenessen district. That is where they taped “Witching Metal.” Angelripper admits they played it in the wrong key, and says attitude mattered more than getting it right.
Drummer Chris “Witchhunter” Dudek, from Essen, replaced Bloody Monster and brought songwriting experience and was soon leading the band’s activity. Sodom settled into a Motörhead-style power trio and made two demos, Witching Metal (1982) and Victims of Death (1984), which led to a deal with SPV’s Steamhammer label.
Sodom came up alongside Kreator from neighboring Essen, Destruction from Weil am Rhein on the Swiss border, and Frankfurt’s Tankard, the four bands our Teutonic thrash guide covers as a group. This piece stays with Sodom. For its Ruhr neighbor, read our Kreator history.
How Did Sodom Help Start Black Metal?
The first record was the In the Sign of Evil EP, cut in October 1984 at Caet Studio in Berlin and released in January 1985 on the independent Devil’s Game label. Angelripper, guitarist Josef “Grave Violator” Dominik and Witchhunter played on it. It is counted among the first wave of black metal.
Making the debut album was a mess. Holger Schmenk’s Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography, excerpted by Decibel in May 2026, says the band recorded first at Horst Müller’s studio in Berlin. A label representative heard it and said, “We can’t release this. This sound is abysmal.”
So they tried again in Hilpoltstein, Franconia, at the studio where Destruction had just made Eternal Devastation. SPV boss Manfred Schütz had warned them: “Boys, get your shit together!” They hid beer in a fake Marshall cabinet anyway. When Schütz opened the door, about 300 cans came crashing toward him.
Obsessed by Cruelty came out on May 7, 1986, with Michael “Destructor” Wulf on guitar. In America, Metal Blade released a different version, recorded in Berlin. Darkness guitarist Uwe “Assator” Christoffers came along as backup and wrote “After the Deluge,” which appears on the European release. “It’s a document of its time for sure,” Angelripper says in the book. Wulf left right after the sessions and briefly joined Kreator. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
AllMusic later gave it just 1.5 stars out of 5, but the next wave of extreme bands loved it. Mayhem’s Euronymous called the early Sodom and Destruction records “masterpieces of black stinking metal.” He named his label, Deathlike Silence Productions, after the album’s second track.
Persecution Mania, Agent Orange and Knarrenheinz
Guitarist Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik changed the band. He convinced Angelripper that thrash was moving past Venom-style horror and Satanism toward politics, society and war. Persecution Mania was recorded October 2 to 22, 1987, at Musiclab in Berlin with Harris Johns, and released December 1.
Johns plays the guitar solo on “Bombenhagel,” whose outro is a lead version of the German national anthem. Hear it next to “Nuclear Winter” and the cover of Motörhead’s “Iron Fist.” The album defined Sodom’s sound. The cover introduced the gas-masked soldier the band calls Knarrenheinz.
Johannes Beck, a friend of Schütz, painted that cover. Angelripper told Heaviest of Art in 2020 that Beck offered the artwork. “We agreed that it fits perfect to our music,” he said, “as we changed the musical and lyrical concept for ‘Persecution Mania.’” That cover was the birth of Knarrenheinz.
Agent Orange followed on June 1, 1989, again at Musiclab with Johns. It reached No. 36 in Germany, the band’s first album to chart there, and sold more than 100,000 copies in Germany alone. Rolling Stone ranked it 63rd on its 2017 list of the greatest metal albums.
AllMusic’s Thom Jurek wrote that “The songwriting is tighter, the dynamics more elaborate, and everyone carries equal weight.” Start with “Exhibition Bout” and the title track. On tour, Sodom took a then-unknown Sepultura along. Our Brazilian thrash guide picks up that story.
What Happened to Sodom After 1989?
Blackfire left for Kreator, and Michael Hoffmann took over for Better Off Dead (1990). Hoffmann stayed behind in Brazil during a South American tour. Andy Brings played on Tapping the Vein (1992), which leaned toward death metal. It was Witchhunter’s last album, and Atomic Steif, formerly of Holy Moses, took the drum stool.
Get What You Deserve (1994) went punk. Masquerade in Blood (1995) added groove metal. Our piece on how thrash survived the 1990s covers the wider slump.
Stability came with guitarist Bernd “Bernemann” Kost and drummer Bobby Schottkowski, a lineup that lasted until 2010. Code Red (1999) returned to the 1980s Teutonic sound, and fans and press welcomed it. M-16 (2001) put every song in the Vietnam War. Angelripper told Decibel in 2021 that it was “not a concept album. It’s just a Sodom album with lyrics just about Vietnam.”
In 2007 Sodom re-recorded its first EP as The Final Sign of Evil, with Witchhunter and Grave Violator back for it. Witchhunter died of liver failure on September 7, 2008. Markus “Makka” Freiwald drummed from late 2010 through Epitome of Torture (2013) and Decision Day (2016).
Sodom Band Albums: Where to Start
Buy Persecution Mania first, then Agent Orange. For the black/thrash roots, add In the Sign of Evil and Obsessed by Cruelty. Then hear Code Red for the comeback and The Arsonist for the band today.
Every Sodom Studio Album of New Material
The list leaves out The Final Sign of Evil (2007), the re-recording of the first EP. Count it and the total is seventeen, which is how Wikipedia numbers The Arsonist.
- 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)
- In War and Pieces (2010)
- Epitome of Torture (2013)
- Decision Day (2016)
- Genesis XIX (2020)
- The Arsonist (2025)
Sodom Band Members Today
In January 2018 Angelripper rebuilt Sodom as a four-piece. Blackfire came back on lead guitar, Yorck Segatz joined on rhythm guitar, and Stefan “Husky” Hüskens took the drums. The new lineup’s first show was the Rock Hard Festival in Gelsenkirchen on May 18, 2018. Toni Merkel replaced Husky in 2020.
Genesis XIX came out on November 27, 2020. It was recorded at Woodhouse Studio in Hagen and reached No. 10 in Germany. Joe Petagno painted the cover. “Tom requested Knarrenheinz to be the destroyer of Sodom and Gomorrah,” Petagno told Heaviest of Art. Angelripper’s own brief was simpler: “Knarrenheinz should be at the center of the action.”
The Arsonist followed on June 27, 2025, produced by Merkel, and reached No. 4 in Germany. Metaltalk reported the drums went to a 24-track analogue tape machine with no overdubs. “Witchhunter” honors the late drummer, who Angelripper called his best friend of that era. “A.W.T.F.” is for Algy Ward of Tank.
Former drummer Atomic Steif died on August 31, 2025, at 57.
Sodom
Gelsenkirchen, Germany, formed in 1982. Start with Persecution Mania (1987), then Agent Orange (1989) and The Arsonist (2025).
Sodom in Texas
Sodom has rarely played America. Setlist.fm logs just 23 U.S. shows, the earliest in 1998, ten of them on metal cruises out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and only one in Texas. That came on Saturday, March 23, 2024, when Sodom closed Hell’s Heroes VI on the Lawn at White Oak Music Hall in Houston. Queensrÿche and Candlemass headlined the other two nights.
The set opened with “Among the Weirdcong” and ended with “Bombenhagel.” In between came “Nuclear Winter,” “Outbreak of Evil,” “Agent Orange” and a cover of Venom’s “Leave Me in Hell” plus their take on “Surfin’ Bird.” “The crowd went absolutely nuts,” Rebel Reyes wrote for The NWOTHM, calling it “the perfect way to end a tremendous festival.”
Austin’s Watchtower and Arlington’s Solitude Aeturnus also played. Read our Watchtower and Solitude Aeturnus pieces, and our Hell’s Heroes guide for the festival.
White Oak Music Hall Open
Sodom played the outdoor Lawn here in March 2024. That is the Lawn pictured, with downtown Houston behind the stage. The complex also runs two indoor rooms, Upstairs and Downstairs. Hell’s Heroes returns March 18 to 20, 2027.
Photo: Agui Cuaresma via Google
The early Sodom story runs alongside Rotting Corpse’s. Obsessed by Cruelty came out in May 1986. That spring, Rotting Corpse cut its first demo at Pantego Sound and mailed it to fanzines on four continents, as the history page and discography tell it. Our tape-trading explainer covers how that underground network worked.
Where to Hear Sodom Live
As of October 2026, Sodom has no shows announced, and the official site’s “Next Shows” list is empty. Angelripper stepped back from touring in 2025, partly on his doctor’s advice and partly for more time with family and friends. “I have no plan to come back. I don’t wanna have any pressure,” he told the Finnish magazine Chaoszine that May, as Blabbermouth reported, adding, “But I’m sure I’m coming back one day.”
The music continues. In comments Blabbermouth gathered in February 2026, he said, “The only thing I stop is touring and all that stuff,” and that a new album could come “in the next one or two years.”
For classic thrash in Texas, the next big date is Hell’s Heroes IX, March 18 to 20, 2027, at White Oak Music Hall. KNAC’s lineup includes Overkill playing an old-school set, Armored Saint, Metal Church and Omen’s final U.S. show. Passes are on the White Oak calendar. Watch the Sodom site for news and our shows page for Rotting Corpse dates.
Start with “War on Drugs” (1986)
It closes the spring 1986 demo, cut the season Obsessed by Cruelty came out, and like Sodom after Blackfire it trades horror for a real-world target (lyrics on the lyrics page).
Sources
- Decibel: How Sodom Recorded Obsessed by Cruelty, excerpt from Holger Schmenk’s Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography (2026)
- Decibel: Interview, Sodom’s Tom Angelripper on the M-16 20-Year Anniversary Box Set (2021)
- Decibel: Chris Dick, Tom Angelripper (Sodom) Interviewed (2012)
- Sodom official site: 1982 EP Out Now (2024)
- Heaviest of Art: Behind the Cover, Sodom’s Genesis XIX (2020)
- Blabbermouth: Tom Angelripper Doesn’t Know When He Will Return to Full-Scale Touring (2025)
- Blabbermouth: Tom Angelripper on the Witchhunter Tribute Song (2025)
- Blabbermouth: Tom Angelripper Still Has Ideas for New Sodom Music (2026)
- Metaltalk: Jools Green, Sodom, The Arsonist (2025)
- The NWOTHM: Rebel Reyes, Live Review, Hell’s Heroes VI (2024)
- Setlist.fm: Sodom at Hell’s Heroes VI, Houston, March 23, 2024
- Setlist.fm: Sodom concerts in the United States
- Pollstar: Queensrÿche, Sodom, Candlemass to Headline 2024 Hell’s Heroes (2023)
- KNAC: Hell’s Heroes IX Lineup (2026)
- Wikipedia: Sodom (band)
- Wikipedia: Destruction (band)
- Wikipedia: Tankard (band)
- Wikipedia: In the Sign of Evil
- Wikipedia: Obsessed by Cruelty
- Wikipedia: Persecution Mania
- Wikipedia: Agent Orange (album)
- Wikipedia: Genesis XIX
- Wikipedia: The Arsonist (Sodom album)
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Sodom formed?
In 1982, in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany, by bassist and singer Tom “Angelripper” Such. Its first rehearsal room was on Stauderstraße in Essen’s Altenessen district. The name reportedly comes from Venom’s “One Thousand Days in Sodom.”
Who are the members of Sodom?
Tom Angelripper (bass, vocals), Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik (lead guitar), Yorck Segatz (rhythm guitar, since 2018) and Toni Merkel (drums, since 2020). Angelripper is the only member on every record.
What is the best Sodom album to start with?
Persecution Mania (1987), then Agent Orange (1989). For the raw black/thrash beginnings, hear the In the Sign of Evil EP (1985) and Obsessed by Cruelty (1986).
How many albums has Sodom released?
Sixteen studio albums of new material, from Obsessed by Cruelty (1986) to The Arsonist (June 27, 2025), plus The Final Sign of Evil (2007), a re-recording of the first EP.
Did Sodom influence black metal?
Yes. In the Sign of Evil is counted among the first wave of black metal, and Mayhem’s Euronymous called the early Sodom and Destruction records “masterpieces of black stinking metal.” He named his label, Deathlike Silence Productions, after a song on Obsessed by Cruelty.
Is Sodom touring in 2026?
No. Tom Angelripper stopped touring in 2025 and has said he has no plan to come back, though the band keeps releasing music. As of October 2026 the official site lists no shows.
