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I was never much of a Sodom fan back in the 80s. I dutifully played tracks from Mortal Way of Live and Agent Orange on my college radio show but had no appreciation for bands with harsh vocals. Things have changed in the intervening 30 years so when Sodom's 15th album, Decision Day, hit my review queue I figured why not give them another try. Holy shit, am I glad I did.

Founding member Tom Angelripper is the lone holdover from the band's beginnings and his signature raspy vocals have aged like fine wine. He's still got an evil delivery but has learned how to actually sing vs. just barking his way through the songs. Speaking of the songs, like their "German Big 4" counterparts Kreator, Tankard and Destruction, Sodom are crushingly heavy and the riffs on tracks like "Rolling Thunder", "Belligerence" and "Blood Lions" bludgeon your eardrums mercilessly. Unlike those other bands, Sodom maintains a sense of melody worthy of Bay Area Thrash without sacrificing any of their German brutality.

Tom, guitarist Bernemann and drummer Makka have crafted a solid album in Decision Day, one with all the force of other German Thrash albums but with added finesse that puts it head and shoulders above the rest. Decision Day is a strong contender for Thrash album of the year in my book.