Sodom

This German black metal band's early lineup consisted of Tom Angelripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Chris "Witchhunter" Dudek (drums). They were heavily influenced by thrash/speed metal bands like Motörhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate, exploring the darkest subject matter possible. Aggressor quit the group before its first full-length album was released and was succeeded in turn by Grave Violator, Destructor, and Blackfire. Mortal Way of Life, recorded on a European tour, was the first ever double live thrash album. The group opened for Sepultura on that band's breakthrough European tour, and Michael Hoffman joined the group when Blackfire left for Kreator. Code Red followed in 1999 and Marooned was issued in fall 2000. M-16 followed in 2001, and the live One Night in Bangkok in 2003. Sodom's lineup continued to change with Angelripper remaining as the sole founding member. Nonetheless, they soldiered on and reentered the studio in 2005, which resulted in 2006's self-titled offering. In 2007, Sodom released Final Sign of Evil, a collection of re-recordings of older songs. A remastered version of Agent Orange, a critical highlight and top-seller among German thrash albums originally issued in 1989, was released in 2010. Witchhunter died of liver failure in September 2008. In addition to Angelripper, the Sodom lineup circa 2010 featured guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and drummer Konrad "Bobby" Schottkowski. ~ Steve Huey & Thom Jurek, Rovi