As the most enduring and resolute of Germany’s thrash metal Big Four, SODOM rarely struggle for plaudits. There has always been something uniquely brutish about Tom Angelripper‘s band. From their pioneering, black metal early days, to their laudable refusal to embrace the latest trends during the ’90s, and on to the triumphant relentlessness of last 25 years, SODOM have so rarely put a foot wrong that they really deserve a lot more acclaim and attention than they generally get.

Three years ago, they released “40 Years At War – The Greatest Hell Of Sodom”: an expansive compilation of re-recorded tunes, one each from the band’s studio albums. Aside from proving to be a clear and present danger to the world’s neck muscles, it was a timely reminder that SODOM have never even come close to diluting their intensity or lust for glory. Interestingly, Tom has recently made remarks about reducing the amount of touring he is prepared to do, but on the evidence of “The Arsonist”, a lack of energy or commitment to the crushing of skulls is not something fans will have to worry about quite yet. Building on the scabrous urgency of 2020’s “Genesis XIX” — the first album to feature the current lineup of Tom Angelripper, returning guitarist Frank Blackfire, second guitarist Yorck Segatz and drummer Toni Merkel — SODOM‘s 17th studio album is fucking ferocious.

There was an undeniable uptick in SODOM‘s energy levels when the new lineup came together, and it is equally clear that touring the world together has enabled the foursome to click into a higher gear here. Powered by authentic-sounding drums, courtesy of a decision to record them using analogue tape, “The Arsonist” has explosive energy and incisive aggression in plentiful supply. Precise and punishing, but imbued with loose-limbed swagger, these are some of the most immediate and exhilarating tunes that SODOM have released in many years. Songs like grandiose but vicious opener “Battle Of Harvest Moon” and blistering, souped-up thrash smasher “Trigger Discipline” stick proudly to the fundamental principles of fast, aggressive thrash, but with 40 years of atmospheric color fleshing that ancient blueprint to deliver an even more satisfying, crunching blow. “The Spirits That I Called” injects some macabre menace into the quartet’s heads-down fury; “Witchhunter” pays tribute to late, great drummer Chris “Witchhunter” Dudek with three minutes of punk-as-fuck, speed metal insanity; and “Scavenger” is a dark, mid-paced tale of terror, with a scarred and blackened underbelly.

Elsewhere, the runaway panzer swarm of “A.W.T.F.” gives a humble, full-pelt salute to the late, great Algy Ward from NWOBHM legends TANK; “Twilight Void” wallows in the discordant filth of evil thrash, and snaps between a scything, slow-burn shuffle and a high velocity, death-thrash attack, oozing sinister atmosphere like coagulated blood; while the closing “Return To God In Parts” is a mid-paced colossus built from flawless, late ’80s riffing, some superlative, divebomb-heavy solos, and Tom Angelripper‘s throbbing-vein screech. SODOM may be veterans and pioneers, but they still sound like young militants on a mission to thrash the world into bruised and bloody submission. “The Arsonist” is utterly thrilling as a result.