ALBUM REVIEW: Sodom - Tapping the Vein (Deluxe and Expanded)

Let the six hours of sodomy begin. No no it's not a casual Saturday night around my house, nor is it a tiptoe tour of the dark Web. It is in fact the 40th anniversary release of Sodom's 1992 classic album Tapping the Vein. 

 As you would expect, the album gets a new coat of paint with a remaster and rejig. It doesn't lose any of its charm nor is it particularly enhanced by the digital remaster, but it's always nice to hear a new spin on an old classic. 

 A weird place for thrash metal in 1992,even weirder if you're a thrash metal band from Germany but thanks to the Fatherland for keeping the thrash alive. Sodom have a massive massive debt of gratitude to their homeland. But as Tom 'Angelripper' said in a recent interview with Decibel magazine, "We just decided to make music for Sodom fans. Lots of bands changed in the early 90s and got more commercial. We wanted to make heavy metal music and didn’t care if it was successful. Some people say this is a death metal album; others think it’s thrash".

You're a brave person if you go through all six discs in one go mind! Both vinyl and CDs come with the remaster and a fairly interesting odds and sods demo disc, two live sets from four different shows depending on the format you choose.  Good luck doing that all in one go……….. if you're able to do it you'll be gaping by the end. 

I didn't manage to do it in one go, so you're a better man than I if you do. The vinyl collectors will swoon over the excellent artwork and bits and pieces included in the package. It a nice inclusion and collectors will scrabble to get one. Long live thrash, long live Sodom but for now,.... it's time to get sodomized!!

Tapping the Vein - Deluxe and Expanded Edition is released on 15th November via Noise/BMG

Review by Carl Black