V.A. /// KREATOR & SODOM & DESTRUCTION & TANKARD - "THE BIG TEUTONIC 4" (Teutonic Thrash Metal Legends paying tribute to their roots!!!)

V.A. (KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION, TANKARD) - "THE BIG TEUTONIC 4"
("Legacy Magazine"& "Beastival Festival"; CD):

Okay, here's something pretty cool and interesting, keeping my teenage days in mind and still today at least first and foremost KREATOR but also SODOM as well really own a lot of importance for me. So, yes, when I saw the December 2012/January 2013 issue of the german Metal magazine named "LEGACY" coming with this CD as a free garnish I bought it fascinated by this little compact disc and the question what this will have to offer to me. And so the first new "LEGACY" issue in by far over a decade finally hit my home again and so with this also and especially this little CD that is a exclusive edition in this form that only came with this very "LEGACY" issue, but is also (judging by a promotion site that I saw) released by "NUCLEAR BLAST" (by whom else one might could think...) as a vinyl edition (but don't ask me about any difference, more songs or so), and it seems that this is also sort of a promotion affair for the new (?) Metal Festival named "BEASTIVAL" where all the four german biggies will hit the stage together in this very year of 2013. So, okay, enough of the introducing small talk, now straight to what we get here. Four bands, the big old ones of german or teutonic Thrash Metal, and four songs, each one of every band, and all in all two coversongs of IRON MAIDEN and two of MOTÖRHEAD. Hm, and I still can remember years ago when SODOM released their I think "M-16" titled album and DESTRUCTION their I think "ANTICHRIST" titled album, hm, and I think it was the "VIOLENT REVOLUTION" album of KREATOR as well, when back then everyone was talking about the three german Thrash Metal big ones and when they also toured together under some banner or slogan like this and back then nearly everyone forgot about TANKARD, hm, times are changing, and so today after a decade or even a little bit more than this TANKARD find themselves in this exclusive legends club that is today new named and by now known as "THE BIG TEUTONIC 4". Justified? Justified! So, okay, this is especially sort of a promotion as well as a tribute affair, and really a good one that really gives or makes a lot of pleasure listening to it. KREATOR and TANKARD do covers of old IRON MAIDEN classics, and while TANKARD cover "THE PRISONER" no one else than KREATOR do a cover of the larger than life groundbreaker and lifechanger "NUMBER OF THE BEAST". And what shall I say... They damn fucking conquer!!! Ultra-Heavyness, charismatic aggression, thrashing brutality, as well as catchy melody lines and anthemic potential, they kept the spirit of the original but made it anyhow totally their own. Great!!! Beats it the original?!? Nah, no fucking way, are you kidding me?!? But it's anyway really shining great!!! Respect!!! TANKARD then do a good one with their version of "THE PRISONER", very melodic and clear and clean (especially the lead vocals), really good and interesting, and something that I wouldn't have expected from TANKARD. Thumbs up!!! SODOM and DESTRUCTION then take duties in paying tribute to no one else than MOTÖRHEAD. SODOM with their own version of "IRON FIST" and DESTRUCTION with doing a cover version of "THE HAMMER". They both pretty much add by far more brutality and heavyness to the original ones and SODOM add a very, very present, marking and heavy bass to it as well as typical charismatic (let us call it so...) lead vocals in this typical "Angelripper English" and do all in all a really good job with somehow putting a lot of heavy Punk in the original one and make it so also really pretty much their own little one. DESTRUCTION just play it intense and massive, tight to the point, sheer heavyness, and really in a truly brutal thrashing way. No fancy bullshit, just straight aggression and massive heavyness, very good done, cool shit. So, you see, each band knows to convince, but with KREATOR taking the clear victory, at least if this would have been a contest. The production sound of the songs make my thumbs also start to move up and the cool old school artwork is just great and would also be a really nice and cool shirt motif. Lyrics you won't find, but some nice little linernotes by each band in german. This disc is recommended, if you are into Thrash Metal, especially if you are into Teutonic Thrash Metal, without a doubt. (8 of 10 points)

(http://beastival.com/?lang=en)

'The Art Of Killing Poetry' by the german legends of SODOM

SODOM - "THE ART OF KILLING POETRY"
("SPV GmbH" / "Steamhammer" / "Metal Hammer Magazine"; CD):

Next blog posting, next record review, next Thrash Metal assault, next dose of Thrash Metal from Germany, and the next legendary band that I now know for about twenty years or something like this, and yes, I am talking about the legendary SODOM from Gelsenkirchen, Germany and also (like KREATOR) here they are back with a free garnish, but not of the "ROCK HARD MAGAZINE" but of the german edition of the "METAL HAMMER MAGAZINE", and again I decided to leave the complete package where it was and just grabbed the CD and left the supermarket, yeahr, you know, fighting the rules of capitalism wherever you can fight them, haha;-). (It's always good and nice if ya can hide nothing but simply 'criminal activities' behind some 'high moral aspirations', or isn't it?!? Just ask our political leaders!!!) So, okay, SODOM had released at the end of 2010 their newest record (and I will soon risk one or two ears) titled in "WAR & PIECES", and here we do get three new tracks of SODOM, as well as (pretty much) all of their so called 'German Classics' and also some live recorded songs at the giant german Metal Open Air settled in Wacken. Metal became more and more pretty unimportant to me over the last one or one-and-a-half decade, and especially SODOM had been a band that I lost totally out of my focus. They had not only been one of the harder Metal bands that I came to knew first, but they had also been one of the first Metal bands ever I used to listen to. But beside their three classicks "TAPPING THE VEIN", "BETTER OFF DEAD" and "AGENT ORANGE" and their very good late 1990's record "CODE RED" and maybe their pretty cool and very much Punk and Hardcore inspired record "GET WHAT YOU DESERVE" (with the great "SILENT IS CONSENT") and also maybe (very maybe) their very old one "PERSECUTION MANIA" (with th legendary "BOMBENHGEL") they have released so many other stuff more that, from my point of view, really nobody ever needed anyhow. And so, yes, that's why I totally lost them out of my view and focus back in 1999 or 2000 or something like this. But okay, after this one was for free, harhar;-), I thought that it would maybe be time again to give them another try. And what shall I say, damn what a suprise!!! SODOM moved pretty much far away from their more or less very 'punky' through and through Old School (German) Thrash Metal sound and style and do now-a-days sound pretty much 'New School'. It seemed like they've developed quite an impressive 'bit' to a more and more New School sound and style of Thrash Metal like it was born and bred over there in the States by bands like MACHINE HEAD and the PISSING RAZORS, just to name this two bands. (Still combined with some or even a lot of Old School Thrash Metal, trust me.) Very grapping and impressive songwriting, strong varying rhythm work and structures, cool changes of pace and exciting modifications of the mood of the songs, and a very harsh and brutal guitar playing that's really giving the songs its crown. Okay, I'm still not the biggest fan of Tom Angelripper's style of singing and of 'speaking out english', but okay, that's not doing hurt to final result here that much at all. The three new songs "IN WAR AND PIECES", "THE ART OF KILLING POETRY", and "FEIGNED DEATH THROES" are really amazing stuff that you really need to check out, even Die-Hard SODOM and Die-Hard Old School Thrash Metal maniacs will maybe somehow a little bit be dissapointed. The three songs are really awesome stuff, and of the rest of the songs you do really need (still today) "STALINORGEL", "WACHTTURM", and "BOMBENHAGEL". "DIE STUMME URSEL", "VERRECKE", and "MANTELMANN", okay, we do forget about this ones very quick, and the german version of "AUSGEBOMBT" is not half as good as the english original one. But okay, you should grab one of this CD's anyhow, and maybe make sure that you try out their current 2010 full length release titled "IN WAR AND PIECES". The production sound is very good, and the artwork looks just awesome. Also the lyrics are some good stuff. Good stuff after all that's really promising a lot when it comes to their new record and so I think I'm gonna give it a fair try pretty soon from now on. Check it out!!! (8 of 10 points)

(http://www.myspace.com/sodom)