Despite their legendary statues, I still feel that SODOM is stupidly underrated in the Metal world.  Simply put, I would put them against any of the American Thrash bands.  They have a long and wonderous career but has seen some issues in the exit of Markus Freiwald and Bernd Kost but Angelripper is back with a whole new line up, one that he teases us with on this short but very sweet EP. Speaking of Tom Angelripper, he only gets better with age-his vocals presented on these tracks prove he is as good as he has ever been.  He isn't a slouch in the bass guitar department either, with his fingers still able to easily play the frantic thrashing that is required of him.

This EP also features the welcome return of guitarist Frank Blackfire, who has played on several past SODOM albums including their classic "Agent Orange" release.  He does a good job in capturing that same magic but it doesn't hurt that Yorck Segatz joins as a second guitarist, giving these songs a much more full sound. Husky's drums work well with Angleripper's own rhythm; his drumming is very spot on and crisp with a lot of power behind it. The title track opens the record and it is chock full of tasty riffs throughout with a decent speedy tempo. It is pretty by the numbers thrash but it's so well done that it doesn't really matter because it is played with fervor and conviction.

The second track, "Conflagration," is the better of the two originals because it's more dynamic with temp changes and the bass stands out a bit more. But the best track has to be a live track from the "Agent Orange" album called "Tired & Red." Not only does is it show that SODOM can play their old stuff with as much energy after all these years but the band is firing on all cylinders.  When I listened to it on my headphones, they felt like they were playing in my living room so loud and furious are they.  I have never seen them live but if this track is any indication, I envy those who have. It is somewhat difficult to fully rate an album with just two studio tracks but if this EP is a taste of things to come from this line up, then I cannot wait to see what the future holds for SODOM.