Sodom - Ausgebombt EP (1989)

The Ausgebombt EP is another of those short form releases which has been retroactively made entirely worthless through time, but even for its day it was nothing special whatsoever. Whereas the previous Sodom EP Expurse of Sodomy offered three blazing hymns of viral excellence, this is one of those 'fun' excursions where a band decided it would be entertaining to themselves and their fans to step outside their skins for a while. All of this content has since been available on the reissue of Agent Orange, so there is absolutely no reason at all to shuffle currency unless you're the consummate, textbook completist, but ignoring that possibility, there was nothing worth a damn to begin with.

The "Ausgebombt" here is the German version, so naturally it was meant to appeal to the local fan base. This was the frivolous punk song from Agent Orange, following up the uninteresting, unnecessary punkish song on Persection Mania ("Bombenhagel"), and it's truly undeserving of its own single, though not a completely terrible song in any language. "Don't Walk Away" is a Tank cover, from their initial 1981 single. While it's hardly mangled at the hands of Tom Angelripper and crew, and you could always tell that the NWOBHM band was a huge influence on them, through both their warlike moniker/imagery and dirty, blue collar sound, it's really that not interesting of a song, with a typical blues rock pattern to it that sounds. Very Motörhead, like most of the early Tank recordings, but aside from an acknowledgment of Sodom's roots, it hasn't improved through this version.

Lastly, because 2 songs does not a full-bodied EP make, there is a live track, a grimy version of "Incest" from Agent Orange, recorded at Eissporthalle Braunschweig this same year. It's a decent tune, but not one of the best from that album, and there's nothing special about it's inclusion here except for the fact that it fills space. Since I'm just not a fan of Sodom's punk stuff, whether that be Tom Angelripper's 'Onkel Tom' solo project or the tendency for the main band to deviate into the territory from time to time, I found this to be a wasteland of value, meant only to cull a few extra dollars for Steamhammer/SPV and the band. Sodom's a good thrash band, once in awhile great, but that's the only context I've ever appreciated them in.

Verdict: Fail [2.25/10]

http://sodomized.info/