Sodom is a German thrash metal band, formed in 1982. They are considered one of the three biggest teutonic thrash bands the other two are Kreator and Destruction.
Sodom's original line-up consisted of Tom Angelripper, Chris Witchhunter and Aggressor. Taking inspiration from British heavy metal bands such as Motörhead, Anti-Nowhere League and Venom, they released two demos which led to a record deal with Steamhammer. Aggressor left the band shortly before releasing the In the Sign of Evil EP (generally regarded as an important early black metal release), and was replaced by Grave Violator, who did not last long himself. On the debut album Obsessed by Cruelty he was replaced by Destructor. After the release however, Destructor left Sodom to join Kreator. Destructor (Michael Wulf) died in a motorcycle accident in 1995.
Thereafter, their breakthrough album Persecution Mania was released with yet another guitarist, Frank Blackfire. A live album Mortal Way of Live followed. The next album made Sodom famous: Agent Orange, released in 1989. This album managed to sell 100,000 copies in Germany alone. Since then, Sodom is one of the three big names of German Thrash metal. The others are Kreator and Destruction. Again, a new guitarist was to be found as Blackfire also left the band to join Kreator. The replacement was found in Michael Hoffman.
In this line-up the Better Off Dead album was released in 1990. During the South American tour however, Hoffman decided to stay in Brazil and therefore was forced to quit. His replacement was found in Andy Brings and a new album was recorded, titled Tapping the Vein, which was more death influenced than before.