Sound: In 1989 German thrash masters, Sodom released their breakthrough album Agent Orange. featuring what some call their best line-up, Tom Angelripper (bass and vocals), Frank Blackfire (guitar), and Chris Witchhunter (drums), the album has become the highest selling German Thrash album of all time. The nine songs display a variety of sounds including the slower paced Remember the Fallen to Ausgebombt which is reminiscent of Motorhead. The guitars on this album are heavy, fast and loud, and the solos are even faster. The bass isn't too spectacular but with Tom also handling vocal duties this is quite understandable. Chris's drumming is top-notch as usual and he is able to match Blackfire and Angelripper in speed. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Abandoning their earlier lyrical themes of Satanism and gore, in this album Tom Angelripper found his lyrical niche, the Vietnam War. Rather than glorifying war the lyrics show the grim reality of the war. The songs cover different aspects of this, to name a few examples, loss of life (Remember the Fallen), the troop transports (Magic Dragon), and herbicides (Agent Orange. The lyrics fit in perfectly with the mood of the music and makes the whole thing a darker and heavier experience. When it comes to Tom's vocals, you either love them or hate them. His snarl is a mix between early thrash yelling and death grunting. He is able to clearly scream his lyrics in a way that you can understand what he is saying (or at least I can). // 9
Impression: Overall this album is really strong. The standout tracks are, Agent Orange, Ausgebombt, and Remember the Fallen. There really are no bad songs here but some songs like Exhibition Bout and Incest are just average. This album belongs in the collection of any metalhead especially anyone who is into thrash. I would castrate any one who stole this from me. // 9
