BravePicks 2020 - SODOM's Genesis XIX #23
December 9, 2020, 4 years ago
If there was any year that music was a true saviour, it was 2020. The ultimate diversion, as the world sits in virtual stagnation waiting anxiously for a fix. We will keep it brief here with the COVID commentary. Let’s let the music speak for itself. It is time to unveil our annual BravePicks countdown, where the devout scribes at BraveWords cast their votes at the hits and misses of the year! So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2020 each day in December!
Everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! And stay tuned in January for the writers’ individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), What/Who Needs To Stop In 2021? and Metal Predictions For 2021. Sadly no concerts. But all will be showcased come the New Year!
This virus can go to hell! Let’s let the Top 30 releases of 2020 rock your world!
BravePicks 2020
23) SODOM - Genesis XIX (Steamhammer)
Strap on the machine gun for another round of pulsating shots with Sodom’s Genesis XIX. Revamped with a four-person lineup including the inclusion of former guitarist Frank Blackfire, the Teutonic thrashers unleash a hail of bullets that deliver a blacker edge that harkens back to their earlier offerings while retaining a sinister edge.
Mainman Tom Angelripper snarls his way through 12 destructive songs as a touch of doom also follows through on “The Harpooneer” and the title track. 38 years in the business and the Germans are as strong as ever!
Scribe Rich Catino praised the album in his review: Cool opening riff on "Euthanasia", title track fades in and starts dark and dramatic, ominous as a more focused idea that Sodom could have been trying to work out on Obsessed By Cruelty. At seven minutes with riff, drum, tempo changes, it’s a great piece of thrash movement. And Tom's voice still projects that snarl and gruff he is known for. "Nicht mehr mein Land" could have been on Tapping The Vein, fast and brutal like post ‘80s-Slayer, and "Glock n Roll" feels like a song from 2006’s self-titled album. Strong build in "Dehumanized" that settles in its straight forward delivery with splashes of black metal riffery. Who are "Waldo & Pigpen"? The names are connected to the Vietnam war and pilots. Sodom at times have a tune that is punk-ish in spirit; it’s "Indoctrination" for this album.
BravePicks 2020 Top 30
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23) SODOM - Genesis XIX (Steamhammer)
24) INCANTATION - Sect Of Vile Divinities (Relapse)
25) MIDNIGHT - Rebirth By Blasphemy (Metal Blade)
26) NAGLFAR - Cerecloth (Century Media)
27) RAVEN - Metal City (SPV/Steamhammer)
28) KIRK WINDSTEIN - Dream In Motion (Entertainment One)
29) VANDEN PLAS - The Ghost Xperiment: Illumination (Frontiers)
30) GREEN CARNATION - Leaves of Yesteryear (Season of Mist)
