and legacy In the early days Sodom's lyrics focused on Satanic and occult themes, but since Persecution Mania, most of their songs have covered topics based on, inspired by, or related to the concepts of war, politics, fascism and world history. Some of their songs have also covered topics dealing with religion, rape or sexual intercourse, hatred, violence, racism and xenophobia, almost often presented in a humorous light. Their political-related lyrics had led some people to think that the band was militarist, but on closer observation the listener would find the lyrics actually being anti-war. In an interview with Metalkings.com Tom Angelripper said: "Why are we writing about war? Because we don't want war. We wanna describe how bad the war is." The chorus of the song "Ausgebombt" also gives a very clear message: "No trade with death, No trade with arms, Dispense the war, Learn from the past." Sodom has been influenced or inspired by a variety of music, including AC/DC, Accept, Anvil, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Fates Warning, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mercyful Fate, Motörhead, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rainbow, Santana, Saxon, Scorpions, Slade, Slayer, Tank, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Steve Vai, Venom and Frank Zappa. In turn, the band has influenced numerous heavy metal acts such as Burzum, Cannibal Corpse, Dark Tranquility, Deicide, Enslaved, Evildead, Evile, Incantation, Mayhem, Morbid Angel, Necrodeath, Necromantia, Obituary, Rotting Christ, Sepultura and Tsjuder. Members Current line-up Tom Angelripper – bass , vocals Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik – lead guitar , rhythm guitar Yorck Segatz – rhythm guitar Toni Merkel – drums Former members Christian "Witchhunter" Dudek – drums Frank "Aggressor" Testegen – vocals, guitars Rainer "Bloody Monster" Focke – drums Josef "Grave Violator" Dominic – guitars Michael "Destructor" Wulf – guitars Uwe Christophers – guitars Uwe Baltrusch – guitars Michael Hoffmann – guitars Andy Brings – guitars Guido "Atomic Steiff" Richter – drums Dirk "Strahli" Strahlmeier – guitars Bernd "Bernemann" Kost – guitars Bobby Schottkowski – drums Markus "Makka" Freiwald – drums Stefan "Husky" Hüskens – drums Timeline Discography Obsessed by Cruelty (1986) Persecution Mania (1987) Agent Orange (1989) Better Off Dead (1990) Tapping the Vein (1992) Get What You Deserve (1994) Masquerade in Blood (1995) 'Til Death Do Us Unite (1997) Code Red (1999) M-16 (2001) Sodom (2006) The Final Sign of Evil (2007) In War and Pieces (2010) Epitome of Torture (2013) Decision Day (2016)