Sodom is a German thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981. They have gone through many lineup changes, leaving bassist/vocalist Tom Angelripper as the only constant member. The band is currently composed of Angelripper, guitarists Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (who was a member of Sodom from 1987 to 1989 and rejoined in 2018) and Yorck Segatz, and drummer Toni Merkel. Along with Kreator, Destruction and Tankard, Sodom has been referred to as one of the "Big Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. Sodom heavily influenced the German black metal scene. In addition, the band is regarded as a pioneer of early death metal. Mike McPadden wrote that the most Venom-blackened of German "Three Kings"(The others are Destruction and kreator), Sodom further merged thrash and death metal into a wicked and decadent sound. Sodom has released seventeen studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums and seven EPs. They achieved their first commercial success with their fourth studio album Agent Orange (1989), which was one of the first thrash metal albums to enter the German album charts, where it reached number 36. Their most recent studio album, Genesis XIX, was released on 27 November 2020. Sodom is one of the best-selling thrash metal acts of all time, having sold over two million records. History Formation and early black metal years (1981–1986) Sodom's original line-up consisted of Tom Angelripper, Bloody Monster, Arius "Blasphemer", and Aggressor. Reportedly named in reference to the Venom song "One Thousand Days in Sodom", the band was initiated by Tom as a desperate attempt to get out of having to work in coal mines in his home town of Gelsenkirchen. The band became a cohesive unit when Chris Witchhunter (Christian Dudek) from Essen replaced Bloody Monster on drums, bringing songwriting experience from his time in school, and spearheading the creativity process after Arius had been fired. Taking inspiration from bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Venom, Kiss, Tank, Accept, Raven, Rainbow, AC/DC and UFO, the group continued as a three-piece in the Motörhead-fashion and 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 (which is generally regarded as an important early black metal release), and was replaced by Grave Violator, who himself did not last long, and left following the recording of In the Sign of Evil. Michael "Destructor" Wulf was