Event:	Rock Station 7
Written by:	jupitreas
Published:	25.03.2004

I have to be honest with you - although Rock Station 7 was actually a 3 day festival with a long list of bands, I really only went to see Sodom. Sodom played on the third day of the festival and they were the last band on the bill (ie. they were headlining). I got there a while earlier so I also had the opportunity to watch the two bands that played before the mighty Sodom - Wykked Wytch and Vanden Plas.

Wykked Wytch is an American black metal band with a female vocalist who posesses an incredibly annoying high-pitch shriek not entirely unlike Dani Filth. Luckily, apparently she had a sore throat that day so her vocals did not sound as screechy as they do on the albums. Overall, their show was pretty mediocre. They are a young band and still need to improve. Their performance came across as rather sloppy. Not a whole lot of people were drawn to their music and preferred instead to rest with a pint of beer in anticipation for Vanden Plas and Sodom.






Vanden Plas went on next and obviously a lot more people were there to see them than the previous band. The hall pretty much filled up. I cant say I am a particular fan of the sort of music Vanden Plas plays (progressive/power metal) so I stayed back and watched the show from a distance. Their show started with some ominous keyboard passages and a generally very mystical sound; however, it quickly changed into more standard, catchy metal. The audience seemed to like it and the musicians were obviously quite proficient and knew what they were doing. The vocalist and guitarist did a very good job at communicating with the audience and everyone had a lot of fun. If I were a fan I would probably really like it.






After Vanden Plas left, we had to wait a good hour for the techies and the staff to prepare the stage for war. Finally, after much chanting of their name and constant ovation, Sodom appeared and started kicking serious ass! They were awesome. Although just a trio, they made more noise than any other band before them. They also played a very well balanced show which included tracks from the entire life-span of the band. We got to hear such classics as "Agent Orange", "Blasphemer", "Ausgebombt", "Outbreak Of Evil" and "Remember The Fallen", as well as the more recent tracks from the band's latest LP "M-16". The band also played the immortal "Ace Of Spades" and a song from one of Tom Angelripper's hardcore side-projects.






Speaking of "Onkel Tom", he was a constant source of amusement in the most positive sense - he kept on talking to the audience, shared his beer with the listeners and was generally an extremely nice guy. Moreover, his bass guitar produced what was the heaviest and most distorted bass sound I have ever heard in a live setting and his vicious roar was as strong as it is on the LPs. The other two musicians were similarly friendly and were obviously having fun.






The ecstatic audience was treated to a wonderful hour and a half of pure thrash armageddon. The music was so intense that I saw a number of nu-metal fans leaving the hall, which put a happy grin on my face. This is the true power of thrash metal!! Nonetheless, although Sodom's music is punishing and aggressive, the actual band members are the opposite of that and that is great to see.

What else is there left to add?? Sodom was definitely worth seeing and worth paying for even if you ignored the rest of the festival (as I did). If the band ever comes to your city, make sure you see it!!!

PS: Oh, and bring some ear-plugs because they are LOUD!!