Band:	Sodom
Album:	M-16
Style:	Teutonic thrash metal
Release date:	2001
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Among The Weirdcong
02. I Am The War
03. Napalm In The Morning
04. Minejumper
05. Genocide
06. Little Boy
07. M-16
08. Lead Injection
09. Cannon Fodder
10. Marines
11. Surfin' Bird [The Trashmen cover]
12. Witching Metal [Digipak bonus]
13. Devil's Attack [Digipak bonus]

When you watch those classic Vietnam war movies like "Full Metal Jacket" and "Apocalypse Now", have you ever wondered what it would be like if the power of those films was put into a metal album? Well, it seems Tom Angelripper and company did, and here it is - M-16.

Looking at Sodom's catalogue the theme for this album really comes as no surprise - a concept album about Vietnam, "Apocalypse Now" quotes and all. The most noticeable feature of this album is the amount of mid-tempo tracks. Its evident that the band made a genuine effort to separate themselves from the cookie-cutter non-stop shred fests that seem to dominate thrash albums. Songs such as "Marines" and "Napalm In The Morning" we see these powerful, driving riffs executed perfectly without being at a tasteless, blistering speed. To ignore some of the more upbeat songs is nearly impossible as well, scattered throughout the album are a handful of tracks that almost have a bouncing rhythm sound while still keeping to a typical thrash blueprint. To finish everything off we have a beefed up cover of The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird", a song that fits perfectly into the theme of the album while greatly complimenting the bands punk influence that echos into many of their albums.

This is a Sodom record, pure and simple. Good or bad you know what you're getting - which makes it a tedious listen at times. The most "intense" tracks are ironically the least powerful, the top-speed crushing power just comes across as quite bland at times, making it difficult to sit through the entire album if your not in the mood for some fairly generic thrash.

Aside from the well written mid-tempo tracks, there is nothing all that new and exciting about M-16. It's just solid thrash metal, albeit fairly hum-drum at times. If you've listened to Sodom before, you've heard this album.