Review by Jeger on March 23, 2025.

A little black metal minus the swords and war paint? Sure, I like Wormwitch… The pan-European black metal collective, Silver Knife, are injecting contemporary creative juice into the genre. Real artful stuff that soaks into the very core of self. It doesn't matter if you don't even know what the album's concept is, because the music speaks to the spirit. The language of the soul conveyed from artist to taker in; resulting in a goosebumps-inducing experience. Silver Knife has been at it since 2019, which makes them newcomers on the scene, but the impact they've made in such a short time has been significant, and that's due to the mystique surrounding the band. No one knows who these guys are! When black metal is created anonymously, it strips away the ego and prioritizes recording equity on a collective front. The square root of it all tying together in the form of Silver Knife's forthcoming self-titled LP.

Crank up the suffering any more and we'll be venturing into Mgła or Advent Sorrow territory… Everything at crescendo level: urgent, unnerving and yet beautiful in its own right. Agonized vocal incursions rise like muffled murder cries from behind a blanket of wet distortion that suffocates any kind of atmosphere this record could've had. Parts that are meant to soar freely are weighed down like a plane with ice-covered wings attempting to take off in a winter storm. Just plummeting into a river of questionably engineered black metal… It's like everything I've chosen to listen to today has tried to give me a panic attack. The energy is the same throughout the first three tracks until we get to "Transfiguration". A welcomed change of pace during the midway point of this cut provides a little relief from this album's taxing energy. Like the soundtrack to one's life as it unravels chaotically into a fucking dumpster fire state. Or like that sliver of panic that lines your grief - no control - scrambling to make sense of it all.

A mysterious bunch who create mysterious black metal that will leave you in frenzied condition. Or perhaps what we have here isn't so depressive after all. This could be an homage to Phoenix's rise! To triumph in tragedy it seems is the sentiment here during the recordings final handful of minutes. Ah, another interlude from the chaos: tranquil and soulful, smart and modern guitar work driven by concrete cadences and then it's right back into the current. Only a lot more meaningful now as what's been a depressive affair turns into one of those hands in the air right upon rising to the top of some mountainous peak that you endured much hardship in order to reach moments.

You'll be glad when this one is over and that's not necessarily a bad thing. What a cathartic experience. The music is like when Magneto used his magnetic powers to literally rip Wolverine's adamantium out of his body, except you replace Wolverine with your morose ass and instead of adamantium it's your emotions that are being extracted without permission. Not sad or melancholy, but instead rooted in anxiety is this experience. Glaringly nerve-wracking at the surface and enchantingly melodic underneath all that sound pollution.

Whew! That was a doozy… What a remarkable album this could've been had it only been for some, I mean any kind of tact in the engineering department. Some sharper tones and some actual mixing never hurt anyone. But overall, I respect what these guys are doing. This is 100% true black metal that's been created with artistic integrity at the fore. You don't get this kind of authenticity within the scope of any other genre other than black metal. Time to have a complete nervous breakdown and then triumph over it, but barely, because even the most uplifting parts of this thing feel like tragedy.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 14, 2019.

For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow, for he's... Sorry, I had not realized that the review has already begun. However, nobody can deny that Tom Angelripper is a jolly good fellow. Authentic and persistent, he knows a lot of good tales to tell and he always stayed true to extreme metal. (With the exception of Onkel Tom, Die Knappen and so on...) Anyway, he never released a softener like "Endorama" under the banner of Sodom and unlike Destruction, he did not need a time-out. Consequently, the artwork of Code Red shows the raging Knarrenheinz on a bloodthirsty mission. I do not like this kind of painting, but I admit that it is the excellent visual implementation of the musical content.

Code Red, the second album with Bobby and Bernemann, houses some of the most vehement songs of the band - and you surely know that Sodom's history is full of intensive attacks. One can therefore imagine that the aggressive title track leaves no stone unturned. The wall of sound wants to crush the listener and Sodom open fire. One might think that it is a fairly trite idea to kick off an album with the most powerful number. But do not jump to conclusions, because the maximum degree of ironclad heaviness has not yet been achieved. The third track combines sheer insanity with enormous pressure and the result is amazing. "What Hell Can Create" makes worshippers of extreme thrash grin contently. 

This high level of intensity is a feature of Code Red, although the following songs do not only focus on high speed. "Tombstone", equipped with a Wild West aura, shows the brutality of well executed mid-tempo pieces. Angelripper's familiar voice does not lack of power and he feels obviously well due to his general affinity for cowboy stories (remember his contribution to the first album of "Dezperadoz"). Yet his vocals enrich every track, no matter what topic is being presented. Bernemann's solos do not reach the same level of brilliance. Some of them fail to leave an impact ("Warlike Conspiracy"). But his riffs have the power to split skulls, at least those that shape the highlights of the album. Almost shamefully hidden on the ninth position, one of these highlights’ attacks with sharpness and its defiant leads. Apart from these features, "The Vice of Killing" kicks asses in view of its good flow, the staccato-like bridge and the memorable chorus - even its solo part is exciting. Better still, the following tracks, "Visual Buggery" and "Book Burning" are almost on a par with "The Vice of Killing" due to their strict and merciless configurations.

The punk influenced closer kills two birds with one stone. Sodom show that they are able to perform different styles of non-conform music. Furthermore, they make clear that they do not take themselves too seriously. The extremely straight "Addicted to Abstinence" has a funny facet without being stupid. But generally speaking, more than 90% of the album are characterized by violent heaviness, metallic song patterns and a pessimistic mentality. Real thrash metal is immune against positive vibes. Thus, Code Red belongs to the better outputs of a strong discography. Thanks to the jolly good fellow.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10