In addition to the revamped digital mastering and the newly added German version of ‘Ausgebombt’, we are treated to a selection of bonus live tracks on a second CD. The generic slight increase in volume is there, but its essentially the same as the original. This is purely a remastered version of the original recordings.
Don’t be expecting a reworked version of the album, much like what Sodom did with the release of ‘The Final Sign of Evil’. The album hasn’t changed at all since its original release. Strangely enough, the song ‘Ausgebombt’ is more about the bombing of Germany in WWII than the Vietnam war. The band’s most “commercial” (I use the term commercial very loosely) single ‘Ausgebombt’ was played at some god awful hour of a Saturday morning and I was instantly hooked. I remember first hearing about Sodom thanks to my late nights in front of the idiot box watching Rage on ABC TV. It’s hard to believe its been almost 20 years since the release of the ‘Agent Orange’ album. This inevitably lead to many direct violations of the Geneva Conventions. Unlike some metal bands who glorify war, Sodom depicts the Vietnam war, and war in general in a much more realistic and political fashion.įor those who are unfamiliar, “Agent Orange” (a carcinogenic herbicide) was used by the US military in an operation called “Ranch Hand” which lasted several years to deprive the Viet Cong of vegetation and food which effected thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese civilians and American troops. The album depicted the harsh reality of the Vietnam war through the imagination of Tom Angelripper, Frank Blackfire and recently deceased Chris Witchunter, which has now been resurrected on this 20th anniversary reissue. The band’s previous releases, with the exception of ‘Persecution Mania’, mainly focused on horror and satanic themes, which then took a more political pursuit with the release of ‘Agent Orange’.
Agent Orange was originally released in 1989 by famed Teutonic thrash metal band Sodom.