Agent Orange is the third studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 1 June 1989 by SPV/Steamhammer. It was their last album with guitarist Frank Blackfire (who would join Kreator) until his return in 2018. The lyrical content delves into the Vietnam War, with a song dedicated to the ground assault aircraft AC-47 as well as the Agent Orange defoliant-inspired title-track. It was their first album to enter the German album charts, where it reached number 36. Agent Orange sold 100,000 copies in Germany alone[1] and marked the band's commercial breakthrough. The song "Ausgebombt" was released on the EP Ausgebombt with German lyrics.
The album's liner notes carry the message: "This album is dedicated to all people – soldiers and civilians – who died by senseless aggressions of wars all over the world."
In March 2010, Agent Orange was re-released in a digipak with bonus tracks and liner notes containing lyrics and rare photos.[2][3]
Music
The musical style on Agent Orange has been characterized as "stand[ing] right at the devil's crossroads of thrash and death metal." The album's production is considered to be "fuller [and] heavier" than that of its predecessor, Persecution Mania.[4]Screen Rant said: "Each track on Agent Orange flows with equal parts punk, and military bombast, all joining forces to create a cohesive whole that rocks from start-to-finish, without a single bum note in between." The influence of hard-core punk band Discharge has been observed on the album.[5]
Artwork
Matthew Thomas of Screen Rant said that the album's cover artwork "screams a classic - like Doom Guy and a baddie from Half-Life 2 have joined forces to blow up planet earth."[6]
In 2005, Agent Orange was ranked number 299 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[9] In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Agent Orange as 63rd on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'.[10]
Thom Jurek of AllMusic said Agent Orange was an improvement over Persecution Mania, and argued that it was the band's definitive album. He wrote: "The songwriting is tighter, the dynamics more elaborate, and everyone carries equal weight -- it would be the very last time this would happen with Sodom on record." He named "Exhibition Bout," "Incest" and "Baptism of Fire" as the album's strongest tracks.[4]
In 2025, Matthew Thomas of Screen Rant said the album was "perhaps one of the most economical, stripped down thrash recordings of its time."[11]
Track listing
All music is composed by Chris Witchhunter, Frank Blackfire and Tom Angelripper, except where noted.
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