Of all the metal mascots, Sodom’s Knarrenheinz has had one of the toughest careers. When the German thrash icons made a lyrical switch from the occult to warfare and society, they adopted the mascot on ‘Persecution Mania.’ Originally a soldier wrapped in an NBC suit, complete with helmet and gas mask, of the type used by NATO troops in Europe at the end of the Cold War. The infantryman, initially equipped with an M16 assault rifle gradually came to lose many of his “realistic” connotations and take on more properly sci-fi or horror connotations. The album In War and Pieces features the piece Knarrenheinz(sung in German), which tells the genesis of this character. He is an undead powered by nuclear forces, despises humanity and is involved in an eternal war.
01 - Cover of “Persecution Mania”, 1987.
02 - Cover of “M16”, 2001.
03 - Cover of “40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell Of Sodom”, 2022.
04 - Print of the band’s merchandising.
05 - Cover of “In War And Pieces”, 2010.
