Sodom is a German thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981. Along with Kreator, Destruction and Tankard, Sodom is considered one of the "The Big Teutonic Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. While three of those bands (except Tankard) created a sound that would influence death metal and black metal, Sodom's early music style would greatly influence many late-1980s and early-1990s black metal bands more than others.