Obsessed by Cruelty
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Obsessed by Cruelty
| type = studio
| artist = Sodom
| cover = SodomObsessedbycruelty.jpg
| alt =
| released = 7 May 1986
| recorded = 1985
| venue =
| studio = Casablanca Studio, Berlin (U.S. version)
Tonstudio Hilpoltstein, Nuremberg, West Germany (European version)
| genre =
| length = 37:48 (U.S. version)
40:27 (European version)
| label = Metal Blade (U.S. version)
SPV/Steamhammer (European version)
| producer =
| prev_title = In the Sign of Evil
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = Expurse of Sodomy
| next_year = 1987
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|1.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/obsessed-by-cruelty-mw0000518764 |title=Obsessed by Cruelty – Sodom |work=AllMusic |access-date=15 September 2012}}
}}
Obsessed by Cruelty is the debut full-length studio album and the second release by German thrash metal band Sodom, released in 1986. Two different versions of the album exist, the European and the American, which were released by Steamhammer and Metal Blade Records.
Release
Two different versions of the album exist. The band had to record the album twice because their record company was not satisfied with the original result. The first version was recorded in Berlin, and was released on vinyl by Metal Blade Records in the United States in 1986. The second version was recorded in Nuremberg, and was released by Steamhammer Records in their home country of Germany in the same year. According to Tom Angelripper, the second recording is "completely different"{{cite web |url=http://metal-rules.com/interviews/sodom.htm |title=Metal-Rules.com: Interview with Tom Angelripper of Sodom |work=Metal Rules |access-date=15 September 2012}} and features a bonus track "After the Deluge".
= Re-releases =
Obsessed by Cruelty was re-released together with In the Sign of Evil in 1988, containing the first recorded version, and as a picture vinyl in 2005 by Vinyl Maniacs.
Influence
The album had a major influence on then-developing black metal.{{cite journal |author=Eda Lahdenpera |title=Northern Black Metal Legends |magazine=Kill Yourself!!! |issue=4 |year=1995 |page=44 |url=http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/mayhem.html |access-date=15 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207234358/http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/mayhem.html |archive-date=7 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}Jon "Metalion" Kristiansen. [https://www.vice.com/read/saga-true-black-metal-v15n5 "The Saga of True Norwegian Black Metal"]. Vice. Retrieved on 19 April 2013. Mayhem founder and guitarist Euronymous described the early Sodom and Destruction releases as underrated "masterpieces of black stinking metal". He also named his record label, Deathlike Silence Productions, after the album's second track.
Track listing
All music composed by Sodom (Chris Witchhunter, Michael Wulf, Tom Angelripper, Uwe Christophers).
=U.S. version=
{{Track listing
| headline = Side Obsessed
| title1 = Intro
| length1 = 1:53
| title2 = Deathlike Silence
| length2 = 5:06
| title3 = Brandish the Sceptre
| length3 = 2:56
| title4 = Proselytism Real
| length4 = 3:31
| title5 = Equinox
| length5 = 3:32
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side Cruelty
| title6 = Obsessed by Cruelty
| length6 = 5:47
| title7 = Fall of Majesty Town
| length7 = 4:01
| title8 = Nuctemeron
| length8 = 3:00
| title9 = Pretenders to the Throne
| length9 = 2:39
| title10 = Witchhammer
| length10 = 2:02
| title11 = Volcanic Slut
| length11 = 3:21
| total_length = 37:48
}}
=German version=
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Intro (The Rebirth...)
| length1 = 0:56
| title2 = Deathlike Silence
| length2 = 5:18
| title3 = Brandish the Sceptre
| length3 = 2:56
| title4 = Proselytism Real
| length4 = 3:25
| title5 = Equinox
| length5 = 3:36
| title6 = After the Deluge
| length6 = 4:54
}}
{{track listing
| headline = Side two
| title7 = Obsessed by Cruelty
| length7 = 5:05
| title8 = Fall of Majesty Town
| length8 = 4:04
| title9 = Nuctemeron
| length9 = 3:02
| title10 = Pretenders to the Throne
| length10 = 2:37
| title11 = Witchhammer
| length11 = 1:36
| title12 = Volcanic Slut
| length12 = 2:58
| total_length = 40:27
}}
Personnel
; Sodom
- Tom Angelripper – vocals, bass
- Michael Wulf – guitar (except "After the Deluge")
- Uwe Christophers – guitar (on "After the Deluge")
- Christian "Witchhunter" Dudek – drums
; Production
- Bobby Bachinger – engineering
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs release|392766}} (American version)
- {{Discogs release|500179}} (German version)
{{Sodom}}
{{Authority control}}