Obsessed by Cruelty is the 1986 debut album by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Sodom

Sodom (band)

Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...

. It was re-released together with In the Sign of Evil

In the Sign of Evil

In the Sign of Evil is an EP released in 1984 by the German thrash metal band Sodom.The EP is widely available as the bonus tracks in the compact disc version of their debut album Obsessed by Cruelty ....

in 1988, and as picture vinyl in 2005 by Vinyl Maniacs/EMRmusic.

Two different versions of this 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

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and the second version in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

. According to Tom Angelripper, the second recording includes a bonus track called "After the Deluge" and is "completely different" because they had a different guitar player.

The album had a major influence on the then-developing black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 genre. Mayhem

Mayhem (band)

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...

's founder and guitarist Euronymous

Euronymous

Øystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...

 described it as an underrated "masterpiece of black stinking metal". He also named his record label, Deathlike Silence Productions

Deathlike Silence Productions

Deathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...

, after the album's opening track. It also had an influence on the death metal

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 genre, due to its very fast tempo and occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

-themed lyrics.

Track listing

US version:

1. "Intro" – 1:53
2. "Deathlike Silence" – 5:06
3. "Brandish the Sceptre" – 2:56
4. "Proselytism Real" – 3:31
5. "Equinox" – 3:32
6. "Volcanic Slut" – 3:21
7. "Obsessed by Cruelty" – 5:47
8. "Fall of Majesty Town" – 4:01
9. "Nuctemeron" – 3:00
10. "Pretenders to the Throne" – 2:39
11. "Witchhammer" – 2:02

EU version (Steamhammer pressing):

1. "Intro (The Rebirth...)" – 0:56
2. "Deathlike Silence" – 5:18
3. "Brandish the Sceptre" – 2:56
4. "Proselytism Real" – 3:25
5. "Equinox" – 3:36
6. "After the Deluge" – 4:54
7. "Obsessed by Cruelty" – 5:05
8. "Fall of Majesty Town" – 4:04
9. "Nuctemeron" – 3:02
10. "Pretenders to the Throne" – 2:37
11. "Witchhammer" – 1:36
12. "Volcanic Slut" – 2:58

Credits

• Tom Angelripper
  Tom Angelripper
  Tom Angelripper is the founding member and main songwriter of the German thrash metal band Sodom.- Biography :...
  
    - Vocals/Bass
• Michael Wulf
  Michael Wulf
  Michael "Destructor" Wulf was a German guitarist, well known for playing in German thrash metal bands, Sodom and Kreator. He died in 1993 after a motorcycle accident.- References :...
  
  (Destructor) - Guitar
• Uwe Christophers (Assator) - Guitar
• Chris Witchhunter - Drums