In the Sign of Evil
In the Sign of Evil is the first EP and the debut release by German thrash metal band Sodom, released in 1985 via Devil's Game independent record label. The record is considered part of the first wave of black metal.[2] Despite the melodic rawness, the over-the-top lyrics ("My life begins at midnight twelve, masturbate to kill myself") and the elementary structure of the songs, two of them ("Outbreak of Evil" and "Blasphemer") were regularly played by the band thirty-five years into its career, and are considered crowd favorites.
| In the Sign of Evil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | February 1985 | |||
| Recorded | October 1984 at Caet Studio, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | Black metal, speed metal | |||
| Length | 19:12 | |||
| Label | Devil's Game | |||
| Producer | Wolfgang Eichholz | |||
| Sodom chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Kerrang! |   [1] |
The tracks from In the Sign of Evil were re-recorded in 2007 and released as The Final Sign of Evil.[3]
Release
The EP is widely available as the bonus tracks in the CD version of their debut album Obsessed by Cruelty (1986). Tracks from this EP have appeared on all three live Sodom albums: Mortal Way of Live (1988),[4] Marooned - Live (1994)[5] and One Night in Bangkok (2003).[6]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Tom Angelripper, except "Witching Metal", by Aggressor.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Outbreak of Evil" | 4:49 |
| 2. | "Sepulchral Voice" | 4:31 |
| 3. | "Blasphemer" | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Witching Metal" | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Burst Command 'Til War" | 3:36 |
| Total length: | 19:12 | |
Personnel
Sodom
- Tom Angelripper – vocals, bass
- Grave Violator (Josef "Peppi" Dominik) – guitar
- Witchhunter (Christian Dudek) – drums
Production
- Detleft Schmidt – sleeve design
- Horst Müller – engineering
- Sven Clasen – band management
- Joachim Pieczulski – album cover painting
- Wolfgang Eicholz – production
References
- Dome, Malcolm (4 April 1985). "Sodom 'In the Sign of Evil'". Kerrang!. 91. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 12.
- "Black Metal Foundations Top 20: The First Wave". Terrorizer (128): 42–43. 2005.
- Henderson, Alex. "Final Sign of Evil - Sodom". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Mortal Way of Live - Sodom". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Marooned - Sodom". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "One Night in Bangkok - Sodom". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
