SODOM - Obsessed By Cruelty [30Th Anniversary Edition] (12" Gatefold DOUBLE LP)

Unknown to many fans and thought by many others to be nothing more than urban myth, there were in fact two separate and distinct versions recorded and released for "Obsessed by Cruelty", the debut full-length album by SODOM. The first, recorded at Casablanca Studios in Berlin and engineered by Horst Muller (Celtic Frost, Destruction) was rejected by label Steamhammer as being too raw to release commercially. Ushered back into studio, the band re-recorded the album from scratch at Studio Hipolstein near Nurnberg, during which a twelfh track, "After the Deluge" was added. The first, rejected recording of the album was accidentally shipped to U.S. licensee Metal Blade Records and released in May of 1986. The second, re-recorded version was released two months later in Germany by Steamhammer. Ironically, it would be the original rejected version that would become ubiquitous on all subsequent CD and digital releases, while the second, approved version, released only in 1986 and only on vinyl, would disappear into obscurity.

On the 30th anniversary of the album's original release, both U.S. and German studio versions of the debut full-length album by German thrash pioneers SODOM appear together for the firrst time ever, in one comprehensive collection. Fully remastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound Mastering and packaged in a deluxe gatefold jacket featuring several previously unreleased period photos, this deluxe 30th Anniversary edition is a mandatory volume in any self-respecting metal maniac's record collection.