Death Penalty

If you are a fan of NWOBHM or DOOM, these guys are the masters of the genre. Hailing from the same home town as one of my other favorite NWOBHM bands Diamondhead. This album and "Death Penalty" are a must have. Some of my favorite tracks are "Invisible Hate", "Free Country", "R.I.P.", and "Witchfinder General". Phil Cope guitar playing is brilliant and Zeeb Parkes vocals are phenomenal. My only regret is that Zeeb left the band long before I had heard of them or would have a chance to see them perform live. I just wish there were more songs from this lineup of the band, I would buy the music in a heart beat. To Phil and Zeeb thank you for giving the gift of your music to rest of us.

Have loved this album from the first time I heard it, back in the 90's. I wish this was the original red pressing, but it is just regular black. The album is not amazing, but it has at least 2 songs on it that prompted me to add it to my vinyl collection. Gritty sounding band that you are either going to love or hate; there is no middle ground here!Album was in great shape and plays well.

Coventry's Witchfinder General were like the black sheep of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. While most of the bands in the scene were pioneering an embryonic form of thrash metal consisting of sped-up Judas Priest and Motorhead song structures, these guys were still longingly clutching their 10-year-old Black Sabbath records and formed the band in 1979 as a means to create similar sounds of their own.While perhaps not in the league with the work of said Birmingham heavy metal progenitors, Witchfinder General's debut LP "Death Penalty," released in January 1982, has a few things going for it. The overall spirit is one of drug-addled abandon (i.e., sex, drugs and rock & roll), a key facet of the sound to begin with. The lyrics to "Free Country" drive this point home: "Lines of speed on a mirror face/Sniff it up through a biro case." These could be seen as a little tongue in cheek, that and the infamous LP sleeve photos of a beautiful naked blond woman before and after a pillaging by the Witchfinders. With this all but banned cover art along with the overt drug references, "Death Penalty" remained something of a rare collectors item throughout the '80s and went unreleased on CD for much of the '90s.That said, to me there aren't as many standouts here as there would be on the follow-up but on the LP's B-side are two songs that are among the group's best ever, the first being "Witchfinder General," which I first heard on Lars Ulrich and Geoff Barton's 1990 "NWOBHM: '79 Revisited" compilation. Totally vintage and catchy with a mindblowing riff interlude from guitarist Phil Cope. Brilliant. The other is "Burning a Sinner," a song along the same lines with a Sabbath-y song structure that really makes it effective and memorable.The main thing however that holds back most of this album from being truly great is the subpar production. Normally I enjoy a really raw mix, but the drums here have a real "boxy" sound and the bass is very often buried in the background, something that really decreases my personal enjoyment level considerably.Still, a true collectors item indeed, and this CD reissue on Heavy Metal Records is choice. It comes in a beautiful cardboard slipcase that is like having the original album sleeve and the disc itself is even a replica of the actual vinyl record.At the time of this writing this one has gone out of print once again and is becoming harder to find at a decent price on the internet.Yet, if you can overlook its flaws this album is still a cult classic and well worth hunting down.

Old school doom in the same Sabbath influenced style of Pentagram or Cathedral.

Great cover! Have to admit I only got it for the model who was famous for a while in England. The music is OK, but like I said- the cover was my object.

In my opinion.....As far as the NWOBHM goes this is NOT the best band in the field. It's not terrible but it's not great either. The songs on here sound arranged very poorly. Probably due to the production in the studio. I would recommend Praying Mantis, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest, Raven, Diamond Head, Satan or Avenger if you are curious about the NWOBHM. But, not these guys unless you are a die hard fan of the genre and just have to have all the bands in your collection, which was kind of my case. So, like I said it's not terrible but not great. Preview the songs on Amazon or listen to the whole album on Youtube first if you are thinking of getting this CD. \m/ \m/

Still, a true collectors item indeed, and this CD reissue on Heavy Metal Records is choice. It comes in a beautiful cardboard slipcase that is like having the original album sleeve and the disc itself is even a replica of the actual vinyl record.

I was so happy to get this in the mail. It was wrapped safley and came on the day expected. I was very happy with this purchase.

Voila un groupe inconnu qui devrait sortir de l'anonymat...Quasi 40 ans plus tard.La pochette est cool, le Metal est on ne peut plus old school et Sabbathien en diable.La voix est sensible et forte, accompagnant les textes maudits de l'album.Un groupe qui inspira par exemple Type O Negative et Eyehategod pour ne citer que deux exemples...Pour les amoureux du vrai Metal un superbe cadeau pour vos collec'🤘

ok

Voor de liefhebber van de zogeheten nwobhm is dit zeker een must.Lekkere jaren tachtig metal/hardrock.

Won’t be the blue version as advertised, just be aware of that. Fantastic album, some proper early 80’s NWoBH

One of the great bands into NWOBHM hardly Black Sabbath influenced...