Death Penalty is the debut studio album by British heavy metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The album received some criticism for the cover photograph, which featured topless model Joanne Latham. The photograph had been taken in the yard of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church in Enville, Staffordshire, without the permission of the local Reverend.[5] The album was originally released on LP and picture disc and was later reissued on CD. Pictured on the cover is Phil Cope, Zeeb Parkes, Graham Ditchfield and a member of their road crew.[1] While Peter Hinton is credited with producing this recording, the writers Phil Cope and Zeeb Parkes always felt the credit should have gone to the engineer Robin George.[1]

Death Penalty
a half-naked, bared-breasted woman is attacked by men in period costume in a graveyard.
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1982 (1982-09)[1]
Recorded10–11 April 1982[1]
StudioMetro Sound Studios, Mansbury, England
GenreHeavy metal,[2] doom metal
Length30:01
LabelHeavy Metal Records
ProducerPeter Hinton
Witchfinder General chronology
Soviet Invasion
(1982)
Death Penalty
(1982)
Friends of Hell
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[3]
Kerrang!(favourable)[4]

Track listing

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All tracks by Zeeb Parkes and Phil Cope.

Side one

  1. "Invisible Hate" – 6:05
  2. "Free Country" – 3:10
  3. "Death Penalty" – 5:35

Side two

  1. "No Stayer" – 4:25
  2. "Witchfinder General" – 3:51
  3. "Burning a Sinner" – 3:28
  4. "R.I.P." – 4:04

Personnel

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Witchfinder General

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  • Zeeb Parkes – vocals
  • Phil Cope – guitars, bass (bass credited as Woolfy Trope)
  • Graham Ditchfield – drums

Production

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Phil Cope interview". Witchfinder General Official Website. November 2004. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. Death Penalty at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  4. ^ Dome, Malcolm (19 November 1982). "Witchfinder General – 'Death Penalty'". Kerrang! (29). Archived from the original (JPG) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Updates : The return of Joanne Latham". Metal Gods.net. 1 March 2005. Archived from the original on 10 May 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2014.