CD reissue. Sentence of Death is an EP and the debut release by German thrash metal band Destruction, released on 10 November 1984. The release is more black metal oriented than the band’s later albums. Destruction’s Debut EP was the raw and aggressive first vinyl strike of a band that was hungry to be the hardest and fastest metal band of all, and fans and press still agree that it set a standard. It was the ideal starting point for the band’s first album, and as Sentence of Death was a huge success, it convinced Steamhammer to offer the band a proper record deal and the opportunity to release their first full-length album. Destruction formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the Big 4 of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the late 1980s, along with American bands Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel.