The ''Devolve'' EP is the 1990 debut release by

New Zealand rock Rock music in New Zealand, also known as Kiwi rock music and New Zealand rock music, rose to prominence first in 1955 with Johnny Cooper's cover version of Bill Haley's hit song "Rock Around the Clock". This was followed by Johnny Devlin, sometime ...

band

Shihad Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), ...

and was co-produced by the group with

Malcolm Welsford Malcolm Welsford is a New Zealand Record Producer and is best known for his work with Shihad, The Feelers and Supergroove. Early career Welsford's professional recording career began in 1984 at a small largely unknown Studio called Frontier Stud ...

. The EP was originally released in 1990 on a limited run of 1000 vinyl copies, and re-released in the following year on CD. It reached the top 20 on the

New Zealand albums chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. ''Devolve'' received critical acclaim and while being the band's first EP, they were one of the most talked about bands in New Zealand, and had already opened for such other metal acts,

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

and

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

. The line-up of

(then typeset as Shihäd) included Hamish Laing on bass guitar, along with mainstays

Jon Toogood Jonathan Charles Toogood (born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 9 August 1971) is the frontman (lead vocals and guitar) of the New Zealand rock band Shihad. He formed the band in 1988 with fellow Wellingtonian Tom Larkin. Toogood and Larkin met a ...

on lead vocals and rhythm guitar,

Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...

on lead guitar and Tom Larkin on drums. The EP is Laing's last recording for Shihad, he was replaced by

Karl Kippenberger Karl Brenton Jamie Kippenberger (born 26 August 1973 in Wellington, New Zealand), grandson of Captain E.T Kippenberger, great nephew of Major-General Sir Howard Kippenberger, is the bass guitarist of the New Zealand band Shihad. Kippenberger g ...

on bass guitar in 1991. The track "Down Dance" had been released as a B-side on the New Zealand version of Australian band, the Angels' first single, "

Dogs Are Talking "Dogs Are Talking" is a song by Australian hard rock band the Angels, released in April 1990 as the second single from The Angels ninth studio album ''Beyond Salvation''. The flipside featured tracks from bands who would be touring in support sl ...

" (1990), from their ''

Beyond Salvation ''Beyond Salvation'' is the ninth studio album by the Australian hard rock band The Angels, produced and recorded in Memphis by Terry Manning. It was released in the US in November 1989 and in Australia in June 1990. The album peaked at No.&nbs ...

'' (June 1990) album. Also included on that split single was Auckland band Nine Livez, with both New Zealand bands supporting the Angels on their NZ tour in 1990. The track "The Wizard" is a cover of the

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

song "

The Wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book super ...

" that was on the self-titled ''

'' album.

Track listing

# "It" # "Down Dance" # "Subject Matters" # "The Wizard" (

Cover)

References

1990 debut EPs {{1990s-thrash-metal-album-stub