Often credited as the first death metal band ever, Possessed, from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, was formed 1982 and still remains active today. The album I chose to review for this is their first full length album “Seven Churches” released in 1985, before their first full length they released 2 demos titled “Death Metal” in 1984 and “Demo 1985” in 1985. The Line-up for the “Seven Churches” album included Jeff Becerra on Vocals, Bass, and Lyrics on Tracks 2-5, 7, 9, and 10, Mike Torrao on Guitars, lyrics on tracks 1 and 6, and songwriting on tracks 1-10, Larry LaLonde on Guitars and songwriting on track 5, Mike Sus on drums for all tracks, and Randy Burns on Keyboards on tracks 1 and 9.
In 1989 the vocalist for Possessed, Jeff Becerra, was held up at gunpoint by two assailants and he was shot twice, leaving him paralyzed, but he continues to do live shows and massive world tours with the band.
The tracklist for the album has 10 songs and a total running time of 39 minutes and 24 seconds.
Tracklist:
1. The Exorcist 4:52
2. Pentagram 3:34
- Burning in Hell 3:10
- Evil Warriors 3:44
- Seven Churches 3:14
- Satan’s Curse 4:15
- Holy Hell 4:12
- Twisted Minds 5:10
- Fallen Angel 3:58
- Death Metal 3:15
My favorite song from the album has to be “Satan’s Curse” because of the frantic sounding guitar tone and fast paced drumming. Overall I’d give this album a 9/10 because it was the first ever death metal album which went on to inspire many bands today to make music. If you’re looking to listen to some old-school death metal, I’d recommend starting with this band and then go and listen to all the other 80’s death metal bands that emerged shortly after Possessed did, like Death, Autopsy, Pungent Stench, and Obituary.
