POSSESSED Seven Churches

Artist: POSSESSED
Title: Seven Churches
Year of Release: 1985
Label: Combat
Format: CD/LP

If you're looking for me to be the first person to compose a body of text that criticizes this masterpiece, then stop reading right now as I have no desire to do that!

While I love this album, I know there are people whose obsession runs deeper than mine, but I'm confident that what I have to offer is important at any rate.

The wife and I were honeymooning in New York back in November 2007 and as luck would have it, we boarded our flight home on the 24th, while Possessed were performing on the 25th. Had we not planned all this stuff in March of '07 that circumstance may have been avoidable, but alas it was not. Whenever I travel O/S again, I'm gonna, simply by default, push my return flight back. I managed to see Laibach by the skin of my teeth under a similar circumstance. Not another honeymoon, just a last minute announcement on the last night in town. Some may argue that it's only Jeff Becerra and Sadistic Intent, but sometimes that fandom runs deep and I think that Sadistic Intent's passion and dedication to US Death metal should go unquestioned.

I digress...

I own three copies of this album. The original combat LP pressing with the embossed Seven Churches logo (in black, just like the original Black Metal pressing) as well as the Roadrunner LP edition and the recent Century Media CD reissue. Thank fuck it's the album straight up too. This, like 'Reign In Blood' has no need for bonus tracks.

I believe that Possessed released the ultimate Death/Thrash crossover record in the guise of 'Seven Churches', and I would argue that no one has ever touched it with regard to the mesh of two pure, though burgeoning forms. Some will argue that death metal was around as a style and that Morbid Angel, Mantas/Death, Master and Slaughter were all au fait with this style from a North American point of view, though I believe that Possessed really flew the flag for this style and in a heavy and evolved manner first.

I love the 'Tubular Bells' component of opening cut 'The Exorcist' and when I think about how affected by the film 'The Exorcist' that I myself am, I can see how much of the concept for the band and parts of this release came into being. Can you think of a more classic name than Possessed either?

Another virtue of this album is the conceptual tie in of everything from the cover, to the band photos, song titles, lyrics and of course the sound. Heavy, raw but still managing to cut through, Becerra had/has a really powerful style that straddles the guttural and pronounced mediums perfectly. Some killer riffs and awesome musicianship all round, the lead work on this record really stamped itself on some of the evolving acts like Morbid Angel who really injected that wailing, whammy mad solo aura into their own orchestrations. Sure Possessed was maybe a little less chaotic than some Morbid Angel stuff, but listen to MA's demo's from '84 and compare the two. It's clear to see who was most innovative at that time.

If this album moves you, I would also definitely recommend 'Power From Hell' by Onslaught. The UK troupe were moving in similar circles I feel, conceptually and to a fair extent in their sound, though it's my contention that Possessed are the superior of the two bands.

And to think that it wasn't that long ago you couldn't BUY a copy of this album on CD for love or money! How it maintained the following it has is testament to the devotion of the band's fans as well as the exceptional execution of this release.

BEHERIT Drawing Down The Moon

Artist: BEHERIT
Title: Drawing Down The Moon
Year of Release: 1993
Label: Spinefarm
Format: LP

What ‘Drawing Down The Moon’ possesses that no other BM bands have conjured in the same way is that eerie, caustic and ungodly atmosphere. I love how simple most of this album is; that it drinks so deeply from the blackened well of despair and that Holocausto’s vocals are so inhuman and surreal.

I managed to pick up a copy of the gatefold reissue of this album from a few years back, and that in itself was quite the ordeal. I had come across an original pressing back in ’95, but the cover was heavily bent and well I was foolish wasn’t I? Though I play records, I still appreciate the aesthetic and if there was one, there were bound to be more right?

What a masterful logo, and a powerful statement made by the cover. I have no idea what ‘Drawing Down The Moon’ means, but I could stare at this cover for hours and allow myself to be absorbed in the resonant blackness that flows out of these tracks like black lava.

The contrast between the fast, blasting sections, the catchy riffs and the slow atmospheric parts give the album a true diversity and allow it to work on a series of levels often forgotten. In saying that, mostly I think of the deep atmospheres of this release, ignoring completely the blasting offensive of ‘Solomon’s Gate’.

Arguments as to what is true and the like are tedious where I am concerned but I stand by the idea that this is one of the most important and relevant black metal albums ever made and would suggest that if you have never experienced this opus, you have little idea as to how deep the chasm truly is…