Possessed - Beyond The Gates / The Eyes Of Horror (1987) [Remastered] (2008)

 

 

Beyond the Gates is the second album by death metal band Possessed. Taking a different direction from their debut, Seven Churches, Beyond the Gates has a more technical feeling and, due to poor production, a muddy sound.

Reception was mixed, with some critics and fans being very disappointed by the album for the sound and production, while others were satisfied with the new direction of the band. Over the years, fans have slowly appreciated Beyond the Gates and have even considered it being an "underrated masterpiece" and "overlooked classic".

Beyond the Gates became a sign of Possessed's decline, as they only released the EP The Eyes of Horror before they officially disbanded the following year. This became the band’s last full length album, up until the release of their third studio album Revelations of Oblivion, 33 years later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 -Tracklist:

 01. Intro     01:19
02. The Heretic       02:38
03. Tribulation     04:47
04. March to Die     03:12
05. Phantasm     04:20
06. No Will to Live     06:45
07. Beyond the Gates     02:54
08. The Beasts of the Apocalypse     03:12
09. Seance     03:02
10. Restless Dead     02:58
11. Dog Fight     01:25
12. Confessions     02:56
13. My Belief     03:36
14. The Eyes of Horror     03:18
15. Swing of the Axe     04:03
16. Storm in My Mind     04:23

54:56

 

-Lineup:

 • Jeff Becerra : Bass, Vocals
 • Mike Torrao : Guitars
 • Larry LaLonde : Guitars
 • Mike Sus : Drums.

 

 

 

 

 Label: Century Media – 9962068

 Tracks 1 to 11 recorded at Prairie Sun Recording Studios, CA. Mastered at Frankford Wayne. 

Tracks 12 to 16 engineered at Fantasy Studio, CA. Taken from The "The Eyes Of Horror" EP.

 Fold out gate-like digipak packaging, includes poster and booklet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Possessed - Live At Ruthie's Inn, Berkeley, US ┼ 1985.02.15 & 1984.12.28

 

 

 

 

  

Jeff Becerra and Mike Torrao, 1985

 

 

 

• 1985.02.15 Live At Ruthie's Inn, Berkeley, US

 

 

The Exorcist
Holy Hell
Satan's Curse
Twisted Minds
Burning In Hell
Pentagram
Swing of the Axe
Death Metal

 

• 1984.12.28 Live At Ruthie's Inn, Berkeley, US

 

 

 

 The Exorcist
Pentagram
Burning in Hell
Twisted Minds
Satan's Curse
Evil Warriors
Swing of the Axe
Fallen Angel
Holy Hell
Death Metal

 

 

 

Possessed - Beyond The Gates / The Eyes Of Horror (Ed. 2008)

Possessed are hailed as the godfathers of the death metal genre. They are considered by some to be the first death metal band and that the name of the genre comes from their first demo, entitled Death Metal.

Possessed was formed by guitarist Mike Torrao, drummer Mike Sus. Jeff Becerra from Blizzard came into the band, and soon was joined by second guitarist Brian Montana. This lineup recorded the 1984 demo Death Metal and also an appearance on the Metal Blade Records Metal Massacre VI compilation with the song "Swing of the Axe".

At this time, Brian Montana was let go due to his sub par guitar playing and also because he did not fit in well with the band's image. Larry Lalonde, previously in Blizzard with Jeff, was brought in and after some gigs with Exodus and other bands, the band was signed by Combat Records, and the legendary Seven Churches was recorded. After some US touring with Slayer, Venom, and others, a second album was released, Beyond the Gates. This album led to a European tour with Voivod and Deathrow, and a US tour with Dark Angel, the legendary Gates of Darkness tour, as Dark Angel was touring in support of Darkness Descends.

Tensions were rising within the band and a final EP, The Eyes of Horror, was released. There were two gigs with Megadeth, and then Possessed broke up, with Mike Torrao putting the band on hold. Larry went to Blind Illusion, where he found Les Claypool and founded Primus, of all bands!

In 1991, Torrao recruited Bob Yost on bass, Walter Ryan on drums, and Mark Strausberg on guitar, and recorded a demo tape and played three gigs. Then, Yost left, and was replaced by Paul Perry, and a second demo was recorded in 1993, and that was just about the end. Jeff Becerra was shot in a robbery and paralyzed from the chest down, but has had a successful career since. Mike Torrao works as a landscaper and has some musical projects happening too, while Mike Sus got a degree in psychology, and is a counselor in a drug treatment clinic. Possessed reformed with Jeff's long-time friends from Sadistic Intent filling in on all instruments, while Jeff only handled vocals due to his disability.

After the album Beyond the Gates was released, Larry LaLonde started to have guitar lessons with Joe Satriani, who ended up producing the EP The Eyes of Horror.

-Tracklist:

 

 Disc 1

Side A:
1. Intro / The Heretic     04:01    
2. Tribulation     04:48      
3. March to Die     03:12      
4. Phantasm     04:23
    
Side B:
5. No Will to Live     06:47    
6. Beyond the Gates     02:55    
7. The Beasts of the Apocalypse  03:13    
8. Seance     03:03
9. Restless Dead     02:59      
10. Dog Fight     01:23 

   
         
Disc 2

Side A:
1. Confessions     02:53    
2. My Belief     03:34    
3. The Eyes of Horror     03:18
 
Side B:
4. Swing of the Axe     03:59
5. Storm in My Mind     04:22

 

 

-Line up:

• Larry LaLonde: guitars
• Mike Torrao: guitars
• Mike Sus: drums
• Jeff Becerra: vocals, bass.

 

Label: Back on Black.

 2x LP

Recorded at Praire Sun Recording Studios, CA.
Mastered at Frankford Wayne.

 Released on Halloween 1986.

 The song ''Tribulation'' is credited to Larry LaLonde but the song was actually written by original second guitarist Brian Montana.

 

 

 

 

2013.04.27 SWR Barroselas Metalfest (Por)

 

 

 

 

Morbid Angel & Possessed - Morbid Angel/Possessed [split] (2005)

 

Formed in 1983 by Mike Browning, Trey Azagthoth, and Dallas Ward, Morbid Angel are known as one of the pioneering bands of the death metal genre and also the first death metal band to have significant commercial success, selling over a million albums throughout their career. This is due in part to them also being the first death metal band to get signed to a major record label, Giant Records, in association with Warner Brothers Records.
For some time Morbid Angel were an instrumental band until bass player Dallas began performing vocals.

Possessed are hailed as the godfathers of the death metal genre. They are considered by some to be the first death metal band and that the name of the genre comes from their first demo, entitled Death Metal.
Possessed was formed by guitarist Mike Torrao, drummer Mike Sus. Jeff Becerra from Blizzard came into the band, and soon was joined by second guitarist Brian Montana. This lineup recorded the 1984 demo Death Metal and also an appearance on the Metal Blade Records Metal Massacre VI compilation with the song "Swing of the Axe". 

-Tracklist:

A1 Morbid Angel - Thy Kingdom Come   3:56
A2 Morbid Angel - Abominations     4:22
A3 Morbid Angel - Blasphemy Of The Holy Ghost     3:33
A4 Morbid Angel - Lords Of All Feveres & Plague    
B1 Possessed - Death Metal     3:17
B2 Possessed - Burning In Hell     3:20
B3 Possessed - Evil Warriors     4:20
B4 Possessed - Swing Of The Axe  3:41   
B5 Possessed - The Martyr's Wake  3:52   
B6 Possessed - The Seventh Sign   3:28

 

 

-Line up:

Morbid Angel:
• David Vincent: bass, vocals
• Pete Sandoval: drums
• Richard Brunelle: guitar
• Trey Azagthoth: guitar

Possessed:
• Jeff Becerra: vocals, bass
• Mike Sus: drums
• Brian Montana: guitar
• Mike Torrao: guitar.

 

 

 

Morbid Angel: Thy Kingdom Come Demo Tape 1986 + Bonus Track
Possessed: Demo Metal-Demo 1984/Metal Massacre VI/Demo Tape 1991 

 

 Unofficial Release.

Label: Chapel Of Souls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Possessed ‎- Agony In Paradise (2004)

 

Possessed are hailed as the godfathers of the death metal genre. They are considered by some to be the first death metal band and that the name of the genre comes from their first demo, entitled Death Metal.

Possessed was formed by guitarist Mike Torrao, drummer Mike Sus. Jeff Becerra from Blizzard came into the band, and soon was joined by second guitarist Brian Montana. This lineup recorded the 1984 demo Death Metal and also an appearance on the Metal Blade Records Metal Massacre VI compilation with the song "Swing of the Axe".

At this time, Brian Montana was let go due to his subpar guitar playing, and also because he did not fit in well with the band's image. Larry Lalonde, previously in Blizzard with Jeff, was brought in, and after some gigs with Exodus and other bands, the band was signed by Combat Records, and the legendary Seven Churches was recorded. After some US touring with Slayer, Venom, and others, a second album was released, Beyond the Gates. This album led to a European tour with Voivod and Deathrow, and a US tour with Dark Angel, the legendary Gates of Darkness tour, as Dark Angel was touring in support of Darkness Descends.

Tensions were rising within the band and a final EP, The Eyes of Horror, was released. There were two gigs with Megadeth, and then Possessed broke up, with Mike Torrao putting the band on hold. Larry went to Blind Illusion, where he found Les Claypool and founded Primus, of all bands!

In 1991, Torrao recruited Bob Yost on bass, Walter Ryan on drums, and Mark Strausberg on guitar, and recorded a demo tape and played three gigs. Then, Yost left, and was replaced by Paul Perry, and a second demo was recorded in 1993, and that was just about the end. Jeff Becerra was shot in a robbery and paralyzed from the chest down, but has had a successful career since. Mike Torrao works as a landscaper and has some musical projects happening too, while Mike Sus got a degree in psychology, and is a counselor in a drug treatment clinic. Possessed reformed with Jeff's long-time friends from Sadistic Intent filling in on all instruments, while Jeff only handled vocals due to his disability.

After the album Beyond the Gates was released, Larry LaLonde started to have guitar lessons with Joe Satriani, who ended up producing the EP The Eyes of Horror, which marked a change in direction for the band. The Satanic themes they had become noted for were almost completely absent, and the songs had more of a thrash metal style than their earlier death metal. ''Storm in My Mind'' was written by Lalonde, the rest by Torrao who had written most of the band's earlier material too with Becerra writing most of the lyrics only.

-Tracklist:

1 March To Die            4:14

2 Pentagram                  4:00

3 Beast Of The Apocalypse     3:43

4 Holy Hell                     6:26

5 Swing Of The Axe       4:12

7 Heretic                         3:23

6 Burning In Hell            3:48

8 Phantasm                     4:00

9 The Exorcist                 5:39

10 Fallen Angel                3:59

11 Séance                         3:33

12 Twisted Minds             7:17

13 Death Metal                 4:48

 

-Line up:

┼ Jeff Becerra: vocals, bass

  ┼ Mike Torrao: guitars

┼ Larry LaLonde: guitars

  ┼ Mike Sus: drums.

 

 

 

  

Official live album taken from a soundboard recording of a performance in Parma, Ohio on January 26th, 1987. This wasn't intended to be a live album, but as this DAT soundboard recording was dug up in recent times, it was decided to release it as the sound quality was fine.