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.
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.
