Possessed were genuine death metal pioneers, taking an early
Slayer
influence to another level of rawness and brutality.
Their Seven Churches debut features an early death metal style
similar to
Death's
Scream Bloody Gore, another early death classic, though
Possessed had formulated the style two years earlier.
They managed another album and an EP, but dissolved soon afterward.
Some time after their last release (somewhere around 1989),
Jeff Becerra was left paralyzed in a shooting accident (this after
he and Mike Torrao recorded a new demo).
Torrao brought back the Possessed name once again in 1993 with a new
lineup which recorded two demos before folding for good.
Comparing the three releases, the first two are more death-sounding
while the EP owed more to thrash (due to a cleaner production).
Since early 2007 Becerra has been gigging occasionally with
several guys from the band Sadistic Intent, under the name
Possessed.
This doesn't appear to be an official reformation or new version
of the band.
