UMUR "Demo 1985" is the second demo release by US thrash/proto-death metal act Possessed. The demo was independently released in 1985. It´s the successor to the 1984 "Death Metal" demo. Possessed formed in 1983, and released two demos, two albums, and an EP before disbanding in 1987. Possessed are often considered one of the forefathers of death metal, and with this release they begin to show why that is.

The material on "Death Metal" is stylistically a raw and aggressive type of thrash metal with next to no death metal traits. Greatly influenced by the likes of Slayer, Hellhammer, and Sodom. While "Demo 1985" features re-recorded versions of "Death Metal" and "Fallen Angel" (which was recorded during the sessions for "Death Metal" but ultimately left off the original demo release), these new recordings are much rawer and more brutal too, and this is where the proto-death metal traits are first heard on a Possessed release. To my ears this is still more brutal thrash metal than death metal though, but that´s my subjective opinion, and I know others feel differently.

The three tracks on the demo were recorded at Dangerous Rhythm Studio in Oakland, but this is not a polished studio demo, but sounds more like it was recorded live in the studio, which only a few overdubs (if any). It´s incredibly raw and intense, featuring highly energetic performances and the caustic snarling vocals of Jeff Becerra in front. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Death Metal" is the first demo release by US thrash/proto-death metal act Possessed. The demo was independently released in 1984. Possessed formed in 1983, and released two demos, two albums, and an EP before disbanding in 1987. "Death Metal" originally featured three tracks. A fourth track titled "Fallen Angel" was also recorded during the sessions, but ultimately left off the original demo release. It has been bootlegged heavily though (and therefore often appears as the closing track of the demo, depending on which version you listen to). The original version of the demo features guitarist Brian Montana, but there is a re-issue version of the demo which features future Blind Illusion/Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde. Possessed are considered one of the forefathers of death metal, but they started out less influential.

The death metal tag cannot be applied to this demo despite the title of the release, as what is featured here is just raw and brutal sounding thrash metal influenced by artists like Slayer, Hellhammer, and Sodom. It´s pretty crude and features a raw sounding production job, but it arguably has some charm. The vocals are raw, shouting, and snarling, typically delivered in staccato style and with titles like "Evil Warriors" and "Burning in Hell" it´s not hard to imagine the lyrical content of the songs. So upon conclusion "Death Metal" is a decent first demo by Possessed, but it´s not here they earned their death metal credibility. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

SilentScream213 This album gets a lot of flack for being generally weaker than its predecessor, but I heard no drop in quality whatsoever. It’s exactly the same messy, thrashy, raw old school death metal as on the debut. Perhaps it could be critiqued for not innovating at all, but who needs innovation when the music is this good?

The similarity between this and their debut makes it rather difficult to review. If I have to nitpick, I could say some of the riffs sound a little less inspired, and generally repeat for a bit longer. However, the musicians also sound tighter, more focused and clearly in better practice. All in all, it’s just another really fantastic Death Metal album from the creators themselves.

SilentScream213 By name dropping the genre in the album’s closing track, Possessed invented Death Metal just as Venom invented Black Metal. The only difference was Possessed actually were Death Metal, through and through.

Naturally, this album is a bit messy, and the production isn’t the best. There are quite a few mistakes from the musicians you can pretty easily pick up on, and many instances where Becerra can’t get the words out in time and just screams nonsense. They were amateurs. But their vision and their passion was incredible, and yes, they created a full-fledged Death Metal album on their first try.

Those buzzsaw guitars were shredding out some seriously deranged, dissonant riffs, and the drums were just smashing everything as hard and fast as they could. It wasn’t that fast, and one might even say midtempo compared to today’s metal, but certainly Becerra’s screaming growl drove all that home and shook any doubts that this was indeed the heaviest music on Earth at the time. Lyrics focused exclusively on Satan, and though they weren’t well written or often intelligible, they never surrendered an inch to worshiping the great evil so necessary to Metal.

Triceratopsoil The missing link between thrash and death metal... there are all sorts of elements that fans of those two genres will recognize: riffs that wouldn't be out of place on Death Angel's The Ultraviolence, vocals that are almost growled and certainly heavier than any thrash metal band at the time (barring perhaps Celtic Frost, another genre-defying band), tremolo picking galore, but also Exodus-style guitar dueling solos. Most Primus fans probably have no clue Ler Lalonde used to rip like this. Mostly recommended for fans of early Slayer, Death and Morbid Angel. Also a very consistent album (no filler tracks) with great production value for being a bunch of teenagers in 1985.

Hard to sit still or turn it down once this album starts playing!