POSSESSED — Revelations of Oblivion (review)

POSSESSED — Revelations of Oblivion album cover Album · 2019 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Kev Rowland
Wow, hands up all those who never thought there would be a new album by Possessed? There are many arguments as to whether they recorded the first ever Death Metal album with 1985’s ‘Seven Churches’, but there is no doubt it was hugely influential, but their last album was ‘Beyond The Gates’ in 1987. Just a few years after that and vocalist Jeff Becerra was left paralyzed from the waist down after a shooting incident, and even though guitarist Mike Torrao tried to get a version of the band working again in the Nineties it didn’t last long. But now the band are back – true it is with only one original member, but that is Becerra! He has built a new band with songwritiing partner Daniel Gonzalez on guitar (Nailshitter, Gruesome) plus Claudeous Creamer on guitars (Dragonlord, Serpent, Girth), Robert Cardenas on bass guitar (Coffin Texts, Masters of Metal, Agent Steel, Malice, Engrave), and Emilio Marquez (Brainstorm, Sadistic Intent, Engrave, Brujeria) on drums.

The result is an album of a band reborn. How Becerra can sing like this from a wheelchair is beyond me as he must be using an incredible amount of upper body strength and determination to produce vocals as powerful as he has ever been. I can’t think of another metal band of any style where the singer is constrained to a chair – just go to their site (https://possessedofficial.com/) and check out some of the videos, I have no idea how he manages it. While one is bound to react to a singer in a wheelchair, it is quickly forgotten (I can’t imagine there are many Def Leppard reviews these days which mention that they have a one-armed drummer) as this is all about the music.

This is death metal which (whisper it) also manages to sound quite commercial. Becerra’s vocals are rough and raw, but unlike quite a few within the genre it is easy to understand the lyrics, while the rhythm section pin it down and let Gonzalez and Creamer destroy the riffs. They are joined at the hip, intertwining their lines or supporting each other, allowing the music to build, crash and create hell., I can’t remember I enjoyed a death metal album quite so much as there is a light within it which makes it a joy to listen to. Possessed are back where they belong, at the forefront of exciting metal music.
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