POSSESSED "Revelations of Oblivion"



POSSESSED

“Revelations of Oblivion”

POSSESSED know all about oblivion because they’ve been stuck there for 30 years or more. The exile has ended, Hell has thrown open its gates and POSSESSED stalks the Earth once more. A movie should be done about the persistence of Jeff Bercerra and his dedication to his cause. It would be right up there with the ANVIL movie…

The impact of this band on the Good Doctor was immense. For the last 30 plus years, "Seven Churches" has held a holy place for me as an unsurpassed example of how evil thrash/death metal should be done. When word came that the band was breaking up after the "Eyes of Horror" EP, that was the first cold wind through the then red-hot thrash metal scene. Two years later, that scene was pretty much on its deathbed. But POSSESSED never lost their cult position in the underground metal world. Now, in 2019, Bercerra is back with basically an all new band and a contract with Nuclear Blast.

Those who want to make sure metal stays a dead nostalgia scene will probably be quick to condemn "Revelations of Oblivion" in their usual lemming-like fashion. And I will say this: "Seven Churches" still stands tall as POSSESSED’s best and always will. But this new record is what most fans have been waiting for.

This disc is overflowing with Satanic metal deviltry in every track. Jeff’s raspy vocals, once the height of extreme metal singing but now no longer so over the top, are great and he sounds top notch. My one really glaring complaint here is the obviously triggered drum sound, which POSSESSED should be well above. But the tunes thrash, writhe and bellow with uncompromising heaviness in the classic POSSESSED tradition.

Excluding two filler intro/outro tracks, it’s all raging. “No More Room In Hell” is a good brutal starter but things get better from there. “Damned” is a real stand-out cut, full of hell’s piss and vinegar and “Shadowcult” really does sound like an out-take from "Seven Churches". “Omen” is a favorite because they ease up on the gas slightly, resulting in a more ominous (or omen-ous) tone. “The Word” even starts with guitar riffing that’s a tip of the hat to the 90’s black metal scene before turning into something that could have been on "Beyond The Gates".

There are a couple of pretty average tracks...”Abandoned” and “Graven”...but the overall force and flow of the album is relentless and you can feel the dedication the band has in pleasing their long-time fans.

So POSSESSED is back from hell and we all should praise the Dark One for that!

NUCLEAR BLAST

POSSESSED

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