Description

Limited triple cassette box set featuring the albums Seven Churches, Beyond The Gates and The Eyes Of Horror. Limited to 300 copies Cassette 1: Seven Churches 1986 Often cited as the first true death metal record ever released (Florida's Death had been around just as long but would only make their vinyl debut a few years later), Possessed's Seven Churches took thrash metal's intensity to new levels of brutality. With song titles like "Burning in Hell," "Satan's Curse," and "The Exorcist" (featuring the famous movie's eerie title theme for an intro), the band definitely displayed a strong Slayer influence; but it was Possessed growler Jeff Becerra who first introduced the barely decipherable grunting vocal style which would epitomize the death metal genre. Among the highlights, "Pentagram," "Twisted Minds," and "Fallen Angel" have best stood the test of time, offering glimpses of the trends to follow with their surprisingly mature songwriting. They then close the proceedings in ferocious fashion with the appropriately titled — you guessed it — "Death Metal." In the years that followed, Possessed would continued to improve from a technical perspective, but they never quite equaled the fire of this debut. And though they were gradually overtaken by younger and better bands, for those interested in connecting the dots between thrash and death metal, Seven Churches is the ultimate missing link. Cassette 2: Beyond The Gates 1986 Possessed scheduled their second album, Beyond The Gates, to be released on Halloween, 1986! Maybe they should have been a little more wary, as the recording that should have built upon the solid foundation laid down by the previous year's genre-forming debut Seven Churches (still regarded as one of death metal's inaugural cornerstones), wound up coming as a disappointment to most critic and fans alike. The reason could have been many and its probably a combination of many like poor funding, rushed recording conditions, questions over musical direction, and simple lack of preparedness. Looking back today and we found that this album still have a lot to offer but at the time of its released it felt like a step backwards from the triumph that was Possessed's first album, the seminal Seven Churches. Cassette 3: The Eyes Of Horror 1987 Possessed third album The Eyes Of Horror was produced by Joe Satriani. The overall sound quality was somewhat improved here from Beyond The Gates and so was the material (special kudos to My Belief, the title track, and the suspiciously guitar-hero-intro'ed Storm In My Mind). Looking back this album still have a lot to offer but at the time of its released it felt like a step backwards from the triumph that was Possessed's first album, the seminal Seven Churches. The band felt it and when LaLonde subsequently split to join prog-funk-weirdos Primus, the remaining members of Possessed quietly went their separate ways. 2 Track listing: Cassette 1: Seven Churches 1986 1. The Exorcist 2. Pentagram 3. Burning in Hell 4. Evil Warriors 5. Seven Churches 6. Satan's Curse 7. Holy Hell 8. Twisted Minds 9. Fallen Angel 10. Death Metal Cassette 2: Beyond The Gates 1986 1. Intro 2. Heretic 3. Tribulation 4. March to Die 5. Phantasm 6. No Will To Live 7. Beyond the Gates 8. The Beasts of the Apocalypse 9. Seance 10. Restless Dead 11. Dog Fight Cassette 3: The Eyes Of Horror 1987 1. Confessions 2. My Belief 3. The Eyes Of Horror 4. Swing Of The Axe 5. Storm In My Mind