History Music / Possessed

Possessed is an American DeathMetal band formed in 1983. Among the first ever bands to play in the now (in)famous subgenre, Possessed were one of the heaviest things in the metal underground during their hayday and are considered to have been a key influence on many later extreme metal bands.

Possessed is an American DeathMetal band formed in 1983. Considered by some to be the first ever band to play death metal, Possessed were one of the heaviest things in the metal underground during their hayday and are considered an influence on many later extreme metal bands.

Possessed stood out from other thrash bands for an extremely dark, pulverizing sound that got them a record deal with Combat Records. The classic Possessed lineup of Jeff Becerra (vocals, bass), Mike Torrao (guitar), [=Larry LaLonde=] (guitar) and Mike Sus (drums) hsd been put together by this time and recorded a legendary album, 1985's ''Seven Churches''. At the time of its release, nothing in the world of heavy metal matched it in terms of brutality and aggression. It's frequently cited as the very first DeathMetal album.

After touring with bands such as Music/{{Slayer}} and Music/{{Venom}}, a second album, ''Beyond the Gates'' was released in 1986. Touring with Music/{{Voivod}} and Deathrow in Europe and Dark Angel in American soon followed. After that, tensions in the rise were climbing sharply and an EP, ''The Eyes of Horror'' (1987) was released. They split up that same year. Following that, [=Larry LaLonde=] played in Blind Illusion and later in Music/{{Primus}} (helmed by another Blind Illusion member Les Claypool) of all things.

Possessed has since re-united twice. In 1990, Beccera assembled a lineup which didn't really get much of anywhere although two demo tapes were recorded before they split up in 1993. In 2007, Beccera brought Possessed back into action (at first using members of Sadistic Intent on instruments) and they have performed regularly since. In October 2014, the band posted on Facebook that they were writing new material. ''Revelations of Oblivion'', their first release in over thirty years, was released on May 10, 2019.

* CareerEndingInjury: Downplayed with Beccera being paralyzed from the waist down after they split up the first time; he can no longer play instruments, but he still does vocal duties for the band.

* DarkerAndEdgier: At the time of their debut, they were this in relation to other ThrashMetal bands.
* DeathMetal: TropeNamer (with their song "Death Metal", first from the titular ''Death Metal'' demo, and later their first album ''Seven Churches'') and UrExample; Possessed showcased many elements of death metal, such as extremely harsh guitar tones, prominent use of tremolo picking, and HarshVocals. TropeMaker Music/{{Death}} and [[TropeCodifier defining bands]] Music/MorbidAngel and Music/{{Deicide}} would expand on these traits and add several more to help separate the genre from ThrashMetal for good and ultimately give rise to death metal as its own distinct genre.
* HandicappedBadass: Jeff Becerra has been paralyzed from the waist down since being shot in a robbery in 1989. In spite of his disability, he continues to tour and record today.

* IAmTheBand: Jeff Becerra is the only member from the band's original formation left.

* LighterAndSofter: Their material after ''Seven Churches'', but not always highly noticeable.
* MetalScream: Becerra's vocals are a Type 1, being higher-pitched than the "cookie monster" style normally associated with death metal.
* MinimalisticCoverArt: ''Seven Churches'' merely has the band logo and album title against a black background. Some versions of the album only have the band logo.

* RockMeAsmodeus / {{Satan}}: Much of their lyrical content, especially on ''Seven Churches''.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally hovers around a hard 9. By 1980s standards, they were borderline 11.

* MetalScream: Becerra's vocals aren't quite as dense as the "cookie monster" style normally associated with death metal, instead being a Type 1.

Possessed stuck out from other thrash bands for an extremely dark, pulverizing sound that got them a record deal with Combat Records. The classic Possessed lineup of Jeff Becerra (vocals, bass), Mike Torrao (guitar), [=Larry LaLonde=] (guitar) and Mike Sus (drums) hsd been put together by this time and recorded a legendary album, 1985's ''Seven Churches''. It was a less melodic and more brutal album than nearly anything out there at the time; this sound earned it a distinction of being possibly the first death metal album.

* MetalScream: Becerra's vocals are a Type 1, in contrast to the Type 2 usually associated with death metal.

* CareerEndingInjury: Downplayed with Beccera being paralyzed from the waist down after they split up the first time; he can no longer play instuments, but he still does vocal duties for the band.

* LeadBassist: Jeff was originally a Type B.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally hovers around a hard 9.

* TitleTrack: On all three of their main releases.

Possessed has since re-united twice. In 1990, Beccera assembled a lineup which didn't really get much of anywhere although two demo tapes were recorded before they split up in 1993. In 2007, Beccera brought Possessed back into action (at first using members of Sadistic Intent on instruments) and they have performed regularly since. In October 2014, the band posted on Facebook that they were writing new material. ''Revelations of Oblivion'', their first release in over thirty years, will be released on May 10, 2019.

* TeenGenius: They were all teenagers when ''Seven Churches'' was tracked (and recorded the entire album over spring break), and both Becerra and [=LaLonde=] were seniors when they played to a festival crowd of over 7,000 people in Montreal later that year.

Possessed has since re-united twice. In 1990, Beccera assembled a lineup which didn't really get much of anywhere although two demo tapes were recorded before they split up in 1993. In 2007, Beccera brought Possessed back into action (at first using members of Sadistic Intent on instruments) and they have performed regularly since. In October 2014, the band posted on Facebook that they were writing new material.

* XMeetsY: Music/{{Slayer}} meets Music/CelticFrost meets Music/{{Venom}}.

'''Possessed''' is an American DeathMetal band formed in 1983. Considered by some to be the first ever band to play death metal, Possessed were one of the heaviest things in the metal underground during their hayday and are considered an influence on many later extreme metal bands.

'''Possessed''' is an American ThrashMetal / DeathMetal band formed in 1983. Considered by some to be the first ever band to play death metal, Possessed were one of the heaviest things in the metal underground during their hayday and are considered an influence on many later extreme metal bands.