Possessed Seven Churches 1986 LP Combat Brazil Death Morbid Angel Venom Bathory
$
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Description
ARTIST: Possessed TITLE: Seven Churches
LABEL: Combat – 803.325, Combat – MX 8024
RECORD GRADING: VG SLEEVE GRADING: VG
NOTES: Official 1986 pressing of this killer LP. Includes insert, which has some ink spots of some kind. ____
All records ship both domestically (USPS Media Mail) and Internationally (USPS), and will be packed/protected like a pro with experience.
Possessed – Seven Churches
Released in October 1985 on Combat Records, Seven Churches is the explosive ground zero of death metal. While the Bay Area was already teeming with thrash royalty like Exodus and Metallica, Possessed—composed of literal teenagers—pushed the needle into a realm of extremity that the world wasn't yet prepared for. Recorded during the band's 1985 Spring Break at Prairie Sun Studios with producer Randy Burns, the album took the high-speed velocity of thrash and contaminated it with a guttural, demonic delivery and a relentless "tremolo picking" style that would become the genre’s DNA.
The album's opening is one of the most chilling in metal history: a haunting rendition of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" (the theme from The Exorcist), which is abruptly shattered by the serrated riffs of "The Exorcist." Frontman Jeff Becerra, just 16 at the time, delivered a vocal performance that bridged the gap between Cronos’s (Venom) bark and the deep growls that would later define the Florida scene. The record famously concludes with the track "Death Metal," a self-anointed anthem that arguably gave the subgenre its name two years before Death released Scream Bloody Gore.
Beyond the music, the "Possessed" story is one of heavy metal lore. The band was famously managed by Debbie Abono, a local grandmother who had never managed a band before but became the "godmother of death metal" after her daughters asked her to help their friends. Furthermore, the album features a young Larry LaLonde on guitar, who would later pivot from the pits of hell to the surrealist funk-metal of Primus. Seven Churches remains a "perfect" record for many purists—a chaotic, primitive, and utterly sincere document of youth using sheer volume to summon the abyss.
The Genesis of Death (1985)
Element Description The Lineup Jeff Becerra (Vocals/Bass), Larry LaLonde (Guitar), Mike Torrao (Guitar), Mike Sus (Drums). The Sound High-velocity thrash meets proto-death growls and satanic lyrical themes. The Producer Randy Burns, who also shaped the sound of Megadeth’s debut and Kreator’s Coma of Souls. "Death Metal" The final track, widely credited with coining and codifying the genre’s title. The Logo The iconic inverted-cross "T" logo, designed by Vince Stevenson, became a staple of metal fashion.50 Similar Things (Proto-Death, Bay Area Thrash, & The 1985 Class)
If you worship at the altar of Seven Churches, these 50 entries explore the roots of death metal and the most aggressive thrash of the mid-80s.
Category Items 1–25 Items 26–50 The Death Metal Founders 1. Death – Scream Bloody Gore 26. Mantas – Death by Metal (Demo) 2. Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness 27. Necrophagia – Season of the Dead 3. Master – Unreleased 1985 Album 28. Autopsy – Severed Survival 4. Obituary – Slowly We Rot 29. Deicide – S/T 5. Repulsion – Horrified 30. Massacre – From Beyond Bay Area Thrash & Beyond 6. Exodus – Bonded by Blood 31. Dark Angel – Darkness Descends 7. Slayer – Hell Awaits 32. Sadus – Chemical Exposure 8. Vio-Lence – Eternal Nightmare 33. Whiplash – Power and Pain 9. Forbidden – Forbidden Evil 34. Sacrifice – Torment in Fire 10. Razor – Evil Invaders 35. Slaughter (CAN) – Strappado The Randy Burns Canon 11. Megadeth – Killing Is My Business... 36. Kreator – Extreme Aggression 12. Nuclear Assault – Game Over 37. Death – Individual Thought Patterns 13. Ludichrist – Immaculate Deception 38. Suicidal Tendencies – How Will I Laugh... 14. Helstar – Nosferatu 39. Dark Angel – Leave Scars 15. Agent Steel – Unstoppable Force 40. Voivod – Rrröööaaarrr First Wave Black/Evil Metal 16. Venom – Welcome to Hell 41. Hellhammer – Apocalyptic Raids 17. Bathory – The Return...... 42. Celtic Frost – Morbid Tales 18. Sodom – In the Sign of Evil 43. Destruction – Sentence of Death 19. Sarcófago – I.N.R.I. 44. Vulcano – Bloody Vengeance 20. Bulldozer – The Day of Wrath 45. Mercyful Fate – Don't Break the Oath Legacy & Crossovers 21. Primus – Frizzle Fry (Larry LaLonde) 46. Blind Illusion – The Sane Asylum 22. Possessed – Revelations of Oblivion 47. Gruesome – Savage Land (Tribute) 23. Sepultura – Morbid Visions 48. Napalm Death – Scum 24. Terrorizer – World Downfall 49. Nihilist – Demos (Sweden) 25. Pestilence – Malleus Maleficarum 50. Atheist – Piece of Timeprice rating
