Few death metal albums have ever had the distinction of truly being scary.  When Possessed exploded out of San Francisco with Seven Churches in 1985, a wave of terror swept through the death metal underground that conjured up images of gory Satanic rituals and demonic possession for anyone who dared spin diabolic grooves.  From the creepy opening chime of "Tubular Bells" (here called "The Exorcist") and on through its 12 songs of blood-drenched primal rage, Seven Churches was the musical equivalent of The Evil Dead or some other grotesque horror movie.  Featuring a young obviously impressionable Larry LaLonde (now of Primus) on guitar, Seven Churches teetered on the brink of being an uncontrollable metal mess while still retaining an undeniable sense of power and fury.  Song titles like "Burning in Hell," "Pentagram" "Satan’s Curse" and "Holy Hell" summed it up perfectly:  Seven Churches was ugly as sin, but at the same time it brilliantly captured the true essence of death metal.

Possessed (prior to the shooting of vocalist Jeff Becerra during a drug deal gone awry, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and mentally unsound) went on to release 1986’s hideously raw Beyond the Gates and finally The Eyes of Horror, a srangely musical EP produced by Joe Satriani.

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