This feature came from a "History of Metal" magazine published in 1994. Let me preface this article by saying half the stuff said in this is total bullshit - it just goes to show the myths that grew up around Possessed. Take it with a ton of salt.
Upon their formation in the mid-'80s, San Francisco's Possessed were viewed as the Bay Area's answer to Slayer and Venom, two of the bands that had a profound influence on the quartet's early musical direction. Sporting a tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top Satanic image, the four-piece quickly drew international attention with their extreme approach, which first became audible via the group's now-classic 1984 three-song demo. It was the sheer brutality of this recording that eventually led New York's Combat Records to snap up the band, after which the Californians promptly entered the studio to begin work on their debut album for the label. Entitled "SEVEN CHURCHES", the resultant effort was hailed as one of the rawest yet most technically advanced death metal recordings ever made, in the process influencing other musicians (including Death's Chuck Schuldiner) to incorporate more musicality into their songwriting.
1986's "BEYOND THE GATES" was a more polished affair which saw Possessed taking influences from Exodus and Metallica, causing a portion of their fan base to accuse them of "selling out" and betraying their death metal roots. Despite this, Possessed's popularity grew at a fairly steady rate, culminating in the release of the group's 1987 EP, "THE EYES OF HORROR". Produced by then-virtually-unknown guitarist Joe Satriani, the five-song effort was by far the most refined and musically involved recording the band had made, drawing mixed reactions from much of their die-hard devotees, many of whom had expected a return to the "SEVEN CHURCHES" much harder sound.
Shortly following the EP's release, increasing internal disillusionment with the group's musical direction and its commercial limitations led to the break-up of the quartet, with guitarist Larry LaLonde joining Bay Area act Blind Illusion (featuring bassist Les Claypool, who would later form Primus with LaLonde). Although little has been heard from the other ex-members of Possessed in the recent years, guitarist Mike Torrao has unsuccessfully attempted to reform the group with an all-new line-up on several occasions (two unspectacular demo tapes are all that's left in their wake), while a reported drug-deal-gone-bad resulted in former bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra receiving a gun shot wound to his chest a couple of years back that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
- by Borivoj Krgin