ALBUM REVIEW: Revelations Of Oblivion – Possessed

Any death metal fan unfamiliar with POSSESSED needs to take a long, hard look at themselves and do some homework. Though debates and arguments over whether POSSESSED were indeed the first death metal band, or whether they simply coined the term and were a vital stepping stone from thrash, their influence in the early days of the genre cannot be overstated. Seven Churches is a landmark album for both death metal and thrash, and though Beyond The Gates failed to recapture the magic of it’s predecessor, there was still a lot to enjoy there. Now, 33 years on from the release of their last album, the band are back with their long awaited, highly anticipated third album – Revelations Of Oblivion. But after three decades, are POSSESSED still relevant in today’s death metal scene, or is another addition to the discography surplus to requirements?

The return of POSSESSED has been on the cards for over a decade now. When Jeff Becerra reformed the band in 2007 for live shows, whispers of a new album began circling, as is always the case when a band returns from the dead. The addition of new songs to their live set only compounded such rumours. However, in May 2017 Nuclear Blast Records announced they had signed the band. Despite the obvious excitement surrounding a new POSSESSED album after 33 years, the deck is really stacked against Revelations Of Oblivion. Seven Churches remains a genre-defining classic to this day, and it would be almost impossible for any band to live up to the hype of a three decade-plus gap in albums. In addition, this is a very different band from the one that released Seven Churches and Beyond The Gates: only Becerra remains from the iconic incarnation of POSSESSED. In spite of all this – or perhaps, because of – Revelations Of Oblivion comes as a brilliant surprise.

The record opens with the sprawling intro track Chant Of Oblivion. Led by church bells, Satanic chanting and orchestration, the intro song has a very cinematic feel that subsides immediately as POSSESSED slap their way into No More Room In Hell. The lead single from Revelations Of Oblivion, No More Room In Hell is the first taste of what 21st century POSSESSED is capable of – and it is visceral. Mixing the atmosphere and raw, thrashy leanings of the early days of the genre with a dose of modern brutality, coupled with big hooks and memorable vocal lines, No More Room In Hell kicks the brutality off perfectly – and the album never really lets up from there.

Dominion brings a much more thrash orientated edge while Demon makes a compelling case for Revelations Of Oblivion‘s strongest moment. Doubling down on the groove, mixing trudging riffs with bursts of savage speed, Demon has one of the catchiest choruses POSSESSED have ever written, and is a guaranteed live favourite. Abandoned keeps the momentum rolling ever forward. Where Demon was grove heavy, Abandoned is a ferocious blast of speed and untamed aggression – though POSSESSED are more than comfortable slowing things down with the crushing refrain of “Abandoned!” as the track reaches it’s climatic third. Shadowcult, which has been a live mainstay for several years now, sounds excellent in the final recording, blasting its way through with impossible energy, while album highlight Omen is an absolute masterclass in death metal songwriting.

Despite already hitting almost 40 minutes of unrestrained brutality, POSSESSED show no sign of slowing down, nor regard for listeners fatigue, with the closing triplet of Ritual, The Word and Graven. One of the more cinematic moments of Revelations Of Oblivion, Ritual juxtaposes the sense of grandeur in its atmosphere by being one of the most eviscerating tracks on the album, delivering absolute evil without restraint. The Word blasts its way through its five-minute-plus-change run time, moving back to the thrashier elements of the band’s sound, while Graven, the last full song on the album before outro Temple Of Samael, ends things on a high embodying the essence of what POSSESSED are – thrashy, old-school death metal, with hooks, shred and brutality all in equal measure.

There is a question of whether a new POSSESSED album, after all this time, is really necessary. One listen to Revelations Of Oblivion will silence these questions immediately. Although there are a few filler moments, this is a far stronger return to the scene than anyone expected from Becerra and co., and will stand as the perfect launching point for the continuation of POSSESSED‘s legacy. Becerra‘s cleaner, thrashy vocals deserve particular note, providing a wonderful throwback to the formative days of death metal, before the deep, guttural vocals were the norm, and allowing for far more variation in tone and delivery. Will it enjoy the same reverence as Seven Churches? No. But Seven Churches was the product of a very specific moment in time that is now lost to us. However, Revelations Of Oblivion is a showcase of exactly what the death metal scene has been missing for 33 years, and a promise that POSSESSED are making up for lost time, delivering sonic butchery at every turn.

Rating: 8/10

Revelations Of Oblivion is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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