Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
POSSESSED, the legendary band that many claim was the first speed / death metal band, recently played at the Bloodstock Open Air festival.
Bloodstock Open Air was held back on August 11-13 at Catton Hall, Walton-On-Trent, West Midlands, United Kingdom, and a video of POSSESSED‘s performance was professionally filmed. It is streaming here today for your viewing enjoyment.
The band recently inked a deal with Nuclear Blast for the 2018 release of the band’s first full-length studio album in over three decades. POSSESSED front-man Jeff Becerra recently addressed the upcoming album and the band’s making new music.
He told Antihero Magazine that the new record, their first full-length effort since 1986’s ‘Beyond The Gates‘, will contain
“some really fucking good death metal. I’m really happy with a lot of the tracks,” he said. “I’m still writing in the process; I’m writing a lot of music, writing all of the lyrics, of course. I’m also collaborating with Daniel Gonzalez and Claudeous Creamer [new Possessed guitarists]. We’re working together hard to create something that we really like. We’re hoping that translates well to other people and beyond. We’re hoping people like it. If they don’t, then fuck them.“
Regarding the musical direction of POSSESSED‘s new material, Jeff said:
“Well, it’s me. I’m still me. I would say…it’s very Possessed-y, but it’s not so dated. I think as much as I love the first three albums, they’re a little dated, so we’re trying to bring it back into this century. We’re not going to over-produce it or do anything but straight death metal. It’s just what I want to play and what the band wants to play. We’re really enjoying ourselves. So far, the demos went over really well.“
Becerra remains the only original member from POSSESSED‘s classic lineup, which dissolved entirely in 1987 after the ‘Eyes Of Horror‘ EP.
