Review by Dominik on December 4, 2024.

Puh. Here I go again. Reviewing one of the top five albums of all time—an untouchable classic in the pantheon of extreme metal. Yes, I know. I'm late to the party. What could possibly be left to say? The same question I've asked myself countless times when posting reviews for classics. In the case of "Seven Churches", though, the answer feels both obvious and impossible to pin down. But when the album in question is an unholy slab of sonic mayhem from 1985, there's always something worth dissecting, even if it's just to marvel at how a group of teens accidentally carved a bloody path for an entire genre.

Let's start with something less obvious: the title "Seven Churches" references the seven churches of Asia Minor (today's Turkey) from the Book of Revelation. Now, I don't expect that the young maniacs in Possessed were theological scholars or had a copy of The New International Commentary on the New Testament tucked under their bullet belts. More likely, they thought "Seven Churches" sounded sinister as hell. And let's be honest—it does. This is not an album to sit down with a Bible and parse for deeper meaning. Instead, they were more likely fueled by a burning desire to create something unprecedented in metal. Mission accomplished. It's an unparalleled blitzkrieg of brutality, forever blurring the lines between thrash and early death metal in its rawest, most volatile form.

Forget the debates about whether this is pure but very feral, tasty thrash (what it is!), a blend of thrash and proto-death, or death metal with a thrash foundation. Such classifications are as useful as arguing over the correct spelling of Cthulhu while tentacles wrap around your throat. What matters is the sheer ferocity of the music: a relentless assault of buzzsaw riffs, maniacal solos, and guttural howls and growls that drip with demonic fervor. Mike Torrao and Larry LaLonde's guitars shred with chainsaw precision, while Jeff Becerra's dark voice—delivered years before death metal vocals became a codified thing—sound like they crawled out of the ninth circle of hell.

And let's not forget about the drumming. Mike Sus might not have been a technical wizard, but his relentless hammering provided the perfect chaotic backbone. The production is raw, but not in the "we recorded this in a sewer" way. It's raw in the sense that every note feels like it's cutting straight into your flesh, leaving you bruised and exhilarated. So far, nothing new.

Now, to take a closer look at this outstanding album, I decided to undertake a thoroughly absurd exercise: connecting seven songs from "Seven Churches" to the biblical messages of the seven churches of Revelation. Spoiler alert: it's probably about as theologically accurate as a Black Sabbath lyric, and a messy comparison, filled with more esoteric nonsense than any sane review has room for. But hey, if Revelation is full of cryptic symbolism, why can't this review be? And I get it if you don't stay with me until the end.

The Church of Ephesus and "The Exorcist": Ephesus was praised for rejecting falsehood but criticized for losing its love for each other. In "The Exorcist," the battle against evil takes center stage. While the church fights spiritual battles to reclaim purity, the song dives headfirst into the grotesque chaos of demonic possession and blasphemous exorcism, also a kind of spiritual battle.

The Church of Smyrna and "Burning in Hell": Smyrna was commended for enduring wrongful persecution, symbolizing faithfulness under trials. One may suffer greatly, but the length of tribulation will be short compared to the promise of eternal life. "Burning in Hell" abandons all hope in favor of eternal torment. It's the same coin flipped on its fiery side.

The Church of Pergamum and "Pentagram": Pergamum was criticized for tolerating false teachings and idolatry. It was described as a place where "Satan's throne" is located. The sheer defiance in "Pentagram" mirrors Pergamum's flirtation with corruption, but with a hearty middle finger to redemption.

The Church of Thyatira and "Evil Warriors": members of Thyatira were devoted to false prophets; "Evil Warriors" are the false prophets. Problem solved.

The Church of Sardis and "Satan's Curse": Sardis is spiritually dead despite appearing alive. "Satan's Curse" takes this theme to its extreme: not just spiritual death, but succumbing to demonic influence, a full submission to darkness, and a grim representation of failure to revive faith.

The Church of Philadelphia and "Holy Hell": Philadelphia's perseverance is rewarded with promises of divine protection, but "Holy Hell" tears that faithfulness apart with its oxymoronic chaos. Holiness and damnation collide in a dark mockery of redemption. Heaven? Hell? Let's split the difference and watch it burn.

The Church of Laodicea and "Fallen Angel": in Laodicea lukewarm faith and economic wealth led to spiritual bankruptcy, much like Lucifer's descent from heaven. Laodicea, meet Lucifer. Lucifer, meet Laodicea. You two have a lot in common.

Is this exercise complete nonsense? Probably. But it was fun to write. And just as Revelation outlasts critics, "Seven Churches" outlasts genre debates and every attempt to imitate or outdo its iconic status. It's not just influential; it's untouchable. Bands have spent decades trying to replicate its feral energy, and while some have come close, none have captured its essence.

What is "Seven Churches" at its core? A declaration of war—a testament to thrash metal's raw aggression at its absolute peak. Whether or not you buy into its influence on death metal's genesis, "Seven Churches" stands as a monument, a primal scream that transcends labels.

Rating: 10 out of 10, because how else do you score an album that essentially wrote the rulebook for extreme metal and then promptly set it on fire?

Review by Brian on February 25, 2014.

The year is 1985, one of heavy metal's finest years. It was in this year that many bands released their debut albums. Most of these bands played thrash metal. Although you had some bands playing this more extreme form of metal before this year, it was in 1985 that thrash metal exploded. Slayer released Hell Awaits, Metallica released Ride the Lightning, both of which remain my favorite albums by those bands. Celtic Frost, Destruction and Anthrax all released great albums in this year. Then there was the slew of debut albums to hit the record stores. Kreator's Endless Pain, Hirax's Raging Violence, Megadeth's Killing is my Business...And Business is Good, Exodus's Bonded by Blood and S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die to name a few. That year also saw the release of Seven Churches by Possessed.

The argument still rages on to this day of who was the first death metal band. The two bands that seem to be at the fore front of that argument are Possessed and Death. On their debut album Seven Churches, Possessed coined the term with the closing track, simply titled "Death Metal". However, a song title is not responsible for giving birth to a genre, nor is one single band. There are always multiple players involved in these defining moments of history. That being said, Possessed's dark, aggressive, fast and chaotic sound was without a doubt the heaviest of the heavy for 1985. Jeff Becerra's vocals were definitely of the harsher, growling variety and far removed from the standard thrash shout of the time. The guitar tandem of Larry LaLonde and Mike Torrao play a mix of palm muted riffs while being one of the innovators of the tremolo picking style that would become a staple of extreme metal for years to come. The solos are also much different from their peers. There are actual skilled guitar solos as opposed to just hammering the whammy bar. Not to worry, they give fair attention to the whammy bar too. Although Mike Sus doesn't use the blast beat, he makes up for it with rapid shifts of beats and timely fills. His playing is unpredictable in a good way. He throws tempo changes in when the listener is unaware.

Seven Churches opens with "The Exorcist". Keyboards play the theme music from the film as a little intro before pummeling the listener with what feels like an out of key, off time riff and vocal pattern. It then gives way to one of the most memorable guitar melodies of my childhood. Although Satanic themes were common place in metal at this time, Possessed makes it feel real. It's as if they are summoning their infernal master with each note played. All of those notes they play are at breakneck speed as well. Seven Churches is fast, from the opening track to the final one, they never let up on the gas.

Death metal? Thrash metal? Speed metal? Regardless of where you file Seven Churches, Possessed released a truly groundbreaking album. This is the album that extreme metal acts of today should repeatedly reference. What Possessed does that many extreme metal bands fail to do, is create songs. Beneath all the chaos, darkness and speed there are quality song structures here. For it's time Seven Churches is far darker and heavier than anything else that was put out around this time. If you put it up against what Slayer was doing at this time, Possessed is edgier, more extreme and darker. Seven Churches was ahead of it's time and although it sounds dated, come on folks it is almost thirty years old, it has aged very well.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 7.5
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10