POSSESSED

So you don’t like Death Metal and always wondered who started this crap?

Well, you had your chance to see the guy that was responsible for starting it and that is Jeff Becerra who is the lead vocalist of Possessed.  Possessed FINALLY for the first time ever (I believe) made their way to the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver Canada opening up the Klash of the Titans tour, supporting co-headliners Kreator and Testament (show closer).

Possessed started out in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area which is pretty much the heart and soul of where thrash metal began.   Jeff’s vocals where a little more different, with a raw edge to them and the band got signed by Combat Records to release a gem called Seven Churches (1985).  Thereafter, they released their follow-up called Beyond the Gates (1986).

People asked me at the show why is the lead singer in a wheel chair?  Well back in 1989, a tragic incident happened outside of a convenience store as Jeff was mugged and shot twice by 2 assailants leaving him paralyzed from the waste down.  From there, for many years Jeff struggled but did get back to school to get a degree.  He reformed Possessed for a few dates like the Wacken Festival in Germany 2007 and the Maryland Deathfest in 2010 and did tour.    In 2019 the band released their first album in 33 years called Revelations of the Oblivion (Nuclear Blast)

So we were pretty excited to finally get to see him in 2024 as they started off with the first Death Metal song I have ever heard called “Pentagram”.   I used to listen to that song nonstop off a compilation album called “Speed Kills” which as I look at it had all the best bands on it like Metallica, Exodus, Venom, Voi Vod, Megadeth, Slayer and more.   So I was certainly pleased that they played that song which brought me back to the memories of the early days of metal.

Besides Jeff on vocals, Daniel Gonzalez (guitar), Robert Cardenas (bass), Claudeous Creamer (guitar) and Chris Aquirre (drums) round out the rest of the band.

They played 8 songs tonight.  Jeff had some issues at the start with the vocal levels but that got better after a couple songs. Others they played off Seven Churches was “Death Metal” as well as “The Exorcist”.  I love the latest release as well and they played 3 from that too, “Demon”, “Graven” and “Ritual”.

All in all it was a solid performance that caused alot of excitement among longtime fans of the band.   Jeff made himself really accessible after the show as he made his way up the lobby and met fans, including myself that was a little fan boi’d and I got him to sign the latest Revelations of Oblivion CD.  Word is that there is a new album in the works, hopefully we see something later this year or in 2025!