Review: Possessed - Revelations of Oblivion | |||||||
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Revelations of Oblivion | |||||||
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Label: Nuclear Blast Records Year released: 2019 Duration: 53:54 Tracks: 12 Genre: Death/Thrash Rating: Review online: May 18, 2019 Reviewed by: Bruno Medeiros |
Readers' Rating How do you rate this release? Rated 4.23/5 (84.67%) (30 Votes)
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Review | |||||||
How do we measure greatness? In sports, for instance, titles, individual achievements and personal stats are factors to be considered when discussing it; but what about in music? Is it the number of albums sold? Is it the number of people who go to your concerts? Is it Longevity? In the metal world, at least, I make a case that these things are way less important than features such as impact on a specific scene, musical inspiration to other bands and—perhaps the most important of all—the ability to create a timeless, unanimous classic. With that being said, I think it's safe to say that Possessed is one of the greatest bands of all time, because not only they managed to check all those aforementioned qualities, but were the godfathers of arguably the most popular genre of all: death metal. Rising from the ashes once again to release their third album, which follows not one, but TWO of those timeless classics in Seven Churches (1985) and Beyond the Gates (1986), Jeff Becerra and company are on a mission to prove that 30+ years of silence (most of those because of Becerra's brutal accident) doesn't mean that Possessed is dead. Truth be told, I was scared as hell to review this return, in part because hey, it's been 30 years, but the first chords of "No More Room in Hell" completely obliterated my skepticism. Fast, brutal and energetic, it's the perfect track to show that Becerra hit the jackpot in terms of musicians surrounding him, and especially in terms of keeping his songwriting skills sharp after all these years. Becerra's voice sounds healthy and well placed, as the lower key growls fit the band's updated sound and actually helps make things sound more serious and demonic, which can be seen throughout the whole effort, and more prominently in songs like "Ritual" and "Graven". At the end of the day, Possessed succeeded on following their own past greatness with competent, way above average music. Revelations of Oblivion had every ingredient to be a disaster, but instead is one of the most interesting death/thrash releases of 2019 so far, and a true proclamation that Possessed is one of the greatest acts to ever emerge out of hell. Just don't compare it with the two pieces of art that preceded it and you'll be more than satisfied with this great comeback. Cheers to Becerra for turning things around in his life and continuing to do what he loves; it definitely paid off. |
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More about Possessed... | |||||||
Review: Beyond The Gates (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible) Review: Revelations of Oblivion (reviewed by MetalMike) Review: Revelations of Oblivion (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible) Review: Seven Churches (reviewed by Michel Renaud) Review: The Eyes of Horror (reviewed by Luxi Lahtinen) Interview with vocalist Jeff Becerra on August 14, 2023 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen) | |||||||
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