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I was aware of Possessed and their debut album Seven Churches back in the day, though I gave it a wide berth due to the vocals and satanic lyrics, things that were never my cup of tea early in my metal journey. Over the course of what seems like a million years later, I have a new respect for extreme metal and the classics like Seven Churches in particular, so it was with pleasure I started listening to Possessed's first full-length album in 33 years.

At first, I wasn't overly impressed with Revelations of Oblivion. To be fair, it is a savage, pounding record through and through, something you cannot always rely on from bands that have been away from the studio for such an extended time. The problem is it sounds like a lot of other modern thrash albums in terms of clear production, insanely fast drums that are almost surely triggered and harsh but decipherable vocals. It wasn't until I went back to Seven Churches for a refresher and realized this is what Possessed has ALWAYS sounded like, and all those other modern thrash albums are the ones that sound like something else. With Possessed's pedigree firmly cemented, Revelations of Oblivion took on a new life for me. Cuts like "Shadowcult" and "Omen" are steamrollers of brutality, original vocalist Jeff Becerra and crew at the controls bulldozing everything in their path. The riffs are tight and sharp with leads that squeal in blazing ecstasy. If it weren't for the crystalline production, something that is a slight drawback for me, this album could have followed Seven Churches a year later rather than 30+ and you'd never have known the difference. That's an amazing accomplishment for any band.

I might not be as into Revelations of Oblivion as some of my fellow reviewers here at The Metal Crypt, because of personal preferences, but that should not take away from what is nothing less than a triumph for Possessed.