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    Critical Mass #2/Possession
    Possession — Scourge and Fire cover

    Possession

    Scourge and Fire

    (1997)

    Reviewed by Tom Edmondson

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    Label independentCritical Mass #21997
    black metalspeed metalthrash metal

    Speaking of authentic bands, next to Horde Possession has written the book on authentic. You know this is true when Thomas Pascual, an authority on black metal bands, speaks well of them (see ad). But I'm sure there are some Christian metal fans out there who still find Possession a little hard to take. I doubt this bothers Possession. It appears to me that they are aiming their message to those outside of the church. And I'd say that of all the bands trying to reach out to the non-Christian metal world Possession has the greatest chance of making an impact.

    Now, about this disc. It has only three songs and is only about 3" from edge to edge. It comes in a little paper cover that reminds me of a large matchbook. One song is new, "Scourge And Fire". It is an intense barrage of Speed Metal which has lots of Scripture imbedded in the lyrics. Once again I'm reminded of bands like Kreator, older Carcass, etc. The second song, "Danse Macabre" has more of a Classic/Black Metal sound and appeared on their original demo. The third song's title is not given because it is a cover tune and they want to make you wonder. I'll not give it away except to say that probably few of you own a Mercyful Fate album. Speaking of MF. On this disc, when Nyk does a falsetto wail, it sounds less like Dale Thompson now and more like King Diamond.

    This three song E.P. is offered free to those of us who already own Eternally Haunt or as a bonus to those of you who order EH from them for only $11 (okay, so I sound like an advertiser again. It's only because of what Metal Merchant did to them). So, order this disc and let it whet your appetite until their next album comes out.

    Other coverage for this album

    Dead Zine 1997Reviewed by NecRoSarXFrom what I understand, this is the last actual recording of the band before calling it quits. Pity. Pretty good thrash metal. I should note that Scourge and Fire isn't the official name of the recording; it's the first song on the disc, and I've heard others refer to the mini-CD as such, so I do so now. I say "mini-CD" because that's what it is- a CD that's roughly half the size of a regular CD.…Dead Zine 1997Reviewed by D_ListerSorry NecRo, I've just got to rate this one a bit higher. Everything NecRo said about it is pretty much right on track with this CD, however the thing that is left out is a real stress of the musicianship. Sure he says 'typical Possession caliber' but what does that mean? It means bottom line the best Christian thrash you will find with the debateable exception of Believer. Possession has always…

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    More from Possession

    1995Eternally Haunt1993The Unnameable Suffering

    Also in Critical Mass #2

    1996WhitecrossFlytrap1997LamentTears of a Leper1996Eleventh HourDistorted Visions of Unreality1996Frank's EnemyNeoblasphemies1997Ethereal ScourgeJudgement and Restoration1997Various ArtistsMassive Frequency Overload: U.S. Hard Compilation