Seven Churches (album)
| Seven Churches | ||||
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| Studio album by Possessed | ||||
| Released | October 16, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | Late March/early April 1985 | |||
| Genre | Death metal, thrash metal | |||
| Length | 38:03 | |||
| Label |
Relativity/Combat (U.S.) Roadrunner (Europe) |
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| Producer | Randy Burns | |||
| Possessed chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com | (favorable) |
| Allmusic |   |
| Spin | (favorable) |
Seven Churches is the debut album by American death metal band Possessed. The title of the album refers to the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation. "The Exorcist" begins with producer Randy Burns' version of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, arranged and performed as it was in the 1973 horror film of the same name. About.com ranked the album first in its list of "10 Essential Death Metal albums".
According to David Konow's Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal, the album was recorded during the Spring Break of 1985 when Pinole Valley High School juniors Jeff Becerra and Larry LaLonde had ample time for studio production. Up until the release of the album, the band had practiced at manager Debbie Abono's house in Pinole, but had formed in the El Sobrante/San Pablo area, which was the location of Mike Torrao's and Mike Sus' garage band.
In November of the same year, the band flew to Montreal, Canada for the WWIII Weekend Festival in support of the Seven Churches release, playing alongside Celtic Frost, Destruction, Voivod and Nasty Savage; the concert was Possessed's first and largest arena appearance, with nearly 7,000 in attendance.
While Florida's Death had released more albums and is also cited as an enduring death metal progenitor, Seven Churches pre-dated the latter band's 1987 debut, Scream Bloody Gore by two years. The book Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore credited bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra as initially creating the term in 1983.
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