One of the seminal bands during the glory days of thrash, Possessed was one of the forerunners of the genre. What we have here is the much hyped Century Media re-issue of Combat Records' "Beyond the Gates", plus the "Eyes of Horror" EP. On the flyers it says that it's remastered, includes liner notes, lyrics and photos, but in the cd itself, no liner notes were featured. Plus, the order of the songs are wrong. It says that track 1 is an intro, but it turned out to be part of track 2. So you have to count 1 on track 2 and so on. This is one of the few things that bothered me coz they had all the time to remaster and repackage it but they couldn't even do the songlist correctly. Turning on the musical part of the cd, the production of the album is still relatively thin, I haven't heard the original yet but I assume it's even worse. I have listened to the album numerous times already but up to now, I still don't know if I like it or not. Sure there are the hyper fast riffs only old skool thrash can master, the evil leads courtesy of Larry La Londe (now in Primus), the semi-guttural vocals (which at times remind me of Lemmy K.) and the over all thrash effect, but there is something missing, and to me, that would be intensity. Maybe it's the production that's keeping me from getting the entire concept or maybe because if you compare this to the intensity of today's standards, it sounds mediocre. Though I would quickly state that this album would've been menacing during its time. But right now it just sounds stale. The album starts with a very beautiful acoustic intro and then transforms into thrash chaos. The transition of the album to the EP is not that evident although the EP is a bit more aggressive, in your face and has a little better production. So now I ask the most important question, is this album and all the other re-issues still relevant to the metal of today? Of course the answer is yes. Yes, because re-issues such as this one are vital to the metal community because the newer fans can taste, witness and have a lesson (in violence) in the making's of metal's very own foundation. Also the older fans can now get their favorite albums on cd format, remastered, with bonus tracks and better packaging. And lastly, another gripe is why do they have to release it only as imports, why can't they just circulate it around the world. I was suprised to know that it isn't even available in the states. Century Media claims that it's only available in the countries outside of the states. So why isn't it available here in the Philippines?! Maybe they want to preserve its value and keep it a challenge for metal fans to get hold of so they'll value it more. Anyway, if you love the old skool and just can't get enough of its classical trappings, then I suggest you get this album and the other re-issues still available in the market right now for these are only limited editions.

This review is credited to:
DEATHCRAYON