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POSSESSION
1585-1646 EP

Iron Bonehead / Invictus (2015)
Rating: 8.5/10

2014’s ‘Anneliese’ seven-inch single was one of the creepiest releases within the black / death metal genre and was constructed by Belgian combo Possession.

When I saw a photograph of the quartet standing in a graveyard I thought this was a release from some early 90s black metal band, such was the eerie chord it struck within me. But no, Possession have only been around for three years with Mestema providing vocals, V. Viriakh handling bass, I. Dveikus holding down axe duties and Pz.Kpfw behind the skins.

‘Anneliese’ was all too short as a brace of tracks and no doubt fans would have been left gagging for more, and so this new EP offers up four tracks to the altar for sacrifice. Incidentally, 1585-1646 is available in both twelve-inch vinyl (through Iron Bonehead Productions) and CD (via Invictus Productions) formats, with the latter featuring the two songs from the aforementioned ‘Anneliese’ single as bonus tracks.

Boasting excellent artwork Christophe Moyen (Thorncross) which sets the scene for this affair, the band begins its descent into blackness with ‘Obscurity – Visitation’; an eerie nine-minute journey featuring a chorus of haunting chants, tolling bell and stormy cloud bursts before the serenity is punctured by a fizzing black guitar which races through the murk.

Possession most certainly knows how to build an atmosphere and then in turn drag the audience into its depths; a nodding, brooding drum works in tandem with the thunder rumbles as the guitar continues its venomous theme. Just when you think the nine minutes are going to be swallowed by mere dramatics though, the band comes rushing out of the crypt in true, primitive black metal fashion. The yapping vocals add extra bewitching horror to proceedings, with Possession suddenly creating the sort of wretched, despicable atmosphere we’d become accustomed to with the early to mid 90s black metal rackets churned out mostly by Scandinavian bands.

The track is a fast affair, although this burst is confined to just a few minutes before the diabolical seeds of ‘Ceremony’ are sown by way of churning riffs and sinister percussive explosions. Mestema’s vocals are a stuffy bark of anguish, sending freezing chills down the spine like all good black metal voices should. The track unfolds as a doom-laden and instantly accessible mid-tempo lumber where the bass clomps and drums thump until the four-piece works towards a thrashing structure of evil. Some nice echoes on the vocals and a thick production means that Possession have a truly sinister vibe about their sound; the already murky leads try to fight their way out of the suffocating fog of bass and drum, with Mestema’s vocals acting as a horrid siren of warning in the pea-soup mist.

Next up is the raging fury of ‘Guilty’; a full-on black metal massacre featuring hyper percussion and a truly nasty, abrasive guitar sound as the Belgians take us back to those vile days when the likes of Blasphemy ruled the roost. Possession certainly lives up to its moniker; indeed, actress Linda Blair (The Exorcist) would no doubt be proud of Mestema’s demonic vocal conjurings, even if at times it sounds as if Pz.Kpfw is hammering cereal boxes instead of a drum kit!

With added screams and a swerve into deathlier grunts, Possession are becoming masters at constructing dankness with ‘Guilty’ leading us astray into a classy mid-tempo chug before ‘Ablaze’ sets out its horrid stall. On ‘Ablaze’, guitars burn with rank speed in turn emitting a stench of rotting flesh which of course should make sense when we realise that the title of this release is based upon the true story of an alleged witch who lived in France from, you guessed it, 1585 – 1646. With this in mind, the EP seems to take on an even more sinister turn as the band goes hell for leather on the final cut; the feverish flames evoked by the band in turn symbolic as we envision the witch burning at the stake.

And as the flames of this despicable record finally die down, I’m finding myself delving into the dark recesses of folklore seeking other similar stories. 1585-1646 is a truly grim and believable story summoned up by this talented bunch of extreme metallers who have manifested dark forces via their instruments to create a disturbing atmosphere and one of 2015’s best black metal releases. Just when you thought black metal had lost its shine, Possession comes with all guns and eyes blazing, tongues flickering and mouths vomiting the Devil’s words.

Neil Arnold

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