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POSSESSOR
The Speed Of Death EP

APF (2022)
Rating: 8.5/10

I have been following these London grave robbers since their birth back in 2013 and always dug their occult-influenced fuzz rock. Imagine a bewitching Fudge Tunnel, slices of, say, Helmet, but then something organic from the musty garage, and something stoner-ish but drenched in cult-ish reverb and ecstasy.

This latest EP features four tracks littered with effective samples of news stories connected to the band, and a clanking, distorted general tone that gives off whiffs of cool, unsung 90s acts such as Cop Shoot Cop only with extra scuzz, fuzz and fumes.

When opener ‘Twisted Death Nerves’ kicks in there’s a White Zombie feel. Maybe it’s Graham Bywater’s obscure vocal sneer, but you can’t help but envisage go-go girls in Herschell Gordon Lewis films and buckets of overly red blood – something Uncle Acid mastered with similarly arcane esoteric.

Possessor possess great gruesome grooves through every release, always nodding towards doom metal aesthetics but never being bogged down by it. These guys are the soundtrack to horror movies that sleaze master Russ Meyer never made as leather-clad honeys speed down highways, pursued by cops yet not having a care.

‘Medusa Lives!’ brings Hammer Horror wisps, chewed up VHS tapes swirls and eventually a hammering, semi-industrialised Malhavoc sneering drive. The riffs are ever-present as thick, clotted waves, but they never slow, constantly lashing the ears with alcoholic-infused occult strides. It feels obscure, dangerous and evokes images of creaky movies such as Psychomania, unless that’s just my mind working overtime into the midnight hours.

The brief ‘Paura’ begins with effective thunder crack and another cool sample, and then we are off again into the hazy sunsets of ‘Draw Blood’, that starts with chainsaw riffage from the thrash textbook. The track keeps it’s pace in good old Possessor fashion, flicking its tongue at doomier licks but racing with the Devil.

Possessor made their pact with Satan years out of a garage in London Town, and they’ve kept their part of the deal as The Speed Of Death, like previous efforts, keeps the trio driving into the darkness… and I’m one happy passenger.

Neil Arnold

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