Great Metal Albums of 1985: Venom- Possessed

Throughout the early 1980s, Venom had kept the metal world very much entertained with three killer, (some could take this literally), albums. Even in my cultural wasteland of Southern New Jersey, they were well established in metal circles. Then, 1985 saw the release of their fourth album, “Possessed.” While I might agree with many who said the album wasn’t as good as their previous three, it’s in no way bad. Then again, it would have been a great achievement if it did match up exactly with the previous blockbuster, “At War With Satan.”

“Possessed” comes in immediately with the full intention of assaulting one’s ear drums and brain. The opening drums on the first track, “Powerdrive,” let you know that you are in for a very good pounding. The assault continues throughout the entire thirteen tracks on the album with no let up. Then again, would anyone expect Venom to record a power ballad? Not only do they carry on the thrashing sound that made them famous, they still sing about such lovely subjects as Satan and the occult. “Satanchrist” and “Hellchild” bear witness to this fact. Another fact is that the title track has the honour of being on the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen” list because of its supposed association with the occult. Well, it does begin with Cronus shouting about being Satan’s child. However, I know of no one who became possessed by demons when listening to it. If there is any song from the album that should have caught the attention of the Washington Wives, it’s “Burn This Place “(To the Ground.) I’m very much surprised that they didn’t scream that this song encouraged children to go out and set fire to great public buildings. It never did me.

Cronus, Mantas and Abaddon continue to prove they were a good tight band on the album, even if I found it even harder to understand what Cronus was singing. Then again, that has always been the charm with Venom. The exception is “Suffer Not the Children,” you can understand what he sings on that track. One track sums up the entire album, “Harmony Dies.” Of course, with Venom, harmony was never really alive in the first place. Which is another endearing fact with this band. What you get is the growls of Cronus along with him being half a manic rhythm section with the guitar work of Mantas combining power chords and blistering solos. His best one is on “Voyeur.” Basically, everything you might expect from Venom.

Track Listing:

1. Powerdrive
2. Flytrap
3. Satanchrist
4. Burn This Place (To the Ground)
5. Harmony Dies
6. Possessed
7. Hellchild
8. Moonshine
9. Wing and a Prayer
10. Suffer Not the Children
11. Voyeur
12. Mystique
13. Too Loud (For the Crowd)

Venom

Cronus- volcanic vibrations and death breath, vocals, bass

Mantas- marshall mayhem massacre, guitar

Abaddon- world war three, drums

To my surprise, I discovered that Venom had a lot of output in 1985. Not only did they release this cool studio album, they had a live album and a compilation album to their credit too. Don’t worry, I’ll visit both down the line.

Next post: Motley Crue- Theater of Pain

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