1985–2025: 40 Years of Death Metal

November 4th, 1985. American band Possessed unleashed the first Death Metal LP.

The Possessed logo. From the album art courtesy of Combat Records.

Seven Churches was released on the Combat Records label, which was also responsible for another of the year’s metallic titans — Bonded by Blood by Exodus.

Like Roadrunner and Music for Nations, Combat licensed a significant number of classic metal releases from Europe and the US, but Possessed, Exodus and Chuck Schuldiner’s Death, who’d release their Scream Bloody Gore debut in 1987, were direct signings, giving the label significant cache in the by-then well established Death Metal scene.

Combat also attempted to sign Master, a Chicago based band featuring Death Metal luminary, Paul Speckmann, but that deal fell apart before their self titled album was able to be released. Had the reported conflict between the label and Master’s drummer, Bill Schmidt never occurred, it’d be Master leading this procession. But more on that in a minute.

The reason Possessed wears the demonic crown instead of UK band Onslaught, whose Power From Hell album was released in February of the same year, is that Seven Churches is a record of malicious intent! From the opening melodies of The Exorcist to the closing rage of fist-banger Death Metal, Seven Churches is ten cuts of pure Death Metal…