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So yeah.. I was gonna make this a classic, but it was already reviewed. Which I noticed after writing mine.. Here it is, and tell me what you think.
After sweeping the land of Germany for appropriate musicians to fit into his criminally underrated, cult classic thrash metal band Exumer, Mem von Stein and his hard-hitting gang released the undeniable classic and maybe one of the best thrash metal debuts ever. It happened in 1986, and this hell-blazing hurricane of a record, the face-fisting Possessed by Fire was unleashed upon the un-expecting public. This was the only album to feature founding member von Stein, who left shortly after the record was completed. This record single-handedly switched my focus on digging for old cult thrash metal bands, their work, their relatively unknown impact, and why they have the status they most definitely deserve. Exumer is another one of the two-album wonders of the eighties, and Possessed by Fire contains an amount of quality that very few other bands achieved. They’ll make you suffer, throwing you through wall after wall, taking no prisoners, leaving no survivors. They slash their way through the thickest of steel, forcing down your defense, to make you utterly possessed by fire.
Creepy, no, terrifying would be the only fitting word for the dramatic, lurking intro that starts this masterpiece off. Crawling through the shadows, it all leads to the attack of the beast that is the title-track Possessed by Fire. Furious riffs will be all over you from the very beginning as von Stein’s twisted howls hurls themselves around your throat. The solos are dirty as fuck, and who cares? This is not supposed to sound clean; the sloppiness makes this sound fierce, out of control and evil. Just as it should. The pulsating drums follows odd time-changes, and when the riffs suddenly bisects into destruction, the tensions builds into an apocalyptic lead part that completes the inferno of one of my personal favorite thrash metal songs. Destructive Solution continues the morbid inferno with rapid riffs, just as rapid vocal work, and a dazzling rhythm-performance by drummer Syke Bornetto. He punishes the drums like a tyrant punishes his captives, while Bernie and Ray Mensch handle their 6(66)-strings with increasing aggression, speed and irreplaceable energy. The tolling of a bell stuns me and the thunderous crashing of drums and the sound of cymbals being abused to the edge of sanity cracks my skull. The cutting riff of galloping speed devours me. A saint has fallen, and a mortal in black enters. The familiar quality is undeniable and von Stein’s vice varies between softer lines and the very familiar and very German incredible outbursts of brutality and aggression. The impulsive time-changes is sometimes confusing yet never something that should put you off.
The in-your-face attitude and fierce, speedy riffing continues with the non-compromising Sorrows of the Judgement. There’s a slight punk-y edge to it, and it might resemble early Slayer for some. The thing that separates this band from other early thrash bands except maybe Heathen, is their ability to handle exciting yet odd time-shifts and slightly advanced song-structures with an assuring ease and fluid playing. The more accessible and simple Journey to Oblivion carries on with some of the best lead-playing on the entire album. Classic thrash as it’s supposed to sound. The compelling, shredding finisher Silent Death is reminiscent of Kreator among others. It’s violently catchy and with enough power to bring down a shovel-headed killing machine.
Why is Possessed By Fire a classic you ask? Well, back in the heyday of thrash, this was considered, and still is, one of the best debuts with outstanding classic thrash metal from beginning to end. In addition to that, the hidden touches of inventing something different with advanced song-structures, and constantly shape-shifting songs made it stick out from the crowd in the relatively early days. Flawless song-writing, non-compromising undisputed attitude, violent catchiness, ripping guitar-work, excellent drum-crushing, and not the least the morbid rasps of the founding member Mern von Stein shapes this into a cult classic thrash album that never earned its deserved recognition as one of the, dare I say, best thrash metal records to come of the German and international scene in the mid-eighties.
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