VENOM "POSSESSED" LP 1985 ORIGINAL COMBAT WITH RARE LYRIC SHEET BLACK METAL

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30

YOU ARE BIDDING ON A LP BY VENOM CALLED "POSSESSED". IT WAS RELEASED ON THE COMBAT LABEL (MX 8022) OUT OF THE U.S. IN 1985. THE COVER (CUT OUT HOLE)  & THE LP ARE NEAR MINT-  

**ALL LP'S COMES IN RESEALABLE JAPANESE MYLAR SLEEVES FOR PROTECTION

**************ALL LP'S ARE DOWN GRADED JUST TO AVOID ANY CONTROVERSY. I'VE BEEN SELLING LP'S FOR OVER 3 DECADES BUT EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT IDEA'S ABOUT GRADING

Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say, and though Venom's original trio of Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon were regarded as no-talent, deviant noise-mongers during much of their career, collectively they are now considered a "classic" lineup and black metal pioneers of the highest order to boot. Verily, despite their evident creative and performance shortcomings (they only played their first live shows three albums into their career!), Venom's strength lay in their weaknesses. Like other black metal trailblazers (Celtic Frost, Bathory, etc.), Venom's musical holocaust was impervious to most accepted notions of good or bad because their supposed inadequacy was their own secret weapon, a simplicity that spurred thousands of similarly inadequate-feeling teens to get up and say, "Hey, I can do that too." But with the poor reception accorded their sprawling, conceptual third effort, At War With Satan, still ringing in their ears, the band was under serious pressure to deliver something special when starting work on album number four, 1985's Possessed. Sure enough, first track "Power Drive" was vintage Venom, blasting off with fire and brimstone for all and seemingly promising a return to form was on hand. But despite the valiant efforts of additional standout cuts such as "Burn This Place to the Ground" and the overlong but still quite effective title track, Possessed's pool of inspiration quickly ran dry, with dull grinds such as "Moonshine," the subtle little ditty "Satanarchist," and the instrumental workout "Wing and a Prayer" coming off despairingly one-dimensional, more amusing than memorable. In retrospect, it's clear that the end was near, yet Venom's original lineup would nearly complete the recording of one more album to be named Deadline before the departure of a disgruntled Mantas

Tracklist A1 Powerdrive A2 Flytrap A3 Satanachist A4 Burn This Place (To The Ground) A5 Harmony Dies A6 Possessed B1 Hell Child B2 Moonshine B3 Wing And A Prayer B4 Suffer Not The Children B5 Voyeur B6 Mystique B7 Too Loud (For The Crowd)

Companies, etc.

• Mixed At – Impulse Studios, Newcastle
• Mastered At – Utopia Studios

Credits

• Photography By [Cover] – Richie Nichol
• Producer – Keith Nichol, Venom (8)

Notes

Mixed at: Impulse Sound Studios, Newcastle
Mastered at: Utopia Studios, London

Includes printed inner sleeve with lyrics