Customer Reviews

Beyond the Gates

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Its great to see this album re-released! I havent heard it since it was released back in 86 and it still kicks! One of the greatest but unrecognized bands of the 80's metal/thrash scene! This is a must have for all who like metal! Lyrics are on the darker side but the guitars are top notch! Possessed is one of the better bands Ive heard and as I said its great to see this album re-realesed especially when the thrash/metal/hardcore scenes have become whinny in nature and this so called alternative music gimmie a break! Check this out its a must have for all as well as Possessed's other albums! Without a doubt one of the greatest metal/thrash albums of all time!!!!!!!!

It seems that Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde doesn't want anyone to know that he was in Possessed from the mid-to-late 1980's. Maybe Larry thinks Primus fans would be upset by that fact he used to dress up in black leather & wear inverted crosses around his neck. Or it could be that he believes Primus' music is so much more advanced than Possessed's. Whatever the reason, it's a shame because Possessed was - and still is - one of the most influential death/thrash bands of all time.

Released in late 1986, BEYOND THE GATES is a major step forward from Possessed's 1985 debut, SEVEN CHURCHES. The band is much more mature sounding. SEVEN CHURCHES was recorded while the band members were still in high school, and it shows. The songs flow much better on BEYOND THE GATES. There is some good, chunky metal riffing going on here. Just about every track is good, but some personal favorites include "The Heretic," "Tribulation," "No Will To Live" & "Seance." The only song I didn't really like is the album's title track. It has a clunky main guitar riff. Most of the songs were written by guitarist Mike Torrao & bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra. Although the aforementioned Larry LaLonde did co-write three tracks. Both guitarists play some very good solos, with Torrao being the wilder of the two (check out his second solo on "Seance"). Jeff Becerra has a sandpaper-ish vocal style that is reminiscent of Lemmy from Motorhead.

I'm giving BEYOND THE GATES four stars because it does have a few flaws. First off, the production has a bone-dry feel to it, which I'm not a fan of. SEVEN CHURCHES has a much richer-sounding production style. Secondly, producer Carl Canedy could have done a better job of recording Mike Sus' drum tracks. They're a little flat-sounding. And finally, Possessed were still writing their silly satanic lyrics (ex. Tribulation/In Love With Satan/Desecration/Come To Salem). Still, it is clear that Possessed grew as a band between SEVEN CHURCHES & BEYOND THE GATES.

In June of 1987, Possessed put out their final release, a five-song EP called THE EYES OF HORROR. The band showed continued growth, both musically & lyrically. Sadly, they broke up just days after THE EYES OF HORROR came out. Larry Lalonde went on to play in a second-rate metal band called Blind Illusion, & then formed Primus with bassist/vocalist Les Claypool. It was around this time that Jeff Becerra was shot & paralyzed from the waist down during a drug deal that went bad. Mike Torrao continued to try to make music until the early-to-mid nineties, but now both he & Mike Sus are out of the business.

BEYOND THE GATES is definitely worth picking up. It is a document of a metal band coming into their own. Take your copy to a Primus show & see if you can get Larry LaLonde to autograph it for you!!!!

This is my favorite release from Possessed, this one is epicalegically deviant compared to their first ...Death Metal. This sounds more like, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Entombed, And Terrorizer. Buy it, Must Own!!

The production isn't as bad on this as it is on Seven Churches to me, but it's not as good as on Eyes of Horror, either.

What they needed was Joe Satriani producing all three albums. That would have been awesome. (YES, HE DID PRODUCE "Eyes of Horror"). If anyone remembers from the 80's, alot of the best Metal music had crappy recordings. Didn't hurt the music any, unless you were anal and just HAD to have pristine recordings.

I love this album. Brings back great memories.

In my view this is a major classic of the period when bay area thrash metal was morphing into death metal...this is just a beautiful album, filled with evil riffs, great songs, incredible vocals, extremely cool solos, etc. Probably my favorite metal album of all time. Get it!

This album in my opinion is a B+. It is not as good as churches or eyes, but it's worth buying. The production was on the weak side with this recording. Carl Candedy produced instead of Randy Burns, who was on another project at the time. No knock against Canedy, but the production prevented this from being an A+. It has got some really heavy stuff nonetheless. Most of the songs are strong with the exception of a couple weak ones. The guitar riffs are cool as well as the drumming. As far as vocals go, NOBODY in death/black metal does it like Jeff Becerra. He has an awesome guttaral grunting style. All in all a must buy for metal fans.

¡The Prophecies that i will tell, will make you sell your soul to hell!, this album is very powerful and fast, is not better than Seven Churches, but is a awesome album too, from the track list my favorites are: Heretic, Tribulation, Phantasm, Beyond the Gates and Dog Fight, recomendation A-1, buy this album now. ¡Necronomicon will be mine!

This CD is quite a bit different from "Seven Churches." Its a lot faster, I feel, more technical, less repetition, and the production is a little muddy. The intro is really cool, a definate step ahead for Possessed, because its mostly clean guitars. Jeff Beccara kicks some major booty on vocals! This dude has THE voice of death metal!

If you're looking for the long out of print, Joe Satriani produced, EP the Eyes of Horror look no further. All five tracks from EP are here. There is also a reversible fold out mini poster that has the art work for both Beyond the Gates and the EOH. The CD comes in a digi pack that folds out mimicking the original gate fold LP cover of BTG. I've never heard any Possessed on anything but cassette and vinyl so to me this stuff sounds even better than I remembered, especially BTG.

There's not much i can say except that brings back memoris and the music here is so heavy and so original that doesn't get any better... Possessed's "beyond the gates" is a masterpiece and should already by in every true metalheads collection. Recommended!