Poland had been waiting for this event for almost 30 years. It was the very day when metal maniacs`dreams were about to come true: at long last, legendary POSESSED did pay a visit to our country. A couple of hours before the gig, we reached theProgresjaClub. The club`snew building was impressive; the upper hall where the gig was to take place has a hugestage and plenty of room for wild hordes of metal maniacs. People were slowly filling the venue. I met many old friends and got to know somenew people.

Thegig itself was delayed a little, as the POSSEESED band membersneeded to rest after playing live in Czech Republicthe previous day. It was ok with everyone, as we all were glad we were able to see POSSESSED perform live. The waiting for the show to begin was somewhat soothed by talking and beer drinking. These activities were interrupted by some noises. It was a local band: EMPHERIS. Asusual, a number of the band`s devoted fans appeared. EMPHERIS, led by Adrian, means solid black/thrash well played in the old vein.Theyapparently warmed up the fans pretty well, and despite the fact I saw them play live a couple of times before, I did enjoy their show.

It also came to my attention that it was the better part of humanity (Varaska)that played the drums. Varaskais not only an attractive gal, but she is also a metal head to the bone, and can play drums in a really infernal way! It was sad to see Andy Blakktaking pictures of the band,instead of playing with them! Oh yeah, EMPHERISmade the maniacs really hungry for brutal noises. Their performance was over so fast!
Second to play was CENTURION – a band playing a different form of metal music, deeply rooted in death metal, somewhere between middle tempos that Swedish bands are known of, and the intensity of the North Americandeath metal style. I did enjoy their performance; especially the slower, jet black parts. The band themselves did alright. AlthoughCENTURION were enjoyed by many, people were visibly anxious to see HAZEL and their leader Tomasz “Zarowa” Dobrzeniecki. The band was inactive for almost 18 years. For many metal old timers, the HAZAEL`sperformance was as important as POSSESSED`s.

HAZEAL with their new line up did not disappoint at all.I daresay this band impressed me most this evening, and despite the fact that Tomasz`s vocalcords were somewhat weakened after the gig inBolkowthe previous day, he nonetheless did his best. The first strike unleashed upon the hungry fans was “Legate of Goat Tyrant.”The selective, massive sound was noteworthy. Mosh was intense! Another classic cut was “Clairvoyance,” and its middle tempos got the fans to move effectively. The crowd was moshing like fucking crazy!
HAZAEL, being in a really good shape, played areally solid piece of death metal. Anothercut was devastating“Seven Winds”. A really emotional song, too. The HAZAEL performance was significant because of two reasons: it confirmed the band`s in a good condition, and they are able to exist in local and international underground. The other tracks, arranged and played in a slightly different way that evening, were classic cuts from the THOR album: “Ancient Mags,”“Frozen Majesty,” “Elimination.”“Wyrd” was the last track that evening, and was performed with a guest appearance byTomekJasiowka.

I think it was not only me who was stunned by their performance. Ok, the HAZAEL machine has started and, in result, their cult THOR album will be soon rereleased in the vinyl format. The band are going to play a number of live shows in Europe, and apparently there is nothing that can prevent them from achievingsuccess. It took me a long time to come to after their performance. Well, it was probably good, because the last timeI saw them playing live was in BialaPodlaska during theShark Attack Festival in 1990.
Atmosphere was getting really dense. In my mind`s eye I could see pictures of burning temples and graveyards of human oblivion. We were about to welcome the Beast, carried by Infernalstorms, the Beast that had been awaited by hungry masses of possessed souls. The first sounds of the OMEN III`s intro sounded and POSSESSED appeared, led by their front man Jeff Becerra. The first track played that night was “Pentagram” from the cult album “Seven Churches.”

Thecrowd, like a gargantuan vortex started to mosh before the scene. Themusicians were moshing too. Another anthem, a tribute paid to hell,sounded – “Beyond The Gates.”Massive guitars were cutting the air like flagrum flogging the wretched bodies of victims, sparking solos and possessed vocals of Beccerrawere really impressive. The third cutplayed during the night was “Evil Warrior.” Atruly merciless track. Guitar duels between Mike Pardiand equally talented Daniel Gonzales impressed all the fans. The next blow betweenthe eyes was “The Eyes of Horror” – here, too, guitars were just insanelyfast. Jeff, a possessed guy for sure, was thrashing about like a wild beast in a cage. All good and well, but the selectiveness of all instruments was gone, what happened?

For a brief moment, even the Daniel’sguitar fell silent. The crowd didn’t care, and the moshing was just insane; the live show was not even half done. Everyone was doing their best. Madnessand all penetrating energy were spreading - it was getting more and more dangerous below the stage. The band played another bestial track from the almighty “Beyond the Gates” LP: “Séance.” Nicholas Barker was playing his drums like a wild,Infernal Hound. Nicholas was a good proxy forEmilio Marquez who became father 6 months before.

Ok, so next was “Tribulation,”executed in a cyclonictempo. Besides the Jeff’sfurious vocal, the bass parts played by Robert Cadenas; the person we know from such bands as Melice or Agent Steel were noteworthy. Rob was thrashing around in an amok-like state, and a number of guitar battles brought total destruction. The situation was getting more and more insane. “The Heretic” sounded! The crowd was surely carried along by the track`s killer tempo – such a speed is really dangerous, but the fans did enjoy the situation and had a lot of fun. Scars heal pretty fast.
The right time came for the track I had been waiting for so much – “Twisted Minds.” The track was gaining up speed gradually and hit the maddened crowd like an artillery shell.Jeff was spitting out the words so powerfully that I thought he was devil himself! The track “My Belief” did not, at all, cool the crowd down. A short, but needed break was next, after which Jeffannounced the track which Joe Satrianihimself contributedto. What I`m talking about is “Storm in my Mind” from their great MLP “The Eyes of Horror.”

The next was “Swing of the Axe” from the same MLP, but played much faster. The crowd was drinking the blood from the Jeff’s lips…the red lights underlined the infernal logo of POSSESSED hung over the Barker`s head and the scene really looked like infernal abyss! The next anthem was “The Crimson Spike.” Jeff announced this track as a new POSSESSED cut. Actually, this track had been played live previously, although never in Polandbefore. It is a classical POSSESSED track, and matched the whole set perfectly.

Time for death to take its toll. No fooling around. The lads played “The Exorcist” with the intro of Mike Oldfield and later sped up unbelievably while playing“Satan’s Curse.” I should call this a total destruction, slaughter of innocent souls that turned intoblood thirsty beasts. Thenext track is “Confessions”… and a grand finale:  the solo well executed by Daniel announced that the strike would be deadly to many: “Death Metal.” Changes of tempo executed byBarker were noticeable. What a brutal and intense show it was. I had not seen such an intense crowd for ages….   
The very last sounds faded away. POSSESSED left the scene. The fans demanded some more tracks but it was all over, ok. It was a really good concert that shall be remembered by many for a long time. I do hope we will not have to waitfor another 25 years to see them play live.
Leszek Wojnicz-Sianożęcki