Striking while the iron is hottest, Belgium's POSSESSION return with a brand-new mini-album, 1585-1646. Here, the quartet go from strength to strength, melding the best aspects of their critically acclaimed His Best Deceit demo and the proceeding, even-more-feverishly-received Anneliese EP and then stirring the cauldron more potently 'n' poisonously. Forever committed to ancient black/death darkness but still brimming with a youthful fervor that's blanching to behold, POSSESSION unleash four spells across 1585-1646 that take the churning, teeth-gnashing hysterics of their demo and imbue them with Anneliese's haunting, more-dynamic poise. Taken together, the band's growth over the past two years is startling - seemingly, they can accomplish every diabolical deed they can envision - but not once do they forget the raw, rabid edges so crucial to their formation and especially to black/death metal.
Through these four tracks, POSSESSION tells the story of a witch who lived in France between 1585 and 1646: on "Obscurity," an intro sets the crucial medieval atmosphere; with "Visitation," the future witch receives the visit of the Devil, who offers her a pact she accepts; on "Ceremony" comes the Sabbath; with "Guilty," the Inquisitors hunt the witch, catch her, and torture her to make her confess; and at last, on "Ablaze," the Inquisitors burn the witch. Feel the fire of 1585-1646 and be consumed...
