Possessed was a death metal band formed in 1982, in El Sobrante, California (slightly North of San Francisco), and have often been credited for creating and paving the way of this genre.
They released their landmark debut album Seven Churches in 1985, predating Morbid Angel and Death. The record combined thrash metal music and the first known death growls, although not as guttural as the death metal growls of today. After releasing a couple lesser known albums, Possessed disbanded. Some time after their last release (somewhere around 1989) Jeff Becerra was left paralyzed in a shooting accident (this after he and Mike Torrao recorded a new demo). Torrao brought back the Possessed name once again in 1993 with a new line-up which recorded two demos before folding for good. Guitarist Larry Lalonde has gone on to major success with Primus.
Jeff Becerra - Lead vocals, bass Larry LaLonde - Lead guitar Mike Sus - Drums Mike Torrao - Rythem guitar