Possessed

proto death metal · San Francisco Bay Area

Founded

1982

City

San Francisco Bay Area

Hub region

Bay Area

Status as of 5 September 2026

active; Seven Churches 40th anniversary tour 2025 to 2026

Connections

11 edges, 11 distinct neighbors · betweenness 0.011 (rank 49 of 371) · people and production 0.002 (rank 85)

Confidence

High · sources: [W] [MUD] [MA] (register)

The 1984 Death Metal demo and Seven Churches (1985, Combat, produced by Randy Burns) give the genre its name in Jeff Becerra's telling and its first album. Guitarist Daniel Gonzalez later joins Gruesome.

Connections

People and personnel

• memberDaniel Gonzalez2007 to present
• produced byRandy BurnsSeven Churches1985

Lineage

• spawnedGruesomeDaniel Gonzalez2013

Recording credits

• recorded atThe Music GrinderSeven Churches (Randy Burns)1985

Influence

• influenced byVenomWelcome to Hell and Black Metal, as Possessed tells it1982
• influencedDeathSeven Churches and the 1984 Death Metal demo precede Scream Bloody Gore; a parallel origin as the histories record it1985
• influencedPestilence1986
• influencedNihilist1988

Labels, festivals, tours, collaborations

• collaborationMassacre2020s
• collaborationTerrorizerShared bills with Massacre2020s
• labelCombat RecordsSeven Churches1985