FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…
36 years ago today, Possessed released the outstanding follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut release, Seven Churches. Unfortunately, critics and fans weren't as enthusiastic about Beyond the Gates as I was. What did this album mean to you? - E.N. Wells
On October 31, 1986, Possessed released their second full-length studio album Beyond the Gates via Relativity/Combat Records.
Background:
Taking a different direction from their debut, Seven Churches, Beyond the Gates has a more technical feeling and, due to poor production, a muddy sound.
Following the release of Beyond the Gates, Possessed embarked on a short European tour with Voivod and in the U.S. opening for Dark Angel.
Beyond the Gates became a sign of Possessed's decline, as they only released the EP The Eyes of Horror before they officially disbanded the following year. This became the band’s last full length album, up until the release of their third studio album Revelations of Oblivion, 33 years later.
The vinyl release of the album featured an enhanced gatefold-style format: the "gates" of the front cover opened outward, exposing several flaps that opened further to reveal a large, nine-panel illustration of a line of demonic creatures approaching over a desert landscape. Lyrics were included on the inner sleeve.
In a more recent Guitar World magazine interview, Possessed lead singer Jeff Becerra said Beyond the Gates was meant to be more of a commercial record, as their previous album had been banned from all major record stores, because of the upside down cross on the cover.
Critical Reception:
Reception was mixed, with some critics and fans being very disappointed by the album for the sound and production, while others were satisfied with the new direction of the band. Over the years, fans have slowly appreciated Beyond the Gates and have even considered it being an "underrated masterpiece" and "overlooked classic".
In his review, AllMusic’s Eduardo Rivadavia wrote; “Never ones to think twice about flirting with supernatural evil forces, San Francisco's Possessed scheduled their second album, Beyond the Gates, to be released on Halloween, 1986! Maybe they should have been a little more wary, as the recording that should have built upon the solid foundation laid down by the previous year's genre-forming debut Seven Churches (still regarded as one of Death Metal's inaugural cornerstones), wound up coming as a disappointment to most critic and fans alike. Verily, in most every observer's eyes, Beyond the Gates represented an almost indefensible step backwards; transforming a sound previously distinguished for its inexorable power into a ragged, decidedly weaker-kneed replacement. Perhaps the record's feeble production was to blame, although it's hard to lay the blame entirely on experienced producer Carl Canedy in light of his previous triumphs with Anthrax and Overkill. More likely, it was a combination of difficulties: poor funding, rushed recording conditions, questions over musical direction, and simple lack of preparedness (all common problems for starving, under-pressure-to-deliver Extreme Metal bands) that doused the flames in disappointing efforts like Tribulation, the title track, and the simply god-awful The Beasts of the Apocalypse. Occasional bright spots do surface with the focused and forceful March to Die, the refreshingly elaborate No Will to Life, and even opener The Heretic, thanks to its nifty, scary intro. But, taken as a whole, there was no denying that Beyond the Gates packed nowhere near the consistency, inventiveness and, most importantly, eventual influence of its predecessor, signaling the beginning of Possessed's inevitable decline."
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
Pictured below is the 1999 Combat Records re-issue.
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