War Possession - Through The Ages

It's Friday night! While others are out with the intention of drinking and then forgetting what they did (I did that last Friday by the way!), I've been sitting here deciding what to write about. I stumbled upon Greek death metal band War Possession, glanced at the cover art for Through The Ages and decided this could be fun. This EP was released on CD by Polish extreme metal label Hellthrasher Productions in 2012. War Possession themselves date back to 2008, when they released their initial demo, though the individuals featured have been playing and continue to play in other bands, of a similar extreme ilk. Following this EP, they released a split with fellow Athens death-metallers Respawn The Plague, with whom they share a member.

Tracklisting:-

1. In The Shadow Of The Ancient Gods
2. Medieval Bloodlust
3. World War Domination
4. A Taste Of Things To Come (Chaos Awaits)
5. Deathmarch (outro)

War Possession slay! Old-school death metal full of Scandinavian flair and Greek brutality. A clash of strains you might think, but it works perfectly. They clearly don’t care for the slick US sound of now, instead content for EP opener In The Shadow Of The Ancient Gods to sound as if it was written by Nihilist themselves. Those guttural vocals and low tuning show how serious War Possession are about their death, while the subtle melodic leads keep you hooked.

I love how raw they sound on Medieval Bloodlust. The blastbeats that greet you are intense but the natural way in which they’re played is endearing. There’s no trigger use going on here! The song itself is a six-plus minute slog through mid-paced death, straight from the killing fields. When they slow the riffs down to an almost sludge-like crawl, it’s like something out of your recurring nightmares.

WP deservedly have a few seconds extra to rest before the slow dirge of World War Domination starts. What starts off slow though, becomes anything but. WP thrash and flair through five and a half minutes. Lead-guitar treble has a fist-fight with rumbling bass, while the kick drums march on unhindered alongside those now characteristically low growls. 

A Taste Of Things To Come (Chaos Awaits) sounds more like black-thrash at first, which is no surprise really. It’s dark and murky, much like War Possession. It’s also angular, in the riffs anyway! WP make it more punchy and urgent, electing to play faster. They still throw in some shorter mid-paced transitions but when these are replaced with speed and technicality, it’s pretty damn impressive.

Through The Ages ends with Deathmarch, a horrifying and haunting outro. It caps off a terrific EP that’s full of real promise. The production works just right and the musicianship is spot-on for the corner of the genre that War Possession frequents. Greece may still be reeling from the recession, but it can still produce brilliant extreme bands.

You can stream Through The Ages via Hellthrasher Productions here:-




CD copies (that come with digital downloads) can be purchased via the above page.

War Possession Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/War-Possession
Hellthrasher Productions Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hellthrasher.prod