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If you don't examine this CD closely you might easily come to the conclusion that it is some sort of Satanic band. From the pentagram on the back, to the tattered angel on the front (symbolizing a demon), to the album title "Eternally Haunt", to the wicked sounding intro "Opening a Doorway into the Occult", to the upside-down cross in the band's name on the back cover. Possession is forcing listeners to dig deeper or else jump to wrong conclusions. This CD was released in late 1995 and sparked a lot of controversy mostly due to some people doing exactly what you were not suppossed to do...jump to conclusions. Despite the imagery and the sound, this band is totally against what the "outside" would have you to believe. The album opens with "Opening a Doorway into the Occult". This is one scary opener! It's an excerpt from the Toronto Blessing and it sounds like nothing but evil. Doing what they claim as "in the name of the Lord", it sounds more like the people in this intro are possesed by demons themselves. "Beyond the Grave" rips in next at lightening speed. Possession plays death metal, but it's not your everyday death metal. They mix in thrash, black, and glam metal! Yes, you heard me right. One minute the growling is intense and frightening and the next minute the big-hair, spandex guy is singing right alongside him. Weird combination, but it works very well...trust me. One thing this band possesses (no pun intended) that most Christian bands lack is an attitude. These guys sound downright mean and nasty. The vocals here are harsh and wicked sounding. They also lay down some mighty fine tunes. They can play so fast it will leave you head spinning. There are heavy as heck guitars with also some great solos and acoustic parts that add variety. The only complaint musically would be the occasional "chinginess" of the cymbals. The drummer is just wailing away and he's knocking the heck out of the cymbals and the treble just gets to be way too much and I have to turn it down. But don't get me wrong...the sound on the album is very full and powerful, just has a few annoying parts. Don't let this scare you away though cause this album just totally rocks!
The lyrics deal with the evils of Satanism and demon possession. The demons are cast out only to return to a soul that has yet to invite Christ inside. The last song shows that "Rebirth" takes place. Here are a couple good lyric examples. In the song "Sounds of Sorrow" - "You don't believe Hades/damnation for the wicked/you're waiting for your grave/you destiny/Won't you be surprised/damnation/your fate arrives/I promise you/you will believe/you will believe!" Then in "Rebirth" - "At war with Satan and the Beast/we'll desecrate his name/tell the truth to all the nations/minimize his gain/until we see him burn in hell/and pay for what he's done..." Powerful stuff! My favorite songs here are "Beyond the Grave", "Sounds of Sorrow", "Legion", and "Steel Jaws of Fate".
All in all, I absolutley love this album. Tons of variety and tons of great music. This was an independantly released album and the band has since broke up, so you may have a hard time finding it. But it is definitely worth getting if you like quality extreme music. (Review by Matt)
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