Possession - 1585-1646

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Although the members of Belgium’s Possession have only been making music together for less than three years, the band already has a knack for presentation. Their upcoming second EP in as many years, 1585-1646 strikes a good balance between clean and filthy production, an approach well-suited to their song-and-storytelling driven blackened death metal. They still sound like the sort of band you might find playing in the corner of a trashy bar, but they don’t shy away from melody or classicism when it suits them. The song “Ablaze” in particular shows some vintage Immortal-style chops. Stream 1585-1646 below, and read a brief interview with vocalist Mestema afterward.

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So 1585-1646 tells the life’s story of a witch. Is this a fictional account, or is this an actual piece of French history?

Well, you know with such “small” history, it’s pretty hard to find sources and when you find some you’re never 100% sure they’re accurate, so that the story we are telling in this mini LP is a mix of some sources we found and which seemed reliable and our own fantasies which helped us filling some gaps if you see what I mean.

That was an interesting period of French history. On the one hand you had the Marquise de Rambouillet trying to make life in paris more civilized with salons–something Crowley also followed the tradition of. Molière was beginning to write his plays. But at the same time, the Spanish Inquisition was still in power. Why talk about this period in history?

Because we found that period as interesting as you do. This is indeed some sort of turning point in the society and for that reason this is a fascinating period. Still we didn’t pick the story we’re telling in the mini LP because it was precisely happening during that period. It’s the story of the witch itself that attracted us.

Virakh (bassist, vocals) has a solo project, and both he and other members of the band were in Dawn of Crucifixion as well. How do those projects factor into Possession?

Only our guitar and bass players were in Dawn of Crucifixion while the drummer and I were playing in another band. I’d say that those two bands never had any proper influence on Possession. Still one can say that those previous experiences helped us know how we wanted Possession to work and what we wanted to avoid at any cost so to speak.

You’ve produced several acclaimed pieces of work—this will be your second EP—but is there any plans for a full length?

I don’t know if we are ready for an album and honestly I don’t really care about releasing an album just for the sake of it. If we’re in the mood for another 7″ or another demo we’ll go for that but we don’t feel the urge to record an album. I’d rather release 10 good EP’s than one dull album I will forever regret.

I particularly like the song “Ablaze,” can you tell me about writing and recording that song?

If I remember correctly this is the last song we finished before going to the studio, which makes sense considering this is the last song of the mini LP. There is nothing special to mention about the writing process but I can tell you that the lyrics of this track and the way I “place” them on the music changed a bit in the studio as I was not fully satisfied by the demo version we recorded in the rehearsal room.

Finally, it seems like all my favorite beers come from Belgium. Can you recommend a Belgian beer that Invisible Oranges readers should try?

I usually never answer questions which have nothing to do with the band but I will do it this time because the beer I am about to recommend you is pretty special to me and a lot of people in Belgium. So if you’ve never tried it, you should try Rochefort 10.

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1585-1646 is out on June 6 via Iron Bonehead Productions/Invictus Productions. Follow Possession on Facebook.

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