by Greg Prato

Although death metal is a style quite familiar to metalheads worldwide circa the early 21st century, during its early days in the late '80s/early '90s it was a genre still finding an audience and fighting for respect. An early supporter of this style was New York's Immolation, whose debut release, Dawn of Possession, was issued in 1991 via Roadrunner (back when the label was not yet the global powerhouse it is today). Out of print for several years, 2006 saw the ten-track album reissued via the Metal Mind Productions label. Although it will never go down in metal history as a landmark album à la Master of Puppets or Reign in Blood, Dawn of Possession does show a band mastering a style that would eventually become quite commonplace in metal (growled vocals, computer-precision riffing and drumming, etc.). And the song titles certainly follow the "death metal" guidelines -- especially "Into Everlasting Fire," "Internal Decadence," "Burial Ground," etc. Looking back on it years later, Dawn of Possession was certainly a notable release in what would eventually be known as the "extreme metal" style.