Having ridden a wave of growing popularity from their first 3 albums, this 4th release from the band (the last for guitarist Mantas who left in 1986, rejoined in 1989, and left for the final time in 2002) received mixed reviews & had fans split. Many felt it was a regression from an earlier sound, having lacked punch with too much of an emphasis on trance-like atmosphere and a melody that had swapped out aggression and lost its way. The production was criticized for being too dull & not dark enough but defenders of this release have stated their appreciation for the speed/thrash/proto-death exploration as songs about sleaze & evil were still intact and the effort is still listenable. If Possessed missed the mark upon its intentions/expactations, the passage of time has seen it become atleast more admired than initially so as it falls within the classic era of their original unholy trintiy. Happy 35th Anniversary.

50YRS AGO TODAY

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the publication debut of JUGGS magazine (US 1980), although there was a same-named German magazine that premiered in 1978. From 1986-2001, the magazine was helmed by Dian Hanson. An editor since 1977 (and also of LEG SHOW), she was a historian, former nude model, and involved with ADULT CINEMA REVIEW, BIG BUTT, OUI, OUTLAW BIKER and PARTNER. Her introduction of fertility poses, fat stomachs and erotic lactation (all of which she called early prehistoric caveman porn) was meant to represent an honest depiction of real women. When Hanson left, she described her 15yrs as "the epitome of bad taste, humorous, and a sexual sideshow." She went on to become the Sexy Book editor for luxury art book publisher Taschen based in Germany. The final print issue of JUGGS was Aug 2012.


APRIL 1980 ON THE WORLD STAGE
A top-secret attempt by the United States to free American hostages held in Iran's capital, Tehran, has collapsed in failure with the death of 8 soldiers. President Carter announced the disastrous mission in a broadcast to the nation earlier today stating, "I ordered this rescue mission prepared in order to safeguard American lives and protect America's national interests, and to reduce the tensions in the world that have been caused among many nations as this crisis has continued." He took full personal responsibility for the operation and its cancellation, but did not rule out another attempt. His message was the first the American public or the wider world had heard of the mission, although it had been planned since shortly after the US embassy in Iran was seized last November by Islamic militants. They have held 53 US citizens hostage there ever since. The dramatic attempt to free the hostages began when 6 Hercules C130 transport planes set off to rendezvous with a group of 9 helicopters at a remote desert airstrip, southeast of Tehran, but the mission ran into trouble almost as soon as it had started. First, 2 helicopters went down with engine trouble and a third was diverted to help. Then another helicopter was damaged as it landed on the airstrip leaving only 5 workable helicopters to which at this point the mission had become impossible. President Carter ordered the operation to abort and it was then that the disappointing farce became a tragedy. As the aircraft took off again, another helicopter crashed into one of the C130 aircraft and burst into flames, killing 8 soldiers with another 4 men suffering burns. The fiasco alongside the ongoing hostage crisis has marked the lowest point in Carter's presidency. In Tehran there were jubilant scenes as thousands of people celebrated the failure of the mission with Iran's Foreign Minister, Sadeq Qotbzadeh, condemning the rescue effort as "an act of war". In Europe, there was shock and surprise that the mission had taken place without advance consultation of America's allies as EEC (European Economic Community) governments have recently agreed to threaten sanctions against Iran in the hope of preventing the use of force.