Brian Montana, a former guitarist with Californian death metal pioneers Possessed has been shot dead by armed police in San Francisco, following an escalation of dispute with a neighbour on April 28. Montana was 60 years old.
Montana played with Possessed in 1983/'84, and played on their 1984 demo cassette Death Metal, from which Metal Blade boss took the song Swing Of The Axe as the opening track of his label's 1985 compilation Metal Massacre VI. The band's classic debut album, Seven Churches, was released by Combat Records later in 1985.
