Venom is another of the original NWOBHM era bands still active today after a somewhat chequered history over the decades. They had (have?) a style all of their own enjoying some success in the early 1980s’s. Perhaps not surprisingly with a moniker such as Venom, their lyrics were not without Satanic leanings and the band members entering in to the spirit (no pun intended) of it all with their stage names/personas – for example Jesus Christ, Mr. Cronos, Tony Abaddon and Jeff Mantas.
The original line-up fell together in the late 1970’s coming from various other bands. Their first recording output was a 1981 single with the same year seeing the release of a debut album entitled Welcome to Hell and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal carried Venom along with it for a while.
The following year saw the release of a second album – Black Metal – which is arguably something of a landmark with some of the major thrash metal acts citing it as an influence on them. The Satanic theme continued with the third album in 1984 – At War With Satan. This was something of a departure from the raw/speed/thrash style of Black Metal moving in to progressive territory particularly with one side of the album taken by the epic title track.
Something of a lull in proceedings followed plus the line-up changes prior to Calm Before The Storm appeared in 1987. However with album sales on the decline and more leavers this was pretty much the end for what would come to be considered as “classic” Demon.
However some semblance of Demon did continue in various forms with many personnel changes and sporadic recording output continuing even to this day (March 2012) with various festival appearances in South America on the agenda.
Venom has such a long history and although I was never a fan it’s still great to see a band with their origins in NWOBHM still doing it over thirty years later. And this blog would not be complete without a few words on the band.
The early classic stuff is all re-mastered and re-issued so you can, if you wish, listen to how a band from the north of England influenced the entire thrash/speed/doom metal scene through albums such as Welcome to Hell and Black Metal. Nice and cheap they are too.
Here’s a paragraph from one Amazon reviewer of Welcome to Hell to whet your appetite.
“Venom almost defy description. A cornerstone of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, but also considered to be a first-generation black metal band, this trio of rowdy Geordies exploded on to the music scene in the early 1980s — and the word ‘exploded’ is used advisedly, bearing in mind their love of extravagant pyrotechnics at their stage shows, which they insisted on headlining.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER AND OTHER VENOM REVIEWS ON AMAZON
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