Venom (band): Difference between revisions

Venom
Venom
	File:Venom2005.jpg
Background information
Years active	1979 – present
Members	Antton ; Cronos ; Mykvs

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Revision as of 05:13, 24 January 2006

Venom is a Black Metal band, formed in 1979, in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Venom were a big influence to early death, black, and thrash metal bands at the time, and are pioneers of the genre of black metal. Mayhem, Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, Hellhammer and Morbid Angel cite Venom as a major influence. Though musically they are more closely related to early thrash metal and hardcore, it was their lyrical topics and harsher vocals which separated them from other bands at the time (usually dealing with Satan and Hell and other "black" topics). Their first two records, Welcome To Hell in 1981 and Black Metal in 1982, set the bar for black metal to follow. The original members were: Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon.

Biography

Venom was formed when the band Guillotine renamed themselves in 1979. Originally, they featured Jeffrey Dunn on guitar, Dave Blackman on vocals, Dave Rutherford on second guitar, Dean Hewitt on bass guitar, and Chris Mercaters on drums. Later that year, Blackman and Mercater were replaced by drummer Tony Bray and vocalist Clive Archer of Oberon. Soon after, Alan Winston replaced Dean Hewitt on bass and Conrad Lant (of Album Garcia) replaced Rutherford on guitar.

A few days before their first show, Venom's bassist Alan Winston left the band, and Conrad Lant was forced to replace him.

In 1980, Venom decided to use satanic references, and the band members renamed themselves. Clive Archer became "Jesus Christe", Conrad Lant became "Cronos", Tony Bray became "Abbadon", and the brilliant Jeffrey Dunn became the legendary "Mantas". That April, the band recorded a three song demo of "Angel Dust", "Raise The Dead", and "Red Light Fever". Soon afterward, 6 more demo tracks were recorded for just £50, with Cronos taking vocal duties on the song "Live Like An Angel". Clive Archer soon left the band, and Venom's lineup was finally somewhat stable.

Venom was signed by Neat Records and debuted in 1981 with the single "In League with Satan" / "Live Like An Angel". Later that year they released Welcome To Hell, which was a remarkable tour de force at the time, when Satan was rarely mentioned. It is also credited as influencing a lot of thrash metal bands, specifically Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. It pushed the boundaries of thrash metal to the extremes from the get go, and the beginnings of a new genre were starting to emerge.

Their second album, Black Metal (1982) is often cited as important in the development of black metal and death metal. Many elements of these genres are found in the lyrics and even the song titles. Also in the brilliant guitar solos performed by Mantas.

While many fans and musicians see Venom as an important band, others disagree. In his Black Flag tour diary, singer Henry Rollins wrote about a 1986 performance when Black Flag opened for Venom. He opines that Venom were "Weak" and that "the guitar player was so bad it was painful" and "They were hilarious. It was like seeing Spinal Tap ... I expected them to go into "Sex Farm Woman" at any second."

As Godfathers of black metal, when asked about the actions of the later black metal bands and their church burnings as well as the often times out of hand stage shows; Venom have spoken out against those acts. Stating that these artists are taking the music they make much too seriously. The point was to make controversial music and not to hurt anybody, claiming that what they do is wrong... However this differs from interview to interview.

There has been recent news on www.blabbermouth.net of Venom releasing a new album named "Metal Black", featuring original frontman Cronos along with his brother Antton on drums, which will be released in the spring of 2006. A sample of the first track "AnTe-Christ" can be heard on their main site. The track is a stunning return to old-school Venom form, though sadly lacks the definitive trademark signature sound of Mantas.

Discography

Welcome to Hell (1981)
Black Metal (1982)
At War with Satan (1983)
Possessed (1985)
American Assault EP (1985)
Canadian Assault EP (1985)
French Assault EP (1986)
The Singles 1980-1986 (1986)
Calm Before the Storm (1987)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1987)
Prime Evil (1989)
Tear Your Soul Apart EP (1990)
Acid Queen (1991)
Temples of Ice (1991)
The Book Of Armageddon (Best Of) (1992)
The Waste Lands (1992)
Kissing the Beast (1993)
Skeletons in the Closet (1993)
Old, New, Borrowed and Blue (1994)
Venom ' 96 (1996)
Cast in Stone (1997)
Mantas Returns (1998)
Resurrection (2000)
Metal Black (2006)

Sources

Henry Rollins, Get In The Van, 2.13.61, 1994

External links

Reference

Rockdetector.com: Venom: Rockdetector Biography

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
   status            = Active |
   country           = [[United Kingdom]] |
-  music_genre       = [[Thrash Metal]] [[Black Metal]]
+  music_genre       = [[Thrash Metal]] [[Black Metal]] |
   record_label      = |
   current_members   = Antton </br> Cronos </br> Mykvs |