Venom (band)

Venom

Venom are a heavy metal/first wave of black metal band, formed in late 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Coming to prominence towards the end of the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal', Venom have found little mainstream success or critical acclaim, but are widely regarded as highly influential, particularly for their first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982).

The title of Venom's second album would become influential and definitive enough to describe an entire subgenre called black metal, a category under which the band is most commonly referred. The nature of Venom's high-pitch guitars, harsh vocals, use of pseudonyms, and unrelenting emphasis on Satanic lyrics and imagery is considered the template for the subgenre's later successes, and arguably for the broader extreme metal movement in general.

Band history

Early years

Venom's original personnel came from three different bands: Guillotine, Oberon and DwarfStar. The original Guillotine featured Jeffrey Dunn and Dave Rutherford on guitars, Dean Hewitt on bass guitar, Dave Blackman on vocals and Chris Mercaters on drums. Blackman and Mercater were replaced by drummer Anthony Bray and vocalist Clive Archer of 'Oberon' and soon after, Dean Hewitt was replaced by Alan Winston on bass. Around the summer of 1979, Conrad Lant from the bands DwarfStar and Album Graecum replaced Rutherford on guitar.

Basic influences of the band are Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead and Kiss. Other bands cited by Venom as an inspiration are The Who, Deep Purple, Sex Pistols, Van Halen, The Tubes and Rolling Stones.

A few days before a show at a local Church Hall, Venom's bassist Alan Winston left the band. To fill in, Conrad Lant borrowed a bass guitar from Steve Thompson (later to become Venom's first producer) at the studio he worked at (Impulse Studios/Neat Studios). Playing the show with the borrowed bass plugged into his Marshall guitar amp and effects pedals, he created an unnerving racket and the 'Bulldozer Bass' was born.

Venom's lyrics often featured Satanic references, and the band members took on new stage names. Archer became 'Jesus Christ', Lant became 'Mr Cronos', Bray became 'Tony Abbadon', and Dunn became 'Jeff Mantas'.

In April 1980, the band recorded a three song demo, featuring "Angel Dust", "Raise the Dead", and "Red Light Fever". Soon afterward, six more demo tracks were recorded for just £50, with Cronos taking vocal duties on the song "Live Like an Angel". Archer soon left the band, and Venom's line-up was finally a trio.

Welcome to Hell

Venom's recording debut was the 1981 single "In League with Satan"/"Live Like an Angel" which was released by Neat Records. Later that year they released their full-length debut, Welcome To Hell.

Though crudely recorded with sometimes dubious musicianship, Welcome To Hell was still a remarkable tour de force for the era. Venom's music was faster and harsher than most heavy metal contemporaries and while Satanism and other dark topics had been featured in metal before, the subject had rarely been more prominent. Cronos was quoted as saying that this celebration of evil subjects was inspired by musicians like Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath, who would 'sing about evil things and dark figures, then spoil it all by going "Oh God, help me!"'

Black Metal

Their second album, Black Metal (1982) is cited as perhaps the most important influence in the development of black metal, thrash metal, death metal and other related styles that are often grouped under the extreme metal umbrella. Many defining elements of these genres are first found in the lyrics and song titles created by Cronos and his unique singing style as well as the guitar work and solos performed by Mantas.

Critic Ed Rivadavia described Black Metal as the product of 'a trio of visionary village idiots grappling with forces beyond their control (i.e., creative developments so groundbreaking they themselves had little control over its final destination, nor the technical ability to match their vision).' Despite its shortcomings, the album is nonetheless hugely influential.

At War with Satan

Though they would later be cited as important, neither of Venom’s first two albums sold well upon their original release. And while many of their British metal peers had found measures of popular success or critical acclaim (or, like Def Leppard, were moving away from metal towards hard rock), Venom were still widely regarded by critics as “a trio of buffoons,” according to critic Ed Rivadavia

In an attempt to prove their status as serious musicians, Venom recorded At War with Satan in 1983. The epic 20-minute title track, with substantial progressive rock influences, took up the first side of the LP. Critic Rivadavia suggests that the title track was “bloated” and “ill-advised”, but that the B-side of the LP was superior, with a focus on the rapid-fire, three-minute “scorchers” Venom did best.

Later work

Guitarist Mantas left the band after recording Possessed (1985). The follow-up, Calm Before The Storm (1987) moved away from Satanic themes in favor of Tolkienesque “Sword and Sorcery” material.

In late 2005, Venom released a career defining 4-disc box set MMV, which includes an exclusive mini-poster of the band's seven-date tour of Europe with Metallica and a 60 page picture book, with interviews and pictures. The set includes all their best-known songs, along with rarities like live tracks, demos and outtakes.

In March 2006, Venom released their latest album, Metal Black, featuring original frontman Cronos along with his brother Antton on drums, and guitarist Mike Hickey aka Mykvs. The album is a return to Venom's sound in Black Metal, as signified by the name "Metal Black".

As of early 2007, guitarist Mykvs has left the band due to an inability to completely focus on Venom during tours. A new guitarist by the name of Rage has been named as his replacement.

Influence

Critic Ed Rivadavia writes that Welcome To Hell influenced "literally thousands" of bands. Venom's music helped shape the development of many thrash metal bands, specifically the 'big four' of thrash: Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth (Metallica opened for Venom on an early 1980s tour and Slayer played with them on the Combat Tour in 1985).

Rivadavia argues that, somewhat like punk rockers The Ramones, Venom’s mediocre instrumental skills were actually their “secret weapon”, inspiring countless metal fan teenagers to imitate the band.

Venom often used Satanic and other 'evil' themes in their lyrics, but critic Bradley Torreano declared that the band had "their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks", with a sense of humor and irony that was sometimes lost on their fans and other musicians. Torreano adds that Venom "[caught] the attention of both metalheads and punks, the band was emulated by the former and turned into camp icons by the latter."

When asked about the criminal actions or violent behaviour of some later black metal bands (notably, there were a string of arsons and a few murders in the Norwegian black metal community in the 1990s), Venom's members reportedly expressed disapproval, stating the point of Venom is to make controversial music, and "How can you make albums and tour if you are in jail?".

Criticism

While many fans and musicians see Venom as an important band, their music has nonetheless been the subject of debate and criticism. Critic Ed Rivadavia writes that though Welcome To Hell influenced "literally thousands" of bands, Venom were "critically reviled" and comprised of "incompetent musicians." However, critic James Christopher Monger declares that Venom 'grew as musicians' as their career progressed. Ethnographer Keith Khan-Harris argues that Venom's limited technical skills, particularly early in their career, were a profound, though inadvertent factor in Venom's influence: being unable to mimic more technically proficient metal of their predecessors or peers, Venom instead opted to focus on sheer speed, creating a music that was inspired by earlier metal, yet simultaneously blazed new trails.

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 hilarious, with mediocre playing and a stage performance focused on appearances rather than music; Rollins asserted that the musicians used portable fans to keep their hair flowing while on stage. Rollins wrote, "It was like seeing Spinal Tap ... I expected them to go into 'Sex Farm' at any second." Rollins writes that he and some tourmates drew magic marker pentagrams on their hands to flash at Venom and offer “Hail Satan” salutes. For their final number, Venom asked the audience to chant what Rollins thought was “Black Funky Metal”, which briefly made Rollins suspect that he had overlooked Venom's sense of humor, until he realized Venom was actually saying “Black Fucking Metal.” Venom reportedly laughed off Rollins’ comments saying "Henry didn't have the balls to speak to us back then, he hid backstage, but now he mouths off behind our backs. His band were useless and that's why he writes books now. He even got the date of the show wrong. Go write some more books and we'll keep making music."

On the DVD extra material of the documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, bassist/singer Lemmy of Motörhead opines that Venom "fake it" on their instruments, arguing that they are not skilled musicians (later amending the statement somewhat by stating that Venom were "alright"). When interviewer Sam Dunn tells Lemmy that he himself was "blown away" by Venom back when he was twelve, Lemmy responds "Anything will blow you away when you're twelve. A day at the beach will blow you away when you are twelve." Cronos has always spoken highly of other musicians such as Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford and a host of other British bands, in one interview he said, "'head have always had a great response in Newcastle, Geordies really relate to them, Lemmy is a smart bloke and a wicked axeman, true rock n' rollers".

Members

• Conrad "Cronos" Lant - bass guitar and vocals (1979–1987, 1995–present)
• Rage - guitar (2007–present)
• Antony "Antton" Lant - drums (2000–present)

Former Members

• Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn - guitar (1979–1985, 1989–2002)
• Anthony "Abaddon" Bray - drums (1979–1999)
• James Clare - guitar (1987-1988)
• Steve "War Maniac" White - guitar (1992)
• Alastair "Big Al" Barnes - guitar (1989–1991)
• Clive "Jesus Christ" Archer - vocals (1979)
• Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan - vocals, bass guitar (1989–1992)
• Mike "Mykvs" Hickey - guitar (1987-1988, 2005–2007)

Discography

Studio albums and EPs

• Welcome To Hell (1981)
• Black Metal (1982)
• At War With Satan (1983) (Chart Position #64 UK)
• Possessed (1985) (Chart Position #99 UK)
• Calm Before The Storm (1987)
• Prime Evil (1989)
• Temples of Ice (1991)
• The Waste Lands (1992)
• Venom ' 96 (EP) (1996)
• Cast In Stone (1997)
• Resurrection (2000)
• Metal Black (2006)
• Cast In Stone (expanded edition) (2006)

Live albums

• Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1986)

Compilation albums

• The Singles 1980-1986 (1986)
• The Book of Armageddon (Best of) (1992)
• Skeletons In The Closet (1993)

External links

• Venom Legions official website
• Venom at Encyclopaedia Metallum
• Venom Legions Unofficial website