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Venom - Metal Black


*
=Staff's pick

Antechrist*
Burn In Hell
House Of Pain
Death & Dying
Rege Satanas*
Darkest Realm
A Good Day To Die
Assassin
Lucifer Rising
Blessed Dead
Hours Of Darkness
Sleep When I'm Dead
Maleficarvm*
Metal Black*


Genre Thrash Metal
Cronos
Vocals
Tracks 14
Mykus
Guitar
Runningtime 58 Min.
-
Guitar
Label Sanctuary Records
Cronos
Bass
Release 27 March 2006
Antton
Drums
Country England
-
Keyboards
Similar artists Sodom, Motörhead, Bulldozer

The prime evil resurrection of the sons of Satan is upon us with the return of the antechrist. For nearly three decades Venom have been bursting out like a parasite from hell and back. The sleep when I'm dead attitude and live like an angel, die like a devil metal of Cronos and his legions has inspired countless Bathory incessant metal maniacs. With the onslaught of Black Metal in 1982, Venom became the most extreme metal band ever. According to Tom Angelripper, "...After hearing Venom, Motörhead were no longer the heaviest band on the planet!" Venom devised the term "Black Metal"; thereby inverting an entire genre which would involuntarily become enslaved by their feign and vain satanic guise. Chuck Shuldiner experienced his own spiritual healing and formed Death after hearing Venom; meanwhile Slayer themselves were militant militates just south of heaven where hell awaits.

In reality, Venom were just punks from industrial England who listened to Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Judas Priest. They originated in 1978 as Oberon, then Guillotine,and later decided to call themselves Venom. Conrad "Cronos" Lant played bass at an infuriated pace, Jeff "Mantas" Dunn played grinding guitar, and Tony "Abbadon" Bray played dreary drums. Essentially this cult legend were inexorable hooligans with a insufferable alcoholic pendulosity. The so-called satanic manifesto was just a recusant ruse endorsed to shock and awe their folowers, and incite the authoritarians. They were like a bastardized clone of Kiss writing about everything evil, although, they had their share of sick sex songs as well. The speed and intensity this band played was unlike any other NWOBHM around. They invented extreme thrash metal compelling underground bands like Sodom, Bulldozer, and their ilk to persevere with 1000 days of sodomy & lust, enduring an outbreak of evil on the day of wrath.

Now nearly 30 years later Venom have redounded with their latest sacrifice - Metal Black. Last year Venom dependents capitulated with bloodlust for their box set MMV. All die-hard fanatics scrimped and scruffled to obtain those recently remastered classic CDs surfeit with bonus trax. The cognomen Metal Black is a bane atonement alluding to the inverse of their leviathan - Black Metal. This time around, though, only Cronos remains as an original member. He is joined by his brother Antony "Antton" Lant who performed like a control freak on the Resurrection CD. On guitar is newcomer metalpunk Mike "Mykus" Hicky who played guitar while under the spell on the Venom CD - Calm Before the Storm and on Cronos' solo projects. With only Cronos at the helm, many critics were dismayed that Metal Black would be a detriment to the rege satanas of Venom. With a wing and a prayer, this is never the case on this powerdive. Suffer not the children, for Venom are indeed too loud for the crowd! The running time alone is the equivalent of two complete Venom releases. Venom provide the listener with a veritable banquet of comensated, comestible meat and metal.

It's been almost six years since Resurrection. This was a well-produced CD with some real burners on it. It was such an improvement over Cast in Stone with it semi-industrial tendencies. Cronos wrote some wickedly irascible and angry text and Mantas played contentiously killer guitar. On Metal Black there are two impulsive nuances . There is another line-up rotation introducing "Mykus" as a rookie guitarist, and there is the deliberate abominable production. The production is so muddy and thick, that it must be intentional. Venom wanted to return to their roots, and the inchoate engineering definitely resigns me to my juvenescence when I'd tolerated hiss and feedback on my original Venom tapes. This does not mean that the songwriting loses momentum. The songs are well-written with at least one ear-splitting guitar solo on every track. The drumming is genuine genocide, without ever bordering on the blast beat. Venom will never be black metal.

Some stand-out track like Antechrist, Maleficarum, and the title track Metal Black sound as if they could have verily been written two decades ago. Other cuts like House of Pain and Death & Dying are more mid-paced with a crushing riff driving the pace. Cronos's vocals are deep and gruff as usual, yet still easliy understood. His purposeful articulations never digress. Assassin sounds like he is muttering the words ...house of sin. Cathodes like Hours of Darkness and Blessed Dead reverberate Cronos' callow drawl which is his unique signature sound. Death Metal is ill-begotten from Venom's angel dust; yet, in the war against Christ, the serpent-tongued ones will never be true death metal either. To quote Cronos, "We come alive at the dawn of the night, we're raising hell and you know that it's right,...hear me calling - join the pack...raised in hellfire - Metal Black. This ain't no music for lighthearted folk, we tell it straight to the rich and the broke, we're long-haired punks, and we don't give a care, we turn the mayhem up, join if you dare.".

After all these years, Venom who set the precedent for thrash, death, and black, are placated by playing metal maelstrom with a parseltongue passion for everything contraversial. They are the imperfect braid of masterminds Motorhead, juxtaposed Judas Priest, and brooding Black Sabbath. These wanton warheads are wardens of hell. "Omnia res malificarum sub solaris" is the forsworn formula for those in league with Satan. Welcome to hell and the house of pain in the darkest realm, prostrate the possessed poseur before the insane assassin, for today is a good day to die in the temple of ice. The witching hour is nigh when it's calm before the storm presaging Lucifer's rising in the hour of darkness; prepare to burn in hell and lay down your souls before the gods rock 'n roll - metal ten fold through the deadly black hole!

See also review of: Hell

Production
Vocals
Compositions

7

7

8

 
Summary



7,5 chalices of 10 - Michael the MettleAngel

Related links:

www.venomslegions.com