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Thursday, August 24, 2006
Venom-Black Metal, 1982
I normally don't commit to reviewing too many albums without having a good idea what I thought of it beforehand. However, I had not listened to this album in years and wanted to review it. Venom were about my favorite band around 87-88 and I listened to them almost daily. I only have Black Metal on vinyl so I gave it a listen. I am stubborn at times and hate to admit when I am wrong, but Venom just have not aged too well. The playing is sloppy at times and the songs seem to go on longer than they really are due to the fact that there is not always enough going on. I think this is due to lack of talent as a song like "Buried Alive" starts out strong with a very basic, but solid heavy churning but it goes on too long revealing the cracks in the band's playing abilities. I really don't think these guys knew a whole lot about playing their instruments for several albums and by the time they learned to play their music was old. However, there are moments when the music hits with speed and heaviness that were not being done by anyone else at the time except maybe Motorhead and Raven. I think Venom's heavy distortion added an element of heaviness that only they had at this point. I also still like Cronos' vocals overall. Not a lot of range, but a lot of confidence and he doesn't hold back at all. The title track, Countess Bathory and Don't burn the witch still hold pretty well because they keep it simple enough and just go straight ahead. A lot of the other tracks just didn't hold up well enough or not as well as I had hoped. They have some real energy at times, but it's not enough to sustain every track. Venom were an early influence on bands like Metallica, Slayer, Hellhammer (Celtic Frost) and Bathory. Yet bands like Slayer and Metallica quickly passed these guys up because they had the ability and the desire to progress. Venom came out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and I think they have earned a spot as a major influence at one point. They may have been as important of an influence as say Saxon or Raven, but I don't think that their albums have aged as well as either of those bands. Hard to admit all of that, but it's true. Venom were one of two bands that I loved at one point, but have not heard in years. So I wanted to check and see if they still held up and if I still liked them as much. I didn't but next week I will take a listen to the other band I wanted to check on. That band is Hanoi Rocks who are way on the other end of the musical spectrum from Venom. So next week I will see how they hold up some 15 years after I was really big on them.
I think that Venom's image and live shows were what gave them noteriety. There were no other overtly evil bands back when they came out. They took everything to the extreme. Their music was secondary to their image.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of few of Venoms later albums. The playing is much more polished, especially on Resurrection. Of course, polishing Venom kind of takes away from them.
Their new album, Metal Black, which is a blatant stab at returning to their roots, isn't bad at all but I haven't felt compelled to listen to it much..actually, I only got through it twice.
Venom are touring the states for the first time in years. It will probably be a fun show but between Maiden and Celtic Frost, I think I have enough shows to see this year.
I agree 100%. Some of Venom's material is good, and especially if you consider the time period. However, it does not stand the test of time. Compare "Balck Metal" to "The Number of the BEast" or "Screaming For Vengence", both from 1982. It is obvious who had the goods and who did not.
ReplyDeleteFred- I think there is still some life in the first three releases. I never got into their Possessed album. I think Prime Evil was where they started to sound like they knew how to play some, but that was like 1990 so they were kind of forgotten by that time. I actually have a fairly good collection of their stuff on vinyl including some singles and picture discs.
ReplyDeleteBen-I am surprised considering where you are from that you have not heard fo them. Their first album was 1981, but they didn't sign to an American label until 1984 or 85. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Exodus all opened for these guys early on believe it or not.
T-bone- I agree. Even listening to Metallica's Kill 'em all and Slayer's show no mercy you can hear the difference. Those two albums came out just a year after Black Metal but they passed up Venom very quickly. I remember having a vhs tape called the Ultimate Revenge Tour which showed clips of Exodus, Slayer and Venom from that tour in 1985. Even though Venom were the headliner it was obvious that they were getting blown out by both openers.
ReplyDeletePrime Evil was a good album. A bit of a change but it was still a good metal album. They put out an album called Temple of Ice (?) after that but I could never find it in the states.
ReplyDeleteI do think the first three albums have merit. If anything, they are fun.
I'm with you, Fred. I remember when Mark was so into Venom and I refused to listen to them because I thought they were dreck and was a bit put off by the satanism. I laugh at it now, because Venom are the Spinal Tap of black metal and I failed to see the joke of it all until a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was sent Metal Black to review, I laughed myself silly at those lyrics, but had to acknowledge that the new players in the band gave a sense of craft to Venom that never existed before.
If anyone cares to read it, my review of Metal Black is posted at www.live4metal.com.
Ironically, I still love the Demolition Man redo of Prime Evil, given to me as a present by none other than Mark.
it stands the test of time if you watch them live. last month in a great concert in helsinki, the guitar died before they launched into 'countess bathory', so cronos roaringly suggested that 'we do this one just with bassssss.' and he did.
ReplyDeleteit was one of the heaviest things i've ever heard on stage.