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Venom (band)

Venom are an English heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on thrash metal and extreme metal in general.[1] Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the early wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.[2][3]

Venom

  • Guillotine (1978)
  • Dwarfstar (1978–1979)

  • 1978–1992
  • 1995–2002
  • 2005–present

History[edit]

Early years (1978–1981)[edit]

The band was formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978.[4][1] The 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 Mercater on drums who replaced Paul Burke, the original drummer when the band was founded. Blackman and Mercater were later also replaced by drummer Anthony Bray and vocalist Clive Archer. Later, Hewitt was replaced by Alan Winston on bass. The band name then changed in 1978 to Venom. In late 1979, Conrad Lant replaced Dave Rutherford. Lant later switched to bass after the departure of Winston. The band members took on new stage names. Archer became "Jesus Christ", Lant "Cronos", Bray "Abaddon", and Dunn "Mantas".


Since the beginning of their career, Venom have often used "Satanic" lyrics and imagery. However, such references were mostly for shock value.[5][6]


In late 1979 Lant introduced the band to his original song ideas as he did not want to keep playing the same cover songs, and with Dunn he began writing new songs for the band. Lant had yet composed songs like "Sons of Satan", "Bloodlust" and "Welcome to Hell", while Dunn had yet composed songs like "Angel Dust", "Red Light Fever", "Buried Alive", "Raise the Dead" and "Live Like an Angel, Die Like a Devil". Dunn and Lant redefined together these songs with a mutual collaboration and then, after a few weeks, Lant recorded a rehearsal session on a basic cassette recorder which he played for the label he worked for, although as the band rehearsed in an old church hall the sound was not good. In April 1980, Lant was able to persuade the label to give him some free studio time and the band recorded a three-song demo. Soon after, six more tracks were recorded for just £50, with Lant taking vocal duties on the song "Live Like an Angel". Archer then left the band, and Venom's line-up became a trio.[7]

Classic line-up (1981–1986)[edit]

Venom's professional 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.


Welcome to Hell was a big influence on future thrash bands. 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. Lant was quoted as saying that this celebration of evil subjects was inspired by the perceived need to out-do musicians like Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath, who would "sing about evil things and dark figures, and then spoil it all by going: 'Oh, no, no, please, God, help me!'"[8]


Their second album, 1982's Black Metal, 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.[1] Many defining elements of these genres are first found in the lyrics and song titles created by Lant, his unique singing style and larger than life presence. Venom's first two albums inspired cult followings to this day. While many of their new wave of British heavy metal peers (like Iron Maiden) had found measures of popular success or critical acclaim, or (like Def Leppard) were moving away from heavy metal towards hard rock, Venom were still regarded by critics as "a trio of buffoons".[9]


In 1984, Venom recorded the At War with Satan album, an epic 20-minute title track, with substantial influences of many different musical styles, which took up the first side of the LP. The title track written by Lant, was a deliberate way for him to rebuff the critics who said Venom could not play. The B-side was focused on the rapid-fire, three-minute "scorchers" Venom were known for, including "Stand Up And Be Counted". A live video, The 7th Date of Hell Venom Live at Hammersmith Odeon, was also released that year. In 1985, Venom released their fourth studio album, Possessed, which was recorded in a stately home, and saw a band enjoying their success with different chefs being flown in every day during the album's recording, lavish parties of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. By this time Venom had released several singles ("Warhead", "Die Hard" and "Manitou" among others) and live EPs (The Assault Series including Canadian Assault, American Assault and French Assault). Cronos and Abaddon appeared on the Combat Tour Live: The Ultimate Revenge video with Slayer and Exodus. Cronos cites the Possessed album as underestimated. "I don't think there's any songs that are kind of overlooked, I just think some songs maybe weren't recorded as well as we could have recorded them. Like say for example on the Possessed album, I still think there are great songs".[10] During March/April 1986, Venom the band seems ready to record the fifth album (then never released), called Deadline, but internal relationships begin to deteriorate. A live album, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and a second live video, Alive in '85, were released in 1986. Dunn then left the band to release a solo album.

Legacy and influence[edit]

Welcome to Hell influenced several later bands.[18] Venom's music helped shape the development of thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth, who in turn were influential. Metallica opened for Venom on an early 1980s tour,[8] Venom opened for Metallica and Slayer on the Ride the Lightning tour, and Slayer played with them and Exodus on the Combat Tour in 1985. Both Kerry King and Tom Araya have cited Venom as an important early influence on Slayer's image and music,[24][25] while Dave Mustaine of Megadeth said he and James Hetfield of Metallica were fans of Venom.[26] Lars Ulrich of Metallica said of Venom's first album: "Welcome To Hell was a classic! Black metal, speed metal, death metal, whatever you want to call it, Venom started it all with that one record!"[27] Mille Petrozza of Kreator stated that Venom was one of his favourite bands early in his career, alongside the "Big Four".[28] Canadian band Voivod covered seven different Venom songs on their early demos.[29][30]


Venom would also be of importance to the black metal scene and the early death metal scene. Swiss band Hellhammer (later to become Celtic Frost) and Norwegian band Mayhem[31] are among the acts influenced by Venom; Quorthon, the frontman of Swedish band Bathory, called Black Metal "one of the best albums ever made" in an interview, although he downplayed Venom's influence on him.[32] Possessed and Repulsion,[33] two bands which went on to influence much of the death metal and grindcore to come, were both influenced by Venom, with Jeff Becerra of Possessed often asserting Venom and Exodus as the two main influences on his band.[34] Music critic Bradley Torreano wrote 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."[6] Henry Rollins once compared the band to Spinal Tap.[35]


Although they did not make it to MTV's top 10 heavy metal bands list, they were given an "honorable mention".[36]


Reflecting on Venom's 40th anniversary, Cronos said that without Venom, bands such as Metallica or Slayer would not exist. He explained, "We were the band that was influenced by Motörhead and the Sex Pistols, but we took their sound and made something completely new out of it. We were completely new; no one had heard anything like us. And of course, unbeknown to us, in America there were these kids who were listening to our records and then shaping what we were doing into their own thing. Slayer would be an example of that. And I agree, without us those bands either wouldn't exist, or would sound very different from the way they do." He also cited the line-up consisting of himself, along with guitarist Stuart "Rage" Dixon and drummer Danny "Danté" Needham as "the best one we've ever had."[22]

List of new wave of British heavy metal bands

Official website

at AllMusic

Venom

Interview with Cronos and Abaddon, 1996

Interview with Abaddon, 1995