Venom: history and discography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

British metal band Venom from New Castle, perhaps, belongs to the type of bands that have gained worldwide popularity only in a very narrow circle of fans of heavy music. It is not surprising, because what the band plays is simply far from understanding and perception for some listeners. Nevertheless, it was the Venom group that had the greatest influence on the further development of the entire heavy scene, and, in particular, was the creator of the black-metal style. So their work is worth considering a little more.

Venom Band

So, what is such an incomprehensible team like Venom at first glance, and why is it so wildly popular with a large audience of fans?

First of all, they pioneered speed and thrash-metal. Secondly, they had a very strong influence even on such world-famous bands as Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament, Exodus, Sepultura, Mayhem, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Hellhammer, etc. Thirdly, it was the Venom group that was one of the first to switch to the use of satanicdirections in their texts, although, according to the musicians themselves, they themselves are not fans of Satanism. Apparently, this is just a well-orchestrated commercial move, which, incidentally, was later adopted by members of Slayer and some others.

How did it all start?

And it all started in the late 70s, when the heavy metal style was just gaining momentum. According to many researchers of the team's creativity, the most direct influence on the group was made by the giants of "hard and heavy", Motorhead, led by their permanent leader and frontman named Lemmy Killmister. But in the text part, there is even a certain resemblance to the early Black Sabbath with their pronounced penchant for the occult.

Indeed, the notes of high-speed hard rock can be traced in the early works of Venom very clearly. And the proof of this was the debut album called Welcome To Hell, released in 1981 (before that the group was called Oberon). The first line-up included bassist and vocalist Kronos (Conrad Lant), guitarist Mantas (Jeff Dun) and drummer Abbadon (Tony Bray). The pseudonyms of the team members became an integral attribute, and soon the group changed its name to the now known Venom (from English - “venom of animal origin”).

Main genre

The first work, according to many critics, turned out to be quite raw - there was still no zest for which the group would become famous in the future, although almost all the texts were saturated with satanic themes, but the group did not take shocking.

Now a few words about that period of Venom's creativity. The group, whose discography includes more than a dozen studio albums, live recordings, compilations and singles, has always tried to experiment. This became obvious after the release of the second album called Black Metal, which became a classic of the genre and, in fact, gave the name to the new style. Since then, it is believed that it was Venom who stood at its origins.

Discography and creative history

Followed by Venom releases the album At War With Satan, and also does a lot of concert activities and tours.

Unfortunately, several studio works that followed became a failure, and in 1985 Mantas left the band. Session musicians were invited to perform, but Kronos soon left as well. However, Abaddon was not alone for long. Mantas rejoined him, bringing with him a guitarist named Al Barnes and bassist Tony Dolan.

After such a reunion, the album Prime Evil was recorded, according to many, a highly professional work. However, after the Temple Of Ice release in 1991, the line-up changed again: Barnes left, and his place was taken by guitarist Steve White and a keyboardist with the pseudonym VXS, who stayed with the team until 1992, when the LP The Waste Lands was released.

In 1996, a significant event took place - Kronos returned to the group. The album Venom'96 was recorded with him, and a year later the work Cast In was released. Stone and the band went on tour again. This was followed by works such as Resurrection (2000), Metal Black (2006), Hell (2008) and Fallen Angels (2011). Yes, they were quite professional creations, but they could not repeat the success of the classic albums.

True, in 2015, the Venom group again sat in the studio, after which their new work called From The Very Depth saw the light. But this album was received by critics and fans of the team more than favorably. In addition, constant participation in world shows and numerous tours attracted a huge army of new admirers to the team. So it's too early to write off Venom, despite the fact that their career has exceeded 25 years. "Oldies" is still in such shape that many young musicians can envy.

And, without a doubt, over these two and a half decades the team has become, as they say, a legend during its lifetime, leading the army of black metal fans. And this, you see, is a lot.

Instead of afterword

It remains to be added that there were ups and downs in the band's work. The same applies to numerous lineup changes. However, today it is safe to say that the team is supported by both old and new fans, not to mention the fact that it is thanks to Venom that many bands playing in the black metal style and many of its varieties have appeared in the world. But it was Venom of all the forefathers of "heavy metal" who were the first to open the path of "black metal" to the world. Yes, and they have imitatorsquite a lot, but so far no one has managed to fly higher than Venom.