Venom

The following article was originally written in 1985 and has been slightly updated:

THE ‘DEMON’ METAL BAND VENOM have roamed the Earth and ruled the Metal Kingdom for nigh on 33 years now. Abaddon, Cronos and Mantas had been together for most of the group’s period together with only one major change in all that time – the arrival and departure of a fourth member. The made a name for themselves as the loudest, fastest and heaviest group of all time, dethroning the kings of the metal world, Motörhead, by more than 10,000 decibels.

As of this writing they had three albums (Welcome to Hell, Black Metal and At War with Satan, along with three EPs (Acid Queen, Warhead and a collaboration with fellow thrashers Warfare. A fourth LP, Possessed was imminent at the time.

In addition to the albums, four singles were also unleashed upon the world. In League with Satan, Bloodlust, Die Hard and a different version of Warhead all sold well wherever they could be found.

Satan’s appearance in metaldom is not a new theme, having begun with legendary groups Black Sabbath and rumours that Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin dabbled in the dark arts in the 1970s, and even The Beatles were at one time rumoured to have been ‘in league’ in the late 1960s. Now, groups like Venom, Mercyful Fate and Slayer, among others, have offered a more direct approach and much more powerful sound.

Cronos, the lyric-master, takes what he knows and blends it with his imagination to arrive, with Mantas’s musical mastery, at a solid, dark wall of bone-shattering, soul-crushing power guaranteed to wake the dead.

The At War with Satan album was a relatively new concept for the group. In actuality, the album really began with the last song on 1983's offering, Black Metal. The last cut on side two is really the intro to the entire first side of At War with Satan and tells the story of fallen angel Lucifer and his descent into the nether regions of Hell, the recruiting of his disciples and the hypothetical situation of what would happen should the Dark Prince of Evil and his minions happen to regain the now forbidden Esteemed Heights. Should they succeed, so goes the tale, all that would stand between Satan’s ultimate victory and the Salvation of the race of Man would be Venom and the power of metal might.

Venom released a two-song ‘live’ video in 1983 in an attempt to demonstrate to the world what they are capable of in a concert setting. It showed in most parts of Europe, America, Japan and Australia but not in their home country of England.

Their first-ever concert appearance was in Poperinge, Belgium in June of 1982, along with the bands Picture and Acid, then next mounted an offensive on these shores, doing two shows at the Palladium in New York with then-fledgling thrashmasters Metallica. Their American crusade brought a not-exactly-good showing for the group, as the first show became a total disaster. The lighting was highly inadequate, the air conditioning was non-existent (making it seem truly like they were playing in Hell), and their first pyrotechnic explosion blew all of the special effects fuses resulting in the band not having any effects for the duration of their ordeal. Power losses also caused problems with the amps and, altogether, the group felt they had let down their trusty following. They later discovered, however, to their amazement, that the fans weren’t too disgruntled by the whole thing. They had come to see Venom, their heroes, and they saw the band and enjoyed it, all problems aside.

The second night, however, was completely different, as the group cam prepared for almost any mechanical or technical emergency that might arise. They supplied their own generators to ensure enough power for everything they needed to bring down the house – which is exactly what they did. It should be mentioned at this juncture that Venom didn’t bother with such tripe as flash pots and cheap smoke generators. They used real dynamite in their shows and, on this night, an overzealous crewmember spiked the punch, so to speak, just a touch too much, which resulted in a huge crater in the centre of the stage, which in turn resulted in no encore for the band.

Upon leaving America they were scheduled to headline the fabled Metal Massacre Festival, the revered Aardshokday at Den Bosch, Holland, playing with the likes of Mercyful Fate, Trance, Raven and Vandenberg, amongst others, but the fates weren’t pulling any punches on this tour for the band. Due to unforeseen customs problems in America, the group’s equipment didn’t make it to the concert site in time and Venom weren’t able to play, though they did make an appearance as a consolation. The German group Accept headlined the show in Venom’s place.

As is usually the case, Venom was slow in picking up support in their native country, but they set up a world tour that would take them back to Holland, as well as Belgium, Germany, Britain, Italy, Scandinavia, Japan, back to America and to Australia. Take care World – the ‘Warhead’ is on the loose and it may come after you!