The British heavy metal scene has produced dozens of well-known bands that have greatly influenced heavy music. The Venom group took one of the leading positions in this list.
Bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin became icons of the 1970s, releasing one masterpiece after another. But towards the end of the decade, the music became more aggressive, leading to more extreme strands of heavy metal.
Bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motӧrhead and Venom became adherents of the new genre.
Band biography
Venom is one of the most influential bands that has influenced several genres of music at once. Despite the fact that the musicians were representatives of the British school of heavy metal, their music became popular in America, giving rise to a new genre.
The band made the transition from classic heavy metal to thrash metal, combining incredible drive, raw sound and provocative lyrics.
Venom is considered to be one of the main band that gave rise to black metal. Over the years of its existence, the group managed to experiment with several genres at once. This did not always end in success.
The Early Years of Venom
Formed in 1979, the original lineup consisted of Geoffrey Dunn, Dave Rutherford (guitars), Dean Hewitt (bass), Dave Blackman (vocals) and Chris Mercater (drums). However, in this format, the group did not last long.
Very soon there were rearrangements, as a result of which Conrad Lant (Kronos) joined the team. He was destined to become one of the leaders of the group. He was a vocalist and bass player.
In the same year, the name Venom appeared, which was liked by all members of the team. The musicians were guided by such groups as Motӧrhead, Judas Priest, Kiss and Black Sabbath.
To avoid repetitiveness, the musicians began to devote their work to the theme of Satanism, which led to numerous scandals. Thus, they became the first musicians to use satanic lyrics and symbolism in music.
The musicians were not adherents of this ideology, using it only as part of the image.
This gave its results, since a year later they started talking about the creative activities of the Venom group.
The peak of the popularity of the group Venom
The band's debut album was released already in 1980, becoming a sensation in the world of "heavy" music. In the opinion of many, the Welcome to Hell record was not of high quality material.
Despite this, the music of Venom was very different from the work of his contemporaries. The uptempo guitar riffs on the album were faster and more aggressive than other metal bands in the early part of the decade. The satanic lyrics and the pentagram on the cover were a great addition to the band's musical side.
In 1982, the release of the second Black Metal album took place. As you can guess from the name, it was this disc that gave the name to the musical genre.
The album also influenced the development of American school thrash and death metal. It was on the work of the Venom group that groups such as Slayer, AnthraxMorbid Angel, Grave, Metallica и Megadeth.
Despite the success with the listeners, music critics refused to take the activities of the Venom group seriously, calling them the three clowns. To prove their worth, the musicians began work on the third album, released in 1984.
The album At War with Satan opened with a 20-minute composition in which elements of progressive rock are heard. "Classic" for the creativity of the group Venom straightforward tracks occupied only the second half of the disc.
In 1985, the album Possessed was released, which was not a commercial success. It was after this "failure" that the group began to fall apart.
Line-up changes
First, the composition left Dunn, who played in the group from the moment of creation. The group released their fifth studio album without an ideological leader. The Calm Before the Storm compilation was even less successful than Possessed.
In it, the group abandoned the satanic theme, turning to the work of Tolkien's fairy tales. Shortly after the "failure", Lant left the band, leaving Venom in dark times.
The group continued to exist for several more years. However, all subsequent releases were not associated with the early work of the band. Experiments with genres led to the final disintegration of the group.
Reunion in the classic line-up
The reunion of Lanta, Dunn and Bray did not take place until the mid-1990s. Having played a joint concert, the musicians started recording new material included in the Cast in Stone album.
Although the sound on the album was "cleaner" than the band's first records, it was a return to the roots that Venom "fans" all over the planet have been waiting for.
In the future, the team focused on satanic themes, implemented in the genre of thrash / speed metal.
Venom band now
The group continues to hold a cult status. The musicians played raw and aggressive old-school thrash metal that appealed to millions of listeners around the planet.
In 2018, Venom released their latest album, Storm The Gates, which received positive reviews from critics. The "fans" received the record warmly, which contributed to excellent sales and a long concert tour.
At the moment, the group continues to conduct active creative activity.
