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 and Black Metal, are considered major influences on black metal, thrash metal and extreme metal in general. 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 first wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.
History
Early years (1978–1981)
Venom were formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. The original personnel came from three different bands: Guillotine, Oberon and Dwarfstar. The original Guillotine featured Jeff "Mantas" 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. In late 1978, Conrad Lant joined Guillotine replacing 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". The band name then changed in 1979 to Venom when a roady suggested the name change.At the beginning of their career, Venom were playing cover songs of Motörhead and Judas Priest. After Cronos joined, he introduced the subjects of the dark arts, and then often used "Satanic" lyrics and imagery. However, such references were mostly for shock value.
In late 1979, Lant introduced the band to his original artwork designs for the Venom logo and Satanic images, and he later created the artwork and designs used on the Venom record sleeves. He also introduced 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 already composed songs like "Sons of Satan", "Bloodlust" and "Welcome to Hell", while Dunn had begun to compose songs like "Angel Dust", "Red Light Fever", "Buried Alive", "Raise the Dead" and "Live Like an Angel, Die Like a Devil", with Dunn providing the guitar and Cronos writing the lyrics. 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.
Classic line-up (1981–1986)
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 album, 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!'"
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. 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 had found measures of popular success or critical acclaim, or were moving away from heavy metal towards hard rock, Venom were still regarded by critics as "a trio of buffoons".
In 1984, Venom released their third album At War with Satan, featuring 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 and live EPs. That same year, Venom toured with Slayer and Exodus on the Ultimate Revenge Tour.
Cronos believes Possessed to be 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."
During March and April 1986, Venom were supposed to record their fifth album, Deadline, but internal relationships began 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.
Temporary break-up and Tony Dolan era (1987–1995)
Two guitarists, Mike Hickey and Jim Clare, were hired to replace Dunn. Their fifth album, 1987's Calm Before the Storm, moved away from Satanic themes in favour of "sword and sorcery" material. This was a new direction for Venom, although it did not last long, with only a short Japanese and Brazilian tour in 1986, so the band decided to split, and Lant, Clare and Hickey all left to form Lant's solo band, Cronos.Bray was left as the only group member, but he was able to convince Music for Nations for a deal to release a new Venom album on the Under One Flag label, using Deadline demo tracks which were recorded with previous line-ups but never released. In 1988, Bray offered a vocals/bass role to Tony Dolan from Atomkraft. Bray and Dolan wrote new material prior to Dunn's rejoining the band along with rhythm guitarist Al Barnes. Together they recorded Prime Evil, Tear Your Soul Apart and Temples of Ice. Barnes then left the band, and Steve White from Atomkraft was hired as his replacement. They released The Waste Lands in 1992, also without success. Music for Nations refused to release any more Venom albums, so Dolan and Dunn quit, effectively disbanding Venom. Bray continued to release compilation and live albums up to 1995. Nonetheless, Dolan, Dunn and Bray continued performing as a trio.
Reunion and new releases (1995–present)
In 1995, Lant, Dunn and Bray reunited the "classic" line-up, beginning by headlining the Waldrock Festival on 24 June 1995. They recorded and self-released the Venom '96 EP with four re-recorded old tracks and one new song, resulting in a record deal with the SPV label. Following this was a live CD/video box set, The Second Coming, composed entirely of songs from their classic era such as "Welcome to Hell", "Countess Bathory", "In Nomine Satanas" and "Black Metal". An album, Cast in Stone, was next released in 1997, split between two discs which was one of all new material and the other with re-recordings of popular early-1980s songs.By 1999, internal conflicts in the band delayed production of the second album in their deal with SPV. Band manager Eric Cook and Abaddon decided not to work with Cronos again. Abaddon wrote a letter to Cronos, with the intent of firing him. In response, Cronos communicated the situation to SPV. The record company refused to work with Venom if Cronos was not part of the line-up. Cronos answered Abaddon telling him: "You can't kick the Devil out of hell, I'm firing you!" Despite this, the band tried to invite Abaddon to play with them again but Bray did not want to perform on the album and he was replaced by Conrad Lant's younger brother, Anton. This line-up released Resurrection in 2000 on SPV. However, in 2002 Dunn was next to leave the group and Lant replaced him with an American guitarist, Mike Hickey, who had already taken part in the 1987 release, "Calm Before the Storm," and Cronos solo albums. In late 2005, Venom released a career-spanning four-disc box set, MMV, which includes an exclusive mini-poster of the band's seven-date tour of Europe with Metallica and a 60-page picture book, with interviews and pictures. The set includes all their best-known songs, along with rarities like live tracks, demos and outtakes. This line-up of the band released the Metal Black album in 2006.
In 2007, Mike Hickey left the band and guitarist Stuart "Rage" Dixon joined the band and this line-up released the record Hell the following year. In 2009, drummer Danny "Dante" Needham joined the band and Lant wrote that this will be known as "The Epic Line-Up of Venom", and they set off on a full South American tour. After headlining festivals around the world for the next couple of years gaining in popularity, they released the Fallen Angels album on 28 November 2011.
Venom released their fourteenth studio album, From the Very Depths, on 27 January 2015. The band also played one song, "Rise", they were working on in the studio, live for the audience at Rockfest 2014.
Venom released a three-track EP, 100 Miles to Hell, on 22 December 2017. Their fifteenth album, Storm the Gates, was released on 14 December 2018.