Something dark and foreboding, via Newcastle Upon Tyne, this way comes. Venom, the ultimate in bombastic evil British metal, are rising from the burning pits of Hell to bring a dose of malevolent mayhem to this year’s Record Store Day celebrations.
Originally released in 1984, on April 13thBMG Records will reissue a special Record Store Day edition of Venom’s fabled ‘Manitou’ single, reproduced in its original shaped picture disc format, featuring the now iconic ‘satanic goat head’ imagery that had previously adorned their hugely-influential ‘Black Metal’ album, released two years previously in 1982.
Musically, ‘Manitou’ was another brave forward-step for the band and followed their ‘At WarWith Satan’ album – a concept piece that saw them break away from the brash three-minute assaults of their earlier material and silenced many of the critics who claimed that Venom weren’t technically proficient. ‘Manitou’ is a sinister, tribal four-minute and forty-two second battering of the senses that finds frontman Cronos chanting the songs apocalyptic lyrics over pounding drums, before the band come crashing in for the devastatingly heavy chorus.
The flipside ‘Woman’ is a more traditionally sounding Venom song, hitting the listener like a runaway truck in the bands often imitated style.
Venom formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. 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 a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Venom‘s second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the extreme metal subgenre of black metal. The band classic line-up trio of Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon recorded two further studio albums ‘At War With Satan’ (1984) and ‘Possessed’ (1985) and live album ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ (1986). Often cited by bands such as Metallica, Behemoth, Celtic Frost and Mayhem as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation. Venom are still fronted by original singer/bassist Cronos and headline festivals all over the globe and continue to release new music.
Watch this space for further big news from Venom, coming next week…