Every fortnight, we check in with all things heavy on RTRFM’s Critical Mass show.
The impact that Venom made from their inception is undeniably huge. Bequeathing the “black metal” genre its name and image (pseudonyms, satanic imagery etc), they have carved a legacy that few will reach. Whilst NWOBHM cohorts Iron Maiden and Judas Priest made amazing music, they were the “lovable rogues” that would probably buy you a beer at the pub. Venom on the other hand were always a bit more sinister with their sloppy, hard-edged Motörhead/punk/rock/metal influencing everyone from Metallica to The Melvins (plus the entire black metal genre). Ironically, despite their Satanic lyrics and imagery, Venom were just a bunch of blokes that would buy you a beer.
From their formation til their first hiatus in 93, Venom have had a fairly inconsistent run. The first three albums are stone cold classics, but a constant rotation of members (all three core member of the band have at one point left the band) and attempts to remain relevant in a changing musical landscape have detailed them from their glory days.
So in an industry where relevance matters but nostalgia is in, how does the latest Venom album hold up?
After a fairly pointless intro (that really should have been tacked onto the start of a track and not wasting a CD number) “From The Very Depths” kicks off with an awesome guitar sound and a catchy chorus, the whole track kinda reminds me of a heavier version of “Bark At The Moon”.
The whole album is produced well with a fat guitar and bass tone reminiscent of 90s heroes Prong. There’s a few fillers here and there, there’s nothing wrong with the track “Smoke” (for example) but the riff is incredibly generic and played out.
“Long Haired Punks” however is an anthem for the ages and could easily slot in on any of the bands first three albums. Not bad, not essential. Venom are still relevant.
Critical Mass airs every Wednesday from 9PM (GMT+8) on RTR FM 92.1 in Perth, Australia.
