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| 1979 - Fairly brings a lump to my throat merely recalling that year. It was hack then that I first set pen to paper in the cause of Rock journalism, writing for the Record Mirror (R.I.P.), covering in particular the burgeoning New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene. Ah, what days, when Iron Maiden were raw, savage and overflowing with hormones. When Def Leppard were still regarded as a spelling mistake ... and then one day VENOM came into my life! I recall being on an Inter-City train going North somewhere to cover a Rock Show (the exact details elude Inc) when the name hit me through the pages of the now defunct music weekly Sounds. Metal guru Geoff Barton used Hammer Horror onamatopoeic language to envelope the reader in the developing extremity of VENOM. They seemed remarkable, unrelenting, awesome. Cronos (bass/vocals), Mantas (guitar), Abaddon (drums). Names drawn from mythology and demonology, enshrining a musical style that from Barton's brief description, came across as pure savagery. Metal drinking deeply the abyss of noise. I was hooked, I had to hear this unruly mob. I got my first chance through the Neat Records single "In League With Satan" /"Live Like An Angel, Die Like A Devil." The reality more than lived up to the initial publicity. If the Anti-Christ was seeking musical manifestation then he had found the answer in the unswerving insanity of VENOM. The energy was frantic, electric. Cronos' vocals were delivered from the deepest fire pit of Hades. He spat forth impure invective swathed in bile, washed down with an insidious nature that sent shivers of diarrhoeic glee through the sphincter muscle. One could see Rock fans reaching for the rosary beads in search of Godly comfort, as Mantas' guitar sounds came across like extended, dirty fingernails tearing down exposed flesh, as Abaddon's drums acted like your worst hangover crossbred with the new cryogenic pain of the bass lines. It was the beginning of a new era in Metal. Turing 1991 I grew increasingly aware of just how influential VENOM had become. Their debut album "Welcome To Hell", to this day remains arguably the first ever Thrash album, with its crazed speed flagellation raised on the power of pure Metal exposed to the ravages of industrial waste. And the Band's refusal to play live at that point because of the sheer size of their stage show merely added to their legend. VENOM were not so much state-of-the-art as pioneers, taking the genre into the 80's. Indeed, with hindsight it's so easy to see how much Metal owes to this brazen North-eastern trio. The likes of Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth may have become more successful on the commercial level than VENOM, but it was Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon who jumped in the cauldron first and proved to the world that their interpretation of music was more than a match for the traditionalists. I didn't actually meet the band until their third album, "At War With Satan" was put out. By this time I was working for Kerrang! and VENOM had already released their second and perhaps finest album, "Black Metal." The sun proved to be an unyielding taskmaster the day I met the trio at a photographic studio in North London. It was strange to finally come face to face with a band around whom had been built an edifice of intrigue, yet they lived up to expectations. Despite being out in daylight, there was something gloriously, vampirically unnerving about them, with Cronos proving to be particularly uncontrollable as he attempted to catch and eat passing insects! These were the years when VENOM ruled the roost, shocking many faint hearts with their attitude - no one (not even the young Metallica) came close. Turing the proceeding years I have witnessed them undergo many changes, both musical and personality-wise. People still talk in tones of respect about the band, and their name engenders strong imaginings amongst the Metal faithful. It's strange to think that this remarkably inventive and influential band have made it through a decade. It's even more remarkable to think back to an era when they didn't exist, when the musical approach they pioneered wasn't even a glimmer on the horizon. But here we stand in 1991, and from this viewpoint I think it's not unreasonable to suggest that in terms of influence VENOM are arguably among the six most important bands in the history of Heavy Metal music. Without them, we may never have seen the advent of Thrash and its attendant offshoot sub-genres. Without them, Metal may never have dragged itself into contemporary times. That's why I'm so pleased to be able to contribute something to this compilation that celebrates the band's achievements. One final thought, though, sticks in my mind and sums up VENOM's importance. I have to go back to early 1985 when the band played at the Paladium in Los Angeles. The support act that night were a young up-and-coming foursome who, after they'd finished their high speed blur of a set, leapt to the front of the stage to get a good position from which to headbang furiously during VENOM's performance. This group regarded VENOM as their heroes and biggest influence at the time. Their name? Slayer! I think that incident says it all. So, lets fill the chalice with virgin's blood and raise a toast to VENOM, Lords of Chaos, High Priests of The Undead, Emperors Of Thrash, Dukes of Metal. Malcolm Dome |