Venom
Biography
A seminal influence on the evolution of thrash and black metal, Venom formed during the late '70s in Newcastle, England. Originally a five-piece group called Oberon, they eventually trimmed their lineup to a trio comprising singer/bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant, guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, and drummer Tony "Abaddon" Bray. Influenced by the heavy intensity of Motörhead and the visual flash of Kiss, the newly rechristened Venom developed a dark, blistering sound which paved the way for the subsequent rise of thrash music; similarly, their macabre, proudly satanic image proved a major inspiration for the legions of black metal bands to appear in their wake, even lending the genre its name with the release of their 1982 sophomore LP, Black Metal. (Their debut, Welcome to Hell, preceded it by a year.)
Venom's third album, At War with Satan, followed in 1983, and two years later they released Possessed. Lineup changes plagued the group in the years to follow, with Mantas exiting in the wake of 1985's live Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; guitarists Matt Hickey and Jimmy Clare were tapped as his replacements, making their debut on 1987's Calm Before the Storm.
Selected Discography
Hell (Explicit)
2008
Kissing The Beast
2003
In League With Satan
2002
Black Metal
2002
Welcome To Hell
2002
Influential, obviously. And more importantly, a TON of fun. Now that I think of it, the main band that resembles these nice cheery folks is Motorhead, which is conveniently listed under "Similar Artists".
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The phrase 'Black Metal' was invited by Venom; hence their album, Black Metal.
Now repeat after me 'Welcome to Hell'<-first album. Keep spreading the Hate!! |
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I personally loved the 'black metal' album and prefer it over any of their other material but I respect the fact that without them there would be no Immortal, Gorgoroth, or Mayhem. True innovators.
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slateM ekaf rof elttes ton oD .hguone doog ton era (s)dnab ruoY dna latem eurT tuoba eno emos llet dluohs uoY !KCAMSDOG tuoba |
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idk what this guy below me is talkin about but ive only heard on song by them and im hooked!!!
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Venom is one of those bands that makes you reminisce about the first time you heard black metal, and then you go and blast something better, like Immortal or Emperor. I mean, they are good proto-black metal, but they never innovated their sound. I know the old adage "If it's not broke, don't fix it" but the Scandinavian s were smart enough to adapt and take risks, Venom seems to not be able to take risks, and that is a tragedy.
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Kraven Gore,
God invinted duck tape for Hypocrite people like you. Satan invinted Venom for Black Metal people like us. Please...... g o be with god!!! |
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At least Slayer, Exodus, Testament and Venom didn't sell out like others did!!! These bands have only gotten better with time, and continue to produce good hardcore thrash metal!! R.I.P Metallica
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i cant listen to this s**t... but enslaved, i havent found a bad song. even on their split with satyricon it was great! antestor (a great "christian black metal band" even though its more doom metal with black metalish vocals) is pretty awesome too.
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Venom's awesome. One of the few bands to be consistent with their sound. The only thing different than the '80s for them is that their sound quality has vastly improved, which is very good.
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I'm sorry, but Venom has not aged well. They sound too 80's black metal, none of the power of Mayhem or Immortal. Also they are British, so they can't rock as hard as the Finns, Sweeds, Norwiegans, or any of the northern nations. They may have started black metal, but the Northeners refined it into a perfect bloodstone.
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All this ranting aside...
Kale... From the bottom of my heart... F**k you. |
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And the fact that you bag on the "shock" aspect of alot of modern musicians is a testament to your stupidity. In the 50's there were people like you that though rock and roll was "extreme" and "shocking".
As with every form of art, there are different methods of expression. You watch horror flicks to get the sensation of fear or anxiety, comedies to laugh your a** off, and documentarie s to feel informed. The same applies to music. |
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Kale, you're a pathetic, stupid a** bible thumper. Alot of extreme metal comes from people just trying to break the mold. So if you wanna listen to the same pre-packaged , mass produced music; more power to ya.
But just know that rigid, narrow, dim people like you inspire these extreme genres in so many ways. If all musicians thought like you, there would be no innovation. We'd all be hearing remakes of Beach Boys songs for an eternity. |
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venom will rip your balls off and feed them to your dog. remember that!
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I like Venom. Like venom I was also formed in the late 70's. So that means... uh... yay Venom!
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god......... hail santa. how many people are going to say hail santa???? santa... thats funny
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hhahahahahah a h a h a h a h a h a h that was thefunniest insult ever!!!!!gre a t . . . hail santa... nice i like it. stryper sucks. venom sounds like a retarded cat with laryngitis slowly dying. so f**k offffff!
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You believe in two thousand year old magical finger miracle virgin births and refer to seminal metal bands as "gay", so you are the idiot(and prejudiced). WWJD? Who cares? Go back to listening to Stryper and pretending you get to be a part of something creative and edgy while maintaing your thirst for the blood of Christ you vampire!!!! And anyone who would think facts would change your opinions deserves to spend eternity with a bunch of Ned Flanders clones just like you. Hail Santa!
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This is where it all began!! Venom is the ultimate Metal band!!
I still have several old albums on Vinal! Are you in League??!!! |
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eh, still think they are s**t. its an opinion, not a fact. you cant give me facts and expect me to change my opinion based on those facts, especially when it comes to musical taste.
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First, we would indeed have metal had Venom and Motorhead not been around, but it would be all Black Sabbath or Judas Priest Style or stuff like that. And god knows Venom aren't s**t today, compared with the current American mainstream at least. And plus, don't you think the first people who heard a band like Cream were all shocked? I know I would have been. It's still pretty excellent music if you ask me.
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there we go. thank you casey. there we can meet some common ground. they are s**t now but not then. lets settle this.
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First, you have to realize by today's standards venom indeed would be s**t. HOWEVER, considering that their first album dropped in 1981, probably before most of you were born, you have to look at the music from that standpoint. In 1981 we the world were still engrossed in disco, but without groundbreaki n g bands such as Motorhead and Venom we wouldn't even have metal today. That I can respect.
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i like good music. i have never found black metal to be appealing to me. ihsahn and emperor were ok. but venom is s**t. bands shouldnt need shock value to sell albums, they should be able to sell them by the caliber of the music, not by how they can shock people. venom, slayer, dimmu, marylin manson and every other band that needs to shock people can blow satans dick.
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come on you guys we all have alittle satan in us dont be stupid ... venom has shock value only to the small minded hipocites , shock value are bands sutch as byle, and stupid marylin manson , but they sold millions , and you probably own oe of there s**t , just dig it and qwit your decipher . venom is da s**t fools die......... . . . . .
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im not saying its not about the shock value. the fact that they need to shock people so that they will buy their records is enough evidence for me to not buy their s**t. bc they are s**t. f**k venom. they blow, i will not support pseudo-satan i s m
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OK bstrider, Venom were the first to do this. Everyone else followed in their path. It's all about shock value. Almost nobody did the satan thing before Venom. HAILZ TO THE MIGHTY VENOM!!!
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