Venom
Black Metal

THE REVIEW

It is certainly difficult to explain, in a few words, the influence that a band like Venom has had on the entire music scene, and on the birth of numerous genres, among which Black Metal and Thrash Metal obviously stand out. Surely, if you listen to a Venom album for the first time, 90% of people will say, "What's this rubbish? And this would be music? Where is the harmony?" And that's the point. Venom is not a band about harmony between instruments, to be clear. They are not a band with a singer with a clean voice and teased hair, with fireworks at the end of the concert. Not at all. Rough, violent, demons coming down to earth, children of Satan, direct, these are some adjectives to describe Venom, and in particular the voice of Cronos. Very few in 1981, when "Welcome To Hell" was released, would have ever said that a band almost incomprehensible in its songs would have had such a huge influence. A year later, Cronos and his companions reunited to give birth, or in this case, it would be more appropriate to say to the darkness, to their second album, "Black Metal." These two records I am talking to you about will be the roots of what will later be the Black genre, the one without which Venom would probably never have been born.

It starts with the Titletrack, one of the group's most famous songs, always performed live, and characterized by an intro where it feels like being in a factory, then hearing the explosion of the instruments, Cronos's raw voice and the famous chorus "For Black Metal.... Lay down your soul to the gods rock 'n roll!" One of the best on the album, definitely. "To Hell And Back" is a slight slowdown, but driven by great drums, where Venom talk about their journey to hell, arm in arm with Lucifer, kisses with the Satanic queen, and their other cheerful escapades. They should make a TV series about it, right? "Buried Alive" begins for over a minute with verses, not quite understandable, of a man in agony, almost in suffering, scared of something. Cronos will recount this agony to us, with a suffering voice, in which he has been buried alive, and he wonders if this torture inflicted on him is real or a dream. "Raise The Dead" moves to faster rhythms, and is the second part of "Buried Alive," in which he, having emerged from the grave, calls the dead to fight together. "Teacher's Pet" and "Leave Me in Hell" earn the title of the fastest and most successful songs, especially the latter, where an excellent bass line is outlined. "Sacrifice," which gave me chills on the first listen in the chorus, will not let you stop keeping the rhythm with your feet, but will also give you fear due to Cronos's malevolent voice, which seems to call us to himself. "Heaven's On Fire" and "Countess Bathory" are two excellent songs where Cronos's voice, if possible, seems even more ungraceful and demonic. "Don't Burn The Witch" introduces us, for the first time, to a very good rhythmic section, almost paradoxical that Venom leave it as the penultimate song. "At War With Satan/Intro" anticipates what will be the song and title of the next Venom album, where a malevolent voice tells of Satan, who is about to gather the infernal army to attack Heaven, flying with his chariot toward the celestial skies for revenge on the land where his angels fell. Cronos's voice reciting the first verses of the song, then quickly fading, leaves us with a hint of curiosity about what will happen in God's land...

As soon as it was released, "Black Metal" witnessed a change in the world of music. An unheard-of violence, never heard by anyone before, equally blasphemous lyrics with no secrets. Venom, blunt and direct, were preparing to take on the world with their violent and infernal music, proving that the era of Black Metal had just begun.