Venom is a metal band formed in Newcastle in England in 1979 by Cronos (vocals, bass), Mantas (guitar) and Abaddon (drums), names gleaned from The Satanic Bible. They are often regarded as an important early influence on death metal and black metal.

Dissatisfied with the metal scene at the time, where the toughest bands were Motörhead and Judas Priest, Cronos, Mantas and Abandon proposed pushing the genre further. Originally, the band was called Oberon and consisted of 5 members. Mantas worked on the road and "Venom" was his nickname. Cronos initially joined the group as a guitarist. After Mantas asked him to sing "Live Like An Angel, Die Like A Devil" the group appreciated the result.

Their first album, Welcome To Hell (1981), was a remarkable tour de force at the time, when the only group that dared mention the name of Satan was Black Sabbath.It is also credited as th first thrash metal album.

Their second album, Black Metal (1982) is often cited as important in the development of black metal and death metal. Many elements those genres are found in the lyrics and even the song titles.

While many fans and musicians see Venom as an important band, others disagree. In his Black Flag tour diary, singer Henry Rollins wrote about a 1986 performance when Black Flag opened for Venom. He opines that Venom were "Weak, weak, weak" and that "the guitar player was so bad it was painful" and "They were hilarious. It was like seeing Spinal Tap ... I expected them to go into "Sex Farm Woman " at any second."

Discography

• Welcome To Hell (1981)
• Black Metal (1982)
• At War With Satan (1983)
• Possessed (1985)
• American Assault EP (1985)
• Canadian Assault EP (1985)
• French Assault EP (1986)
• The Singles 1980-1986 (1986)
• Calm Before the Storm (1987)
• Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1987)
• Prime Evil (1989)
• Tear Your Soul Apart EP (1990)
• Acid Queen (1991)
• Temples of Ice (1991)
• The Book Of Armageddon (Best Of) (1992)
• The Waste Lands (1992)
• Kissing the Beast (1993)
• Skeletons in the Closet (1993)
• Old, New, Borrowed and Blue (1994)
• Venom ' 96 (1996)
• Cast in Stone (1997)
• Resurrection (2000)

Sources

• Henry Rollins, Get In The Van, 2.13.61, 1994

External links

• Official site: http://www.venomslegions.com/
• http://members.tripod.com/venomparry/index.htm
• http://hem.passagen.se/habo6/venom.htm
• http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/315/index.html
• http://www.venomzone.prv.pl
• http://jimclare.moonfruit.com
• http://www.venombrasil.hpg.com.br
• http://welcome.to/mikehickey
• http://mypage.org/terrenas
• http://champion.chez.tiscali.fr/VENOM.htm