Black Metal

Venom

Neat, 1982

http://www.venom-inc.co.uk

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/14/2024

Just like the debate over which band or artist is the father of heavy metal music, the debate over who started the black metal genre is just as cloudy. Some say that Black Metal, the 1982 sophomore effort from British NWOBHMers Venom was the genre’s birth cry; others say the album’s title was the sole contribution to it.

Whatever the case, one thing is clear: this disc is nearly as sloppy in terms of sound as their debut effort Welcome To Hell, but has slightly better songwriting to back it up.

Once certainly can’t deny the demonic imagery in Venom’s lyrics; that had quickly become their hallmark, regardless of whether or not they subscribed to these views in real life. But my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Black Metal did seem to feature the band—Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon—expanding their lyrical view a little bit. Tracks like "Teacher’s Pet" seem a bit silly at times, but they did show the band attempting to mature a little bit and reach past the leather-clad brass ring.

But there’s plenty of material on Black Metal to suggest this isn’t the album to bring to Sunday School. Songs like “Don’t Burn The Witch,” “Buried Alive,” “Leave Me In Hell” and the title track all show just why Venom was seen as a pioneering band in the world of black metal. (I would, however, stop short at classifying Venom as a true black metal band; to my ears, they were a thrash metal band with Satanic overtones.)

Venom was never going to be held to the same level as bands such as Slayer, Metallica or Megadeth in terms of their musicianship. You aren’t going to hear many skin-shredding solos from guitarist Mantas. What you will hear, though, is a band getting more comfortable in their skins and with their style of music. Where Welcome To Hell was an explosion of sound, Black Metal does seem to be a bit more focused. Where it still falls short, though, is in the production—though one could argue that is what gives the music its unique charm. That said, I’d have liked it to sound a little crisper, and have some separation between the instruments and the vocals.

The closing track on the original album, “At War With Satan (Preview),” teases the listener in terms of what would be coming around the bend—but that is another review for another day (and seeing it’s taken me 24 years to follow up my review of Welcome To Hell, I wouldn't necessarily suggest holding your breath for that one). Subsequent re-releases have added numerous bonus tracks, and it is interesting to note that some of the radio station sessions do have more definition in terms of the instrumentation, but still capture the overall sonic sludge that seemed to be Venom’s signature.

Black Metal is not a huge leap forward for Venom, but rather a tentative step in the right direction.

Rating: B-

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