Vim Fuego
If you are unaware of Venom's influence on thrash, death and black metal by now, you're either too young, or also aren't aware of a few other things, like decimal currency and man landing on the moon.
Anyway, there is no questioning the quality of Venom's more inspired works, but even at their creative peak, the band produced some god awful shit. Unfortunately, this album kicks off with some of those tracks. "Angel Dust", "Raise The Dead", and "Red Light Fever" were off the band's first demo, and production quality aside, they really should not have won the band a recording contract. The songs are like a third rate Motörhead cover band trying to write their own songs for the first time. Contrary to popular belief, Venom were not all about Satanism and the occult. "Red Light Fever" is a tribute to prostitution cheesy enough to make Iron Maiden's "Charlotte The Harlot" sound sophisticated.
The band finally hit their stride with "Buried Alive", a spooky, laid back look at well, being buried alive. Cronos' famed proto–deathgrunt vocals finally seemed to have developed. "Witchin' Hour" follows, which on first listen borrows extensively from Motörhead's "Bomber", but is faster, dirtier, and more evil. It is songs like this that led to the development of thrash. "Under A Spell" is also an excellent early speed metal track. The band also manages a melody, of sorts. The triple hit of undoubted classics "Black Metal", "Countess Bathory" and "1000 Days In Sodom" are the highlight of the whole album. If they do not have you in an air guitar, headbanging frenzy, well, then you are not a thrash fan, as simple as that.
But outside this handful of goodies, there is little else on this album but filler tracks ("Manitou"), good ideas which have remained unfulfilled, ("At War With Satan", "Welcome To Hell") poor ideas which were a waste of effort ("Dead Love"), and utter shit which does not deserve the name Venom alongside it ("If You Wanna War", "Surgery").
Time can be cruel to some bands, and Venom is one of them. Their music now sounds flawed and poorly executed, but when they hit their straps, watch out. It is like it is 1982 again.
All hail Venom for what they helped create.