VENOM — Calm Before the Storm (review)

VENOM — Calm Before the Storm album cover Album · 1987 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
Warthur
Sometimes less really is more. Take the case of this followup to Possessed, in which Venom have twice the number of guitarists as their previous four albums (in the form of new members Mike Hickey and Jim Clare) but actually sound half as heavy and extreme as they used to. Some may be inclined to blame producer Nick Tauber, who was more used to working with acts such as UFO or Thin Lizzy, but that doesn't quite wash with me - for one thing, the songwriting this time around a serious step down. (Seriously, Black Xmas sounds as though the band were deliberately aiming for a rapid descent into embarrassing self-parody.) Not one of their finest moments.
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Wilytank wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Despite how influential they might have been, Venom have much more lackluster releases than good ones. A flame that went out too early.

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