In 1982, a power trio from England broke unforeseen barriers with their second album release, Black Metal. Featuring some of the darkest and fastest content heard from at that time, Venom held nothing back when it came to delivering a prominent follow-up after Welcome To Hell.
The first couple of years in the new decade sparked a commercial breakthrough era for many bands they admired such as Judas Priest and KISS. Meanwhile, Venom focused on pushing the limits of thrash metal, in doing so they were also pioneering a more sinister sub-genre that mirrored their album title, Black Metal.
Although, it’s a topic of controversy to specify which genre represents Venom the best, it was clear to list them alongside Slayer as the primary sources of extreme metal. Despite the diabolic undertones of acts like Black Sabbath and Black Widow, nothing compared to the in-your-face attitude of the trinity from hell. It made Venom standout as outsiders in the metal scene, because the competition were only scratching the surface of satanic and occult imagery.
From the pentagram on the cover of Black Metal to the lyrical content, there was a new identity founded within the band that opened the door for many sub-genres. They became the platform for so many others from Metallica to Celtic Frost to expand upon and create more depth in heavy metal by incorporating different ideas. The NWOBHM was the recent driving force in proto-thrash at the time and the most popular contributors were Motorhead and Iron Maiden, who reached out to the majority of listeners.
That was the playing field in the early 80s and the U.S. was just catching wind of it while England was crawling with groups pushing the envelope. Once American bands realized the potential they had with these uncovered resources, there was an immediate demand for faster and heavier material that contrasted the mainstream rock scene.
For Venom, they were ahead of the curb, even among their peers. While most were focused on quality 70s metal, Venom spit out 40 minutes of raw aggression with Black Metal. From the theatrical epic Buried Alive to the riff driven intensity of Don’t Burn The Witch, the group compiled a killer list of tracks with haunting vocals and plenty of underappreciated shredding.
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine how extreme metal would’ve spawned without the early influence of Venom‘s presence. Black Metal raised the bar for many unsuspecting bands who didn’t see the capacity that metal could have.
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