Venom is definitively one of the most influential metal bands of all times and they were genre founders with their first two albums, “Welcome to Hell” (1981) and “Black Metal” (1982). Their third album, “At War with Satan” (1984) left some serious marks on me too with it’s 20 minutes long title track. it was a semi-concept album that tells the story of a war between Heaven and Hell where the latter side wins. Cronos – bass guitar, vocals; Mantas – guitar and Abaddon – drums had major influence on the development of heavy metal and contributed to the creation of other sub-genres such as thrash, speed, death and power metal.
In 1985, Venom released their fourth album entitled “Possessed” which was not as successful as their previous albums. Dunn then left the band to pursue a solo career.
Their fifth album, 1987’s “Calm Before the Storm”, moved away from Satanic themes in favor of “sword and sorcery” material and it was even less successful than Possessed. As result Lant, Clare and Hickey all left Venom which left Bray as the only group member.
As many other fans I lost touch with Venom as many other exciting bands flourished on the scene. Read more Venom – From The Very Depths (2015) ›