{"id":1007,"date":"1984-01-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"1984-01-01T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2013-07-20T12:20:58","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T12:20:58","slug":"feature-venom-mf3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-venom-mf3\/","title":{"rendered":"VENOM – Venomous Reptiles (MF3, 1984) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

VENOM – Venomous Reptiles<\/strong><\/span>
\nDave Reynolds<\/span>
\nMetal Forces, Issue 3 (1984)<\/span><\/p>\n

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The world is ravaged by a ferocious nuclear war on such a horrific scale that it makes The Day After<\/em> look like a normal Saturday afternoon\u2019s sport for the Inter-City Firm. The ground is scorched, the sky a dull grey. A wailing noise emanates from a pile of rubble on the near horizon, once central London. The noise is unbearable. You put your scar-ridden hands to the remains of your ears and scream for mercy. Suddenly, a hunchbacked mutant emerges from a hole in the ground and beckons you near in a rough East London accent, \u201c\u2019Ere mate. Wanna buy the new Venom album?\u201d<\/p>\n

After losing a few fans to the evil clutches of newest death metal gods Hellhammer, Venom, the infamous black metal merchants from Newcastle, are preparing themselves for what\u2019s been regarded by some as \u2018their year\u2019. Venom are the Neat Record label\u2019s best \/ worst band; a group who make Mot\u00f6rhead look like Culture Club by comparison. Can you imagine Lemmy dolled up like Boy George?! Me neither! Not the sort of music to make Doe-esque babies to, more constructing supertankers!!<\/p>\n

\u2018Production\u2019 is a foreign word to Venom. If it sounds too good they scrap it. Venom dig up from the depths of the filthiest earth material not normally worth a shit to the music industry, aided by a Mantas guitar sound that makes your tweeters surrender and die. Cronos and Abaddon combine the bass and drums to bring you a sound that is guaranteed to put you off listening to metal on your personal stereo for life (which reminds me, ever listened to Sabbath<\/a> on the bog?! Woodstock man!!). Venom are metal up yer ass alright. Pass the sick bag Alice Cooper. Venom stop at nothing less than megadeath!! So what\u2019s their appeal?<\/p>\n

Mantas: \u201cI don\u2019t know really. Maybe it\u2019s our image or the stage show, or perhaps it\u2019s because we\u2019re the heaviest band in the world. Heavy metal fans want real heavy metal bands these days, and no more of this shitty Foreigner, Styx and Reo Speedwagon stuff. People are sick of all that. When we were over in the States, all you heard on the radio was Journey or Kansas. We were talking to some fans in the US and they don\u2019t want to hear that, they want our kind of music. They don\u2019t even like Raven anymore!\u201d I hear you\u2019re none too keen on Raven either? \u201cWell, I liked their first album and they\u2019re decent blokes, but the new stuff is too commercial.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of our conversation, Venom had just finished recording their new album and were in the process of mixing it down. \u201cYeah, it\u2019ll be out in February to coincide with our European tour. It\u2019s called At War With Satan<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where is your tour taking you? \u201cWe\u2019re starting out in Zurich, Switzerland and then hitting all the major European countries, plus one date in England\u2026 possibly in Birmingham?\u201d<\/p>\n

As you may know, Britain isn\u2019t Venom\u2019s favourite place these days (nor is it mine). The band\u2019s notorious tent stomper \/ bassist Cronos explains: \u201cWe don\u2019t care for this country. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll agree, it\u2019s nothing but a fucking shithole. We\u2019re aiming more for a foreign market because that\u2019s where our fans are. We don\u2019t sell enough records in the UK to really bother about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A case of the \u2018You hate us, we hate you\u2019 approach and I really don\u2019t blame them. Cronos is the epitome of Venom. An evil maniac, wielding the bass in suitable psycho fashion. The band may not be the most brilliant of musicians, but you can\u2019t help liking what they do in a sort of perverted, masochistic kind of way! Most people can\u2019t abide the group, but there\u2019s not one member of the Metal Forces<\/em> team who doesn\u2019t like them; lapping up each subsequent release that\u2019s always full of no-holds-barred, no-tits-bared (Witchsmeller Pursuivant… sorry, Witchfinder General they are not! You won\u2019t find any Joanne Latham type wenches on Venom album covers) barrage of mega molten mayhem. Hot, heavy and as soothing as an SS20 up the backside applied by the metal mistress of your choice (take your pick from Betsy Bitch, Wendy O. or Fabienne Shine)!<\/p>\n

So, what are Venom\u2019s major plans for 1984? Mantas: \u201cWell, I suppose just hanging around to see the bomb drop! No, we\u2019ve got a new single that should be cut after our tour; \u2018Warhead\u2019 \/ \u2018Seven Gates Of Hell\u2019. We might be recording some of the gigs in Europe for a possible live single, and perhaps we\u2019ll do another single just before we go in and record our fourth album<\/a> in October. We\u2019ve got everything written for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fourth album will more than likely include a track called \u2018Possessed\u2019, which portions of the lyrics have been printed on the back of each Venom album to date. Anything else lined up? Cronos: \u201cWe\u2019re doing a new video in Paris to promote the \u2018Warhead\u2019 single. Basically it\u2019s to show promoters our stage show, who don\u2019t believe how big it is!\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, I saw your previous video, it was amazing. It kicked the fuck out of the Kiss live show. \u201cThat\u2019s right. But the new stage show is four or five times bigger and better than that one. It\u2019s gonna be fuckin\u2019 unbelievable!\u201d<\/p>\n

How much did your original video cost? \u201cNot that much really, About three-four grand, financed by ourselves. The good thing about it was that it turned out the way we wanted it to, and not the way some fuckin\u2019 producer would do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

By now you should all have your hands on a copy of the just released At War With Satan<\/em> album. The band assured me that it \u201ckicks the shit out of Black Metal<\/em> as much as Black Metal<\/em> destroyed Welcome To Hell<\/em>\u201d. Cronos: \u201cThat album\u2019s shit, isn\u2019t it?\u201d. <\/p>\n

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Venom (l-r): Abaddon, Cronos and Mantas<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Venom are billed to appear at the Aardschokdag festival along with Metallica, Savage and Tokyo Blade in the Netherlands. The full Venom tour (At War With Europe?) is: Zurich, Switzerland (February 3rd); Vienna, Austria (5th); Nuremberg, Germany (7th); Paris, France (9th); Aardschokdag, Zwolle, Netherlands (11th); Belgium (12th); and the UK (as stated earlier, possibly at the Birmingham Odeon?) on the 14th. Metal Forces<\/em> will be at least attending two of those dates. The Seven Dates Of Hell!<\/p>\n

Finally, what about the \u2018feud\u2019 with Mercyful Fate? The question brought hysterical laughter from Cronos, but Mantas remained composed: \u201cAha! King Billy, we met them (\u201cY\u2019mean they met us\u201d interrupted Cronos) at last year\u2019s Aardschokdag. They\u2019re okay as people, but we don\u2019t like their music at all.\u201d Enough said.<\/p>\n

The future looks good for Newcastle\u2019s baddest. One thing\u2019s for certain, Venom won\u2019t be making any compromises regarding their musical direction. Who dareth play black metal\u2019s heaviest sons of Satan will be a man who hath sense to know what heavy metal is all about.<\/p>\n

A tattered cardboard record sleeve bearing the slab of plastic entitled At War With Satan<\/em> is thrust into your hands. \u201c\u00a34.99 please mate.\u201d The mutant waits eagerly for the torn green ones. \u201cNo change I\u2019m afraid.\u201d Your eyes meet, he is truly hideous. In one swift move you kick the bastard in the groin and run off complete with album. \u201cNow this should get a great review in the next Metal Forces<\/em>,\u201d you smile knowingly. The reptiles have returned.<\/p>\n

Interview taken from Metal Forces, Issue 3 (1984)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VENOM – Venomous Reptiles Dave Reynolds Metal Forces, Issue 3 (1984) The world is ravaged by a ferocious nuclear war on such a horrific scale that it makes The Day After look like a normal Saturday afternoon\u2019s sport for the Inter-City Firm. The ground is scorched, the sky a dull grey. A wailing noise emanates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-venom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1007"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13166,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions\/13166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}