 Venom
 Metal Black
 Review by Mike Korn

Venom is one of the bands that really changed how I looked at music. When I picked up their incredibly raw and Satanic debut Welcome to Hell back in the early 80's, I was first repulsed and then mesmerized by the brutality within. This was my first true experience with "extreme metal" and I wager it was for many other unsuspecting mortals as well. By the time Venom's follow-up Black Metal came out, I was an eager disciple, greedily devouring every note from the devilish band. But that was long ago and a lot of things have changed in the interim. The wave of extremity begun by Venom has grown into a tsunami of flesh-ripping death metal like Cannibal Corpse and diabolical Norwegian black metal such as Mayhem and Darkthrone. Is there any place for Venom's old-school darkness in today's world?
There sure as hell is, if Metal Black is anything to go by. This is the rawest Venom record since At War With Satan even if founding member Cronos has two new acolytes in his cult. The band wisely declines to challenge the insane speed and distortion of modern day death and black metal bands and favors simple, catchy riffs delivered with crude and unrefined thuggishness. With 14 tracks, this runs too long, but it never really lets up with Venom's patented "Motorhead in Hell" style of blasphemous attack. New guitarist Mykvs shows some surprising chops with his soloing while drummer Antton is easily superior to his predecessor Abaddon. Cronos, thankfully, remains the ugly brute he's always been.
Maybe Venom is not quite as extreme as they were back in the day, but odds are that the Devil would still be pleased with his faithful sons' work on Metal Black.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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