After too damn long, the only VENOM lineup that anyone really gives a shit about is back together, and after blowing everyone away at Dynamo '96, they hit the studio and recorded the album Cast in Stone, along with a bunch of old classics for a second disc, which is part of a limited edition 2-disc set of the new album. Since I was lucky enough to get the 2-disc set, I'll review both. First, the new album . . . The bottom line - it's awesome, but really different for them. It's the same studio and the same production team they've used since the classic days of Welcome to Hell and Black Metal, but this album sounds light-years ahead of their early stuff. The drums are huge, the bass is fat and round, and the guitars are thick and crunchy - a far cry from the 'bulldozer bass' and 'buzzsaw guitar' days. And Cronos' voice has never sounded angrier or more evil - more snarl, more power, and more high screams. But the songs are in a totally new direction for them - but wait, don't get scared off. What I mean is, they've learned the power of a slow riff. Sure, they've always had their occasional slow song in there, tucked away between two thrashers, but over half this album stays in the middle-tempo range, from a strutting mid-pace (like "The Evil One") to a slow grind (like "Destroyed and Damned"). Rather than make them bland, the slower tempos let Venom show how heavy they can really be - it's not plodding, it's CRUSHING! There's still the fast songs on there, but this album has a lot more variation than anything they've done before. Hot spots are "The Evil One", "Infectious", "Swarm" (which ends with a neat little bit of minimalist, atmospheric bass and guitar work), and the fantastic "Kings of Evil". Venom is back, bigger and badder than ever before. You can tell they did this album not to cash in on their old glory, but rather to pick up where they left off and keep it going. And as if the album itself wasn't enough, they kept rolling tape in the studio and recorded a disc with nine old Venom classics and another mock-up of their tour intro tape ("LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FROM THE VERY DEPTHS OF HELL - VENOM!!!") for the two-disc set. Having already recorded their four biggest classics on the Venom '96 MCD, they decided to stick to lesser-known songs. At first I was worried, because the fake Venom (and Cronos too, to a lesser extent) made a career out of re-recording those classics, ruining them in the process. I shouldn't have worried - the old magic is still there in spades! After the intro, they kick it off with "Bloodlust", and that version just blows the original away! They played with the sounds a bit, giving Cronos more of that old bulldozer sound, which helped put a little vintage feel into the songs. Basically, they're all great, with "Bursting Out", the aforementioned "Bloodlust", and "Die Hard" being the true standouts. Also, the classic song "Venom" (previously only available as a bootleg) is finally laid into digital grooves and it totally rips. The only misfires in this disc are "Manitou", which plods along just as boringly as the original (am I the only person who doesn't like this song?), and "Acid Queen", a great song the first time around, but they slowed it down too much, taking the pep out of it. Oh, well, nobody's perfect, but this 2-disc set is the closest Venom has come to 1982. I can't wait for the next one.

© 1999 lord vic
[originally appeared in Eternal Frost Webzine issue #2]