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1970s
1979
Photo: Jonas Rogowski · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Venom
Origins and influence. Venom as the band is hanging over all of UK thrash, and over extreme metal worldwide. Their second album gave black metal its name, but they also helped lay the ground for thrash by mixing Motörhead’s power with punk’s aggression. He lists bands they influenced across the world: Metallica, Slayer, Sodom, Bathory and others. Bray says Venom never really saw themselves as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, even though they came from Wallsend in the middle of it. Their gigs drew a mixed crowd of punks, skinheads and metalheads, which Bray sees as an early crossover.
Getting signed. Bassist Conrad “Cronos” Lant worked as a tape operator at Neat Records and kept pestering the boss until the band got free studio time for a demo. A big review in Sounds got the label interested. They recorded Welcome to Hell (1981) in three days on a tiny budget, and Bray says attitude mattered more than polish.
Image and Satanism. Bray says the Satanic themes were a deliberate choice to be more extreme than anyone else, though there was also a lot of humour that people missed. He links the band’s dark outlook to growing up in 1970s Newcastle, with unemployment, strikes and few ways out apart from football or music. Black Metal (1982) raised the stakes again. The blasphemy went down especially well with teenagers in Catholic countries.
Going live. Their early shows were chaotic: pyrotechnics blew fuses in working men’s clubs. Their first proper gig was a Belgian festival in 1983, followed by New York dates with Metallica as their support act. Their first UK gig was headlining Hammersmith Odeon in 1984, because they refused to support anyone. Bray says the band built its mystique on purpose, with an unreadable logo and his face hidden in photos. That annoyed local bands like Raven, who had spent years earning their place.
Decline and line-up changes. At War with Satan (1984) was more ambitious, but arguments over songwriting credits and money started around then. Bray thinks the band was already in decline by the time it was finished. Possessed (1985) is described as their low point. Guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn left, and a line-up without Cronos made Prime Evil (1989), which is Bray’s favourite. The original trio got back together for a 1996 Dynamo Festival headline show, which led to Cast in Stone (1997). They travelled separately to keep the peace.
Today. There are now two bands: Cronos’s Venom and Venom Inc. (Bray, Dunn and Tony Dolan). Bray hopes they’ll be remembered as originators. He’s still surprised at how many bands cite or cover them, and puts their rise down to the busy Wallsend pub scene. The section ends with a discography and a recommendation for the Dissonance reissues of the first three albums.