Venom

1979年的英格蘭正值動蕩的春秋。重金屬音樂在朋克們曇花一現(xiàn)的光芒過后繼續(xù)散發(fā)著旺盛的活力。Venom，這支長久來被主流社會所忽視的樂隊，Black Metal的鼻祖，出現(xiàn)在了紐卡斯爾的泰恩城，包括主唱/貝司手Conrad Lant/綽號Cronos（意思是懷有獸性惡意的瘋狂掠奪者）、鼓手Tony Bray/綽號Abaddon（意為地獄之門的野蠻守衛(wèi)）和吉他手Jeff Dunn/綽號Mantas（意為大獨裁者）三個邪惡的怪胎。
事實上，Venom的前身是一個叫Oberon的五人樂隊。當Oberon的鼓手Abaddon在一次Judas Priest的演唱會上與舞臺工作人員Mantas碰面后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)彼此間有很多共同之處，于是他們決定組建一個樂隊。樂隊的名字來自Mantas，當時他是Motorhead的一員，在那里，他的綽號就叫Venom。不久后，Cronos作為吉他手加入Venom。不過當MANTAS寫了一首Live Like An Angel，Die Like A Devil后，他讓Cronos試著唱了唱，結果大家都很喜歡。同時，Abaddon聯(lián)系到一些俱樂部的演出活動，但樂隊的貝司手卻離開樂隊結婚去了，于是Cronos就試著操起了貝司，結果發(fā)現(xiàn)這并不是個很難擺弄的東西?，F(xiàn)在這樣的陣容大家都很滿意，于是就一直這樣繼續(xù)下去了。
1981年，他們發(fā)行了首張專輯《Welcome to hell》。這是一張可怕的專輯。首先是封面設計，一個大大的倒五角星中嵌著撒旦的山羊頭。到那時為止，曾經(jīng)提到過撒旦的樂隊只有Black Sabbath，但Venom覺得Sabbath仍然不夠黑，于是他們大膽采用了這樣一個在當時可謂驚世駭俗的封面。音樂上，這張專輯更為可怕，Venom無疑是當時世界上最重的樂隊。當其他樂隊正在嘗試借鑒朋克樂做出稍微粗野一點的金屬音樂時，Venom在這張Welcome To Hell中已經(jīng)把時代提前了將近10年。沒有人能夠相信聽到這張1981年專輯時的感覺：重型和邪惡。
樂隊本身很不尋常，證明這點的事實除了他們只花了三天遍錄完正張專輯外，還有這支樂隊從為參與過聯(lián)合演出。實際上，他們成為傳奇人物后，便拒絕與任何其他樂隊合作。1984年6月1日，在哈莫史密斯奧登，Venom舉行了他們在英國的首次演出，Dumpy's Rusty Nuts樂隊為其暖場，那晚被人們稱為“地獄里的第17天”。此次演出的門票被搶購一空，但更驚人的大概還得數(shù)混雜在聽眾中的那些朋克、吸毒者、紋身者以及摩托黨等，所有的人都來看這一瘋狂場面，從而使“Venom”成為少數(shù)幾個能吸引大量觀眾的金屬樂隊之一，過去只有Hawkwind、Motorhead、Rose Tattoo樂隊有過類似場景。正如你從這些“超乎尋?！钡挠^眾群中所預料到的，演唱會上到處充斥著失真的噪音和沸騰的歌聲，仿佛舞臺上接有火焰噴射器，假如你站在會場后面便可身臨其境，到了高潮時，臺上每件物品都被打得粉碎！
Venom對此好不在乎，在接下來的一年里，他們推出了真正的不朽之作，可能是有史以來最好的金屬專輯之一：《Black metal》（當然也許在今天看來無論是技術還是思想性都很一搬但在當時作為開拓者的身份確實十分不易。專輯中包括許多具有“危險性”的經(jīng)典名曲，如《Leave me in the hell》和《Raise the dead》?；蛘哌@可算是當時最“重”的重金屬唱片了，它的封套上印著一行格言：家庭錄音在扼殺音樂……毒液既是如此。很多歌都被日后數(shù)以萬計的樂隊翻唱過，這些歌把金屬音樂足足推進了一大步。也就是從這張專輯開始，一個最為邪惡，最為極端的重金屬分支正式宣告誕生，它的名字就是：Black Metal，黑色金屬。黑色，地獄，邪惡，憎恨，反神....這一切都來自于Abaddon急速而激動的鼓聲，Mantas暴戾而深沉的吉他，以及Cronos那沙啞惡毒的嗓音。這張出色的專輯使他們的地位在當時的地下樂隊和真正的金屬樂迷心目中提升到和Iron Maiden同等的高度。
A seminal influence on the evolution of thrash and black metal, Venom formed during the late '70s in Newcastle, England. Originally a five-piece group called Oberon, they eventually trimmed their lineup to a trio comprising singer/bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant, guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, and drummer Tony "Abaddon" Bray. Influenced by the heavy intensity of Mot?rhead and the visual flash of Kiss, the newly rechristened Venom developed a dark, blistering sound which paved the way for the subsequent rise of thrash music; similarly, their macabre, proudly satanic image proved a major inspiration for the legions of black metal bands to appear in their wake, even lending the genre its name with the release of their 1982 sophomore LP, Black Metal. (Their debut, Welcome to Hell, preceded it by a year.)
Venom's third album, At War with Satan, followed in 1983, and two years later they released Possessed. Lineup changes plagued the group in the years to follow, with Mantas exiting in the wake of 1985's live Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; guitarists Matt Hickey and Jimmy Clare were tapped as his replacements, making their debut on 1987's Calm Before the Storm. Cronos then quit as well, however, mounting a solo career and taking both Hickey and Clare with him as he left; at that point Mantas rejoined Abaddon to form a new edition of Venom with onetime Atomkraft vocalist/bassist Tony "The Demolition Risk" Dolan and guitarist Al Barnes. The new lineup made its bow on 1989's Prime Evil; Tear Your Soul Apart appeared a year later.
After 1991's Temples of Ice, Barnes quit Venom; his absence was filled by guitarist Steve "War Maniac" White, who along with keyboardist V.X.S. was recruited in time for 1992's The Waste Lands before both quickly exited. The trio of Mantas, Abaddon, and Dolan continued touring throughout the middle years of the decade, although no more new studio recordings were forthcoming; finally, in 1996 Cronos returned to the Venom fold, making way for Dolan's departure. The original lineup's return to action was heralded by the release of the mini-album Venom '96, followed in 1997 by the full-length Made in Stone. After a world tour, Venom issued the two-disc New, Live & Rare in mid-1998. Buried Alive appeared a year later, and in the spring of 2000 the group returned with The Court of Death and Beauty and the Beast. In 2006 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with Metal Black.