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Venom - From The Very Depths review



Reviewer:
7.0

109 users:
7.46
Band: Venom
Album: From The Very Depths
Release date: January 2015


01. Eruptus
02. From The Very Depths
03. The Death Of Rock'N'Roll
04. Smoke
05. Temptation
06. Long Haired Punks
07. Stigmata Satanas
08. Crucified
09. Evil Law
10. Grinding Teeth
11. Ouverture
12. Mephistopheles
13. Wings Of Valkyrie
14. Rise

The twenty-first century has not been kind to extreme metal pioneers Venom. Four releases into their reunion and they have struggled to hit the proverbial nail on the head. As such, it was difficult to expect much on the new album, From The Very Depths. Yet somehow, Cronos and friends have managed to reverse this trend and come out with an album that despite its overall generic sound is still quite enjoyable.

Sure this isn't going to revolutionise heavy metal like Welcome To Hell and Black Metal did all those decades ago. It isn't even going to be remembered as a great example of their craft. But then neither are most of the albums being released in speed and thrash metal these days.

Unlike the last few previous albums that were generally mid-tempo affairs flavoured by flawed attempts at modernity, From The Very Depths looks very much to their past for inspiration. And by past, we're talking their more late 1980s/early 1990s thrashy albums than the punky speed metal of their first three albums.

This is first and foremost an album of chuggy thrash riffs backed up by Cronos' distinctive bark and massive bass sound. And whilst there is no denying they are generic as hell, they are enjoyable due to their catchiness and classic sound. There is less variety than on previous affairs but that is a good thing given how hit and miss some of that variety was. Instead, where variety is used it is generally to good effect like the huge sounding "Evil Law," complete with Slayer-esque guitar hooks or brooding (by Venom standards "Smoke."

And unlike the previous albums, the band doesn't sound forced. Indeed it sounds more like someone's lit a fire under them and are determined to show the world that there is more to them than a smattering of pioneering albums released thirty years ago.

The album does suffer from the usual Venom indulgence of being too long. And this is where that lack of variety bites with a number of the faster songs blurring into one another. At other times they get too hung up on a cool riff and overplay it.

Despite its flaws, From The Very Depths is a welcome addition for us Venom fans who were starting to wonder whether there was any life left in the old warhorse. It's a revitalisation of the band and hopefully a sign of better things to come.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 5
Production: 7

Written by deadone | 12.01.2015




Comments

Comments: 7   Visited by: 237 users
12.01.2015 - 08:15
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
Oh you're a contributor now?
Do you get release date privileges? =]
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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12.01.2015 - 16:46
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Karlabos on 12.01.2015 at 08:15

Oh you're a contributor now?
Do you get release date privileges? =]


yes he is, C in his profile
Dunno, seems so

BTW this might eb some kind a ''comback'' album , Long Haired Punks was awesome song, maybe best what Venom written after Countless Bathory and Nightmares
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
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13.01.2015 - 10:27
Dr. Strawberry

I have been listening to their releases in the past 30 years but the one I really bought was Black Metal.
Do we need another Venom's in the 21th century ?
I would skip this one unless the score hit 8.4 and above.
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13.01.2015 - 16:15
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
Written by deadone on 13.01.2015 at 11:43

Written by Karlabos on 12.01.2015 at 08:15

Oh you're a contributor now?
Do you get release date privileges? =]


Yes I am a contributor.

What do you mean by release date privileges?

Like... You get to listen to albums before the release date in order for reviewing or something
I noticed that there is always reviews of albums far before the official release date. They don't always leak months before the date, so I take it that the band must send it to the reviewers or something?
----
"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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14.01.2015 - 03:01
Totenlieder

7 out of 10?
That's pretty good for a Venom album that't not their first two.
Although I do like some of their later stuff as well.
I'll have to check this album out.
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Blut & Krieg
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14.01.2015 - 08:00
Totenlieder

I agree with you on that.
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Blut & Krieg
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22.01.2015 - 07:28
Rating: 8
Timelord

I like the new album. Best release since resurrection. I disagree though as I hear a more raw punk sound on this album as compared to the more thrashy (Metal Black,Hell) and at times flirting with groove style (Fallen Angels) . At this point it is a VERY daunting exercise of futility to not be "generic" for damn near any band. Thats why the older bands are still a focal point imo. They were the bands that lead the charge out of sissified glam rock(I never could grasp how anybody thought glam deserved to carry the banner of "metal") I can't tell one band from the other anymore.
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