Album Review: Venom – From the Very Depths

Venom – From the Very Depths
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Record Label: Spinefarm Records

Unless you’ve lived under a rock as a metalhead, you’ve without a doubt heard of the legendary Venom. Venom is the band that coined the term “black metal” with the release of their 1982 album of the same name. As a young fledgling metal head, Venom was regarded as one of the single most dangerous bands. Even as open to my music as my parents were, they forbid me to buy a Venom album. You know what that means right? I went right out and bought “At War with Satan” and hid it under my bed until I was 16 years old. I totally lost touch with Venom after At War with Satan but over the years I held those first three albums in the highest of regard.

When I heard that Venom was releasing a brand new album in 2015 called From the Very Depths, my first thought was, “Just how good can a new Venom album be? Especially since Cronos is the only original member left in the band.” Well, from the first listen to the opening track “From the Very Depths” that question was answered. How good can it be? Really fucking good. Songs like “Temptation”, “Long Haired Punks”, and “Evil Law” really remind me heavily of the early days of Venom and why I first was drawn into this band. Hearing this album was a great reminder of why I love this band so fucking much and had me running back to my old Venom albums to rekindle that fire (pun intended).

With From the Very Depths, Venom proves that they are still a very relevant and powerful force in heavy metal. Matter of fact, I’d even put my money down that it’s safe to say that Venom actually proves that nobody can do it better. Sure, you have your Behemoth and your Watain but at the end of the day, if it wasn’t for Venom those guys would still be working at the local pub or fish house. Much like the classic bands of any other genre, the old guys just seem to do it better and do it with more heart and more power. To be honest, I would’nt expect anything less from the band that coined the very genre that they bear.

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