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There's Only Black |
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Venom Inc. are a heavy
metal band from the UK formed in 2015 by Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitars), Tony
"Demolition Man" Dolan (vocals, bass), and Antony "Abaddon" Bray (drums) -
all former members of legendary UK metal band
Venom: with Mantas and Abaddon founding
members of Venom way back in 1979, with the line-up of Mantas, Demolition
Man, and Abaddon, recording a trilogy of albums
between 1989 and 1992 - 'Prime Evil' (1989), 'Temples Of Ice' (1991) and
'The Waste Lands' (1992). |
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The debut album by
Venom Inc. 'Ave' was released in 2017, with sophomore album 'There's Only
Black' a 2022 release, featuring new drummer Jeramie "Warmachine" Kling
(replacing Abaddon, who left in 2018). 'There's Only Black' is twelve songs
of fast paced heavy metal, loaded with dark themes and deft touches of black
metal - the genre that arguably Venom had a massive hand in creating. But
let's put the past aside and focus on the here and now - and the blistering
Venom Inc. album 'There's Only Black'. |
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And the explosive album
opener 'How Many Can Die' - a fast and furious, highly raucous and raw slab
of classic NWOBHM for the modern day. The aggressive nature of 'How Many Can
Die' is incredible, the pace phenomenal, and the sheer British-ness
outstanding. This is pure pioneering metal at its finest. 'Infinitum'
maintains the albums scorching start - probably adding a little more speed -
actually increasing the aggression level, and planting one foot in the
thrash metal genre. An eclectic opening double, becomes a triple, with the
electrifying pace of 'Come To Me', and a continued aggression level with
added menace. The head bang ability is top notch, the mosh pits a wild
frenzy of head banging metal heads! |
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Title song 'There's
Only Black' is unabashed and unadulterated British heavy metal, moving along
at the classic "foot on the monitor" pace. The heaviness of 'There's Only
Black' (the song) is actually heavier than the opening triple, but has
dropped a gear to become less scorching. Don't get me wrong - it's still
fast, just not as fast! Dropping another gear, 'Tyrant' embodies the slow
menacing style of metal - stomping heavily and shaking the ground with every
stomp. Walls crumbling and buildings falling into ruin as 'Tyrant' marches
on by. And talking of slow and menacing, 'Don't Feed Me Your Lies' increases
the levels of both, and adds a touch of scare too! Some listeners may even
dive for cover and the safety of crouching behind the sofa - as 'Don't Feed
Me Your Lies' explodes into life and furiously races off. |
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The mix of styles Venom
Inc. are delivering is incredible - from blistering speed to aggression
fuelled to slow and menacing. Every one full of darkness and sinister vibes
- 'Man As God' taking off at high velocity with the aggression level as high
as it's ever been! Venom Inc. are racing through their second album, not
stopping for a breather or even allowing the listener to catch a breath. The
torrent of brutality is unrelenting as the band march on with the majestic
edged swagger of the err, fairly melodious 'Burn Liar Burn'. And one hell of
an infectious rhythm to boot! Until 'Burn Liar Burn' reaches the three
minute mark when all hell breaks fucking loose, and we're treated to Venom
Inc.'s penchant for aggressive brutality. 'Nine' - coincidentally the ninth
song on the album (spooky eh!) - is a menacing march of heavy hitting
savagery. All album the band have been unrelenting in their approach to
savage brutality, constantly slamming listeners with frighteningly accurate
aggression. |
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Just as the title
foretells, 'Rampant' is a rampant and raucous furore of brutal aggression
and menacing intent. The pace is phenomenal and will keep heads banging hard
- the mosh pits a never-ending blur of crazy metal heads going wild! A feel
of fright returns to scare listeners in the menacing shape of 'The Dance
Macabre' - and a heavy doom metal feel not heard previously. For the first
minute at least anyway - and then electrifying pace lifts 'The Dance
Macabre' to the incredible speed of earlier songs. Bringing the album to a
close is the mid tempo heavy foot stomping doom metal laden 'Inferno',
replete with a guitar sound lifted straight out of the NWOBHM evolution - an
evolution that Mantas and Venom were very much a big part of. 'There's Only
Black' is an album with many nods back to the "early days" of heavy metal to
please the older generation, but also features plenty of modern touches to
appease today's metal heads. |
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Overall, an album of
constant aggression, menace, and all out savagery, 'There's Only Black' is a
thunderous march of metal. |
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Review by Iron
Mathew Collins |
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Reviewed for
Metal Gods TV |
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