Although there is no doubt that Venom are one of the most important and influential metal bands to ever come out of the North East, they have had a rather chequered career both in terms of line-up and album quality. The classic line-up will always be Cronos, Abaddon, and Mantas, but there are other versions who also kept the flag flying. There was a point in the Eighties when drummer Abaddon was the only person still in the band, so he invited to Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan from Atomkraft to come in on bass and vocals, and then convinced guitarist Mantas to return, who brought with him rhythm guitarist Al Barnes. Together they recorded the 1989 album ‘Prime Evil’, the 1990 EP ‘Tear Your Soul Apart’ and the 1991 album ‘Temples of Ice’. Barnes left before the final album, 1992’s ‘The Waste Lands’, being replaced by guitarist Steve White and Trevor “VSX” Sewell (keyboards and sound effects). This would be the last album for three years, when the classic Venom line-up came back together. The trio of Cronos, Abaddon and Dolan would perform and record together over the years (most recently as Venom, Inc.) but this was the last of the Venom albums on which Dolan would appear. ‘Blackened Priests’ takes its name from a song on the first of these releases, and this triple CD set captures the three albums and EP.
There is no doubt that the last Venom album prior to these, ‘Calm Before The Storm’, is widely seen by many as possibly the worst release in the band’s existence, so a new line-up with a new approach was viewed by many as the right way to go, and consequently ‘Prime Evil’ was viewed at the time as one of their best, and it still stands up today. The verse of “Skool Daze” could be straight from a lost Motörhead session while the live version of “Angel Dust” may not be the best recording but what it makes up for in sound quality it more than repays in aggression and energy. We also get a few covers on here showing where their roots hail from with rough and raw versions of “Hellbent For Leather” and “Speed King”. Overall this is an interesting insight to a much-maligned period for the band. They will never stand up against the first three album when the band were younger and way more hungry, but this is a great way to relatively cheaply discover an interesting period of the band. The booklet is informative and features word from both Dolan and Barnes and is certainly worth checking out if you like your metal loud and proud.
Rating: 7/10
Track list:
DISC ONE
– Prime Evil
1 Prime Evil
2 Parasite
3 Blackened Are the Priests
4 Carnivorous
5 Skeletal Dance
6 Megalomania
7 Insane
8 Harder Than Ever
9 Into the Fire
10 Skool Daze
11 Live Like An Angel – Die Like A Devil
12 Skool Daze
13 Burstin’ Out (live)
14 The Ark
15 Civilised
16 Angel Dust (live)
17 Hellbent
DISC TWO
– Temples of Ice
1 Tribes
2 Even In Heaven
3 Trinity MCMXLV 0530
4 In Memory Of (Paul Miller 1964-90)
5 Faerie Tale
6 Playtime
7 Acid
8 Arachnid
9 Speed King
10 Temples of Ice
DISC THREE
– The Waste Lands
1 Cursed
2 I’m Paralysed
3 Black Legions
4 Riddle Of Steel
5 Need To Kill
6 Kissing the Beast
7 Crucified
8 Shadow King
9 Wolverine
10 Clarisse
Links:
https://www.venomslegions.com/
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/