Welcome To Hell:
This album is the start of all extreme Metal. Like it or not, this is the very beginning. Every band from every genre of extreme Metal, from early masters like Voivod and Bathory to recent greats like Dimmu Borgir and Cryptopsy, even if the influence isn't direct, all owe something to Venom and their freshman title, Welcome To Hell. From the Sign of Baphomet on the front cover to the music inside, everything in this NWOBHM classic screams extreme Metal. Along with their other claims to fame, Venom also coined the term "Black Metal" with their sophomore release of the same name. Anyways, let's look at this album.
This album was originally released in LP format in the year 1981, along with a CD reissue in 2002, complete with liner notes and bonus tracks on the latter release, both releases on the label Neat Records. This album doesn't have that annoying "Explicit Lyrics" label, though considering the lyrics in the songs, I'm suprised it doesn't have one. In fact, at least with the CD reissue, the lyrics aren't printed in the booklet. Anyways, this album's production is admittedly horrid (though it at least doesn't sound like a demo tape), with lots of distortion. As a result, almost all the tracks (most notably the first track, Sons Of Satan) sound almost like pure noise with headphones on. The musicianship of the trio of Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon, while they aren't really bad musicians (except maybe Abbadon), the songs, from the production to the atmosphere results in an album that sounds more like a bunch of neighborhood kids jamming rather than professional musicians. There are people who can't stand this album, or most any album by Venom as a result (though fortunately, the production and musicianship got better as each new album was made), though I personally like the feeling you get from the album, and the raw energy felt from all three member's performances. This feeling really overcomes the bad production. There are even some groovy-like parts in some songs (ex. the middle section of One Thousand Days in Sodom). Track 4, Mayhem With Mercy, however, is completely different. Really an acoustic interlude about a minute long, it provides a much-needed break from the noisy assault of the other tracks.
Cronos handles Bass Guitar and Vocals. His Bass sounds good enough I think, though I really am not a good judge of it. His vocals, while definitely not as aggressive as the average vocalist in any Black or Death Metal band, sound convincingly menacing, and you can understand what he's saying without looking at the lyrics. Mantas is no Astennu at Lead Guitar, but he gets the job done. Howerever with Abaddon, his drumming is very simple. Although that kinda helps to convey the "bunch of friends jamming" feel, the drumming really isn't all that exciting.
This album includes many classics that would soon inspire many covers, from Progressive Thrash Metal gods Voivod covering Witching Hour to old-school Death Metallers Six Feet Under covering In League With Satan. In fact, Tom Warrior of Hellhammer, admitted later on after he disbanded Hellhammer to form the technically superior Celtic Frost, that all he did in Hellhammer was rip off of ideas from Venom.
On the CD reissue, there are liner notes which explain the band's early beginnings, and show many photos of the band, and other reviews. On the back cover of the booklet, it shows the back of the original LP release. Look on the last page in the booklet, and you'll see the full tracklist, credits, and contact information for Sanctuary Records Group, among other things. There are, as stated before, no lyrics printed in the booklet.
So overall, this is highly reccomended, and it's a great addition to any metalhead's collection.
My Rating: 8.4 out of 10
...Are you still there? Good, because that review freaked me out. I'm glad that with reviews on my own site, I don't have to add a bunch of bullshit in between the lines. :)
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