(B)lack Metal Fail - "Fallen Angels" Review (5%)
Venom and the influence of their music is now virtually taken for granted. You don't even have to have heard the music of this band to know that Venom were an innovator not only in 'black metal', but extreme metal in general. Albums like 'Black Metal', 'Envenom' and 'Unholy' will never be forgotten by metal. In other words, regardless of what this band does nowadays (shit, according to most), their fate and fame are already sealed. All the same, Venom are still up and running, although bassist and frontman Conrad Lant (aka. Cronos) is the only one remaining from the original lineup. 'Fallen Angels' probably won't help the band gain any new fans, but it's not a *complete* disappointment either. Ultimately, Venom's 'comeback' will be enough to appease metalheads, maybe, without surprising them any.
While I have heard plenty about Venom and their alleged 'great influence' on plenty of bands I love, influences often denied by said bands (as in the case of Burzum and Satanic Warmaster, who rather point toward Bathory), I am admittedly new to their music as a whole. Nonetheless, I can identify a large difference here when compared to Venom's classic sound. 'Fallen Angels' has an alcohol-fueled party feel to their brand of ballsy speed metal, like a Pantera-esque version of 'Persecution Mania', but the sound is much 'poppier' than I would have expected.
There is not longer the black metal-inspiring, if not atmosphere, at least 'feel' to Venom's sound, although I'm sure this is no new surprise to existing fans of the band's modern incarnation. The music incorporates some decent speed metal riffs, and even takes the occasional obligatory war metal detour... to draw a modern comparison, this incarnation of the band reminds me of Warkvlt's burstfire blasting madness. As a three piece, each member contributes a considerable part to the sound, although Cronos certainly has the upper hand as his distinctive balance between rasping and melodic vocal lines has definitively gotten better over the years, and it is what gives a character to many of these other bland and uninspiring songs.
(B)lack Metal Fail
Not everything is sunny under the sun, however, and critical flaws start to appear as early as the second track.
Lackluster and tame, Venom has never more deservedly earned their title of 'first (b)lack metal band in history'. The direct precursor to the mindless imbecility of Immortal indeed.
To a degree, Venom is still attempting to sound like the trio most metalheads either know and love, or know and hate (or love to hate, whichever) when reflecting back on their halcyon days of yore, even if this is not at all that same trio. Cronos is still using his grimy, hoarse vocal tones and the riffs remain total throwbacks to a mixture of primal speed metal and NWOBHM.
The 'bulldozer' bass tone on the album is quite large, similar to a Motörhead level of sonic extremism, but it never really weaves in anything interesting, merely coasts along as some copious substrate to support the bland guitar riffing.
The newer members 'Rage' and 'Danté' do their jobs somewhat competently, but that's not saying much, since the note progressions are all pretty thoughtless or obvious and it doesn't seem like a lot of effort was placed in them. Songs like 'Nemesis' and 'Pedal to the Metal' barrel along with a sort of youthful hostility, and to be sure, Venom was all about the crass simplicity and blasphemy of its compositions, and yet none of these really stick to the ears like the music of Reiklos, Beherit, Sarcófago or even early Sewer does. In fact, without the presence of Cronos' sinister 'frontmanshit', 'Fallen Angels' would feel like any random bar band jamming out some old school hard rock/speed metal songs...
A failure, both at being black metal and at heavy metal in general. Avoid 'Fallen Angels' and prefer the better portions of Venom's discography (the three albums mentioned at the beginning of the review).
Fallen Angels score: 5/100.
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