Black Metal (album)
Encyclopedia
Black Metal is the second album by the English band Venom
. It was released in November 1982 and is considered a major influence on the thrash metal
, death metal
and black metal
scenes that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s. Although lending its name to the latter genre, today the album is often regarded as thrash metal rather than black metal. The All Music Guide described it as "proto-thrash". Nevertheless, its lyrics and imagery were a major influence on the Early Norwegian black metal scene.
The original cover art was made by the band's bassist and singer, Conrad "Cronos" Lant
.
It has been listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
. It was released in November 1982 and is considered a major influence on the thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
, death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
scenes that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s. Although lending its name to the latter genre, today the album is often regarded as thrash metal rather than black metal. The All Music Guide described it as "proto-thrash". Nevertheless, its lyrics and imagery were a major influence on the Early Norwegian black metal scene.
The original cover art was made by the band's bassist and singer, Conrad "Cronos" Lant
Conrad Lant
Conrad Thomas Lant is a British musician who is the vocalist and bass player of the influential black/thrash metal band Venom, from 1979 to 1987 and from 1995 to present.- Early life :...
.
It has been listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
Track listing
Credits
- CronosConrad LantConrad Thomas Lant is a British musician who is the vocalist and bass player of the influential black/thrash metal band Venom, from 1979 to 1987 and from 1995 to present.- Early life :...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Mantas – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Abaddon – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Covers
- AlchemistAlchemist (band)Alchemist is an Australian progressive metal band from Canberra whose style combines death metal, progressive rock, psychedelic, Eastern, Aboriginal and electronic influences. The band formed in 1987 and has so far released six studios albums, an EP and a compilation album. Work began on a new EP...
covered "Black Metal" for a tribute albumTribute albumA tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
. - BlitzkriegBlitzkrieg (band)Blitzkrieg are a heavy metal band from Leicester formed in 1980, consisting of Brian Ross , Ken Johnson , Guy Laverick , Paul Brewis and Phil Brewis ....
covered "Countess Bathory" on the album Unholy Trinity. - Cradle of FilthCradle of FilthCradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
did a cover of "Black Metal." - Dark ForestDark ForestDark Forest may refer to:* Dark Forest , a South Korean horror film* "Dark Forest", an episode of the TV show A Haunting* Dark Forest, room in the television game show Legends of the Hidden Temple...
, a black metal band from BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, covered the song "Black Metal" on their demo Sodomized By Depraved Goat from 2003. - Dimmu BorgirDimmu BorgirDimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
covered the song "Black Metal", as the Japanese version bonus track on their album, In Sorte DiaboliIn Sorte DiaboliIn Sorte Diaboli is Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir's eighth studio album, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created for In Sorte Diaboli, in which a new promotional photo can be seen and an audio sample can be heard...
. - HypocrisyHypocrisy (band)Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
did a cover of the song "Black Metal" on the album Osculum ObscenumOsculum ObscenumOsculum Obscenum is Hypocrisy's second album, released in 1993. The cover artwork was created by Wes Benscoter. Osculum Obscenum was re-released in 1996 as a digipak with bonus tracks and a photo of the band lineup from that year with Mikael Hedlund, Peter Tägtgren, and Lars Szöke.-Track listing:-...
. - Isegrim made a cover album called "A Tribute to Venom"
- MachetazoMachetazoMachetazo is a grindcore/goregrind band from La Coruña, Spain formed in 1994. They are one of the few surviving bands in the Spanish underground extreme music scene of the nineties.-History:...
covered "Black Metal"; it appears on the compilation UltratumbaUltratumbaUltratumba is the name of a compilation released by Spanish grind/death band Machetazo in 2006 on Spanish label Living Dead Society...
. - MayhemMayhem (band)Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
, whose guitarist and bandleader EuronymousEuronymousØystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
hailed Venom as an important black metal band, covered "Black Metal" on their Pure Fucking Armageddon demo. - Messiah MarcolinMessiah MarcolinMessiah Marcolin , also known as 'Eddie Marcolin', is a vocalist best known for his work in the doom metal band Candlemass.-1984-1985:...
did a cover of "Countess Bathory." - NecrodeathNecrodeathNecrodeath is an Italian extreme metal band from Liguria. It is one of the first extreme metal bands originating in Italy. They take inspiration from Slayer, Possessed, Kreator, Celtic Frost and Bathory...
made a cover of "Countess Bathory" on their album Draculea released in 2007 - ObituaryObituaryAn obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
covered "Buried Alive" for their greatest hits compilation, entitled Anthology. - SighSigh (band)is a Japanese extreme metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1990. They are credited as being one of the first Japanese black metal bands, when the majority of black metal in early 1990s came from Scandinavia. They gradually shifted from a more traditional black/thrash metal sound, to a more...
covered multiple songs off of this album (as well as other Venom albums) on To Hell and Back: Sigh's Tribute to Venom in 1995, and on A Tribute to Venom in 2008, along with other EPs and splits. - UnleashedUnleashed (band)Unleashed is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund. Viking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, and Norse folklore are common themes found in the band's songs. A number of their recent songs also contain references to J. R. R. Tolkien.-Biography:Unleashed...
covered "Countess Bathory" on Shadows in the Deep from 1992. - VaderVader (band)Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...
covered "Black Metal" on their album NecropolisNecropolis (album)Necropolis is the eighth studio album by the Polish death metal band Vader. The album was released on Nuclear Blast on August 21, 2009. A video was shot for the song "Never Say My Name" which is based partially on the book "The Gospel According To Satan" by Patrick Graham.On April 8, 2009, Vader...
. - MacabreMacabreIn works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
covered "Countess Bathory" for their album Grim Scary Tales. - WarpathWarpathWarpath may refer to:* Warpath, a hostile mood in which a person goes at War against one another.*Warpath , a mutant superhero in Marvel Comics*Warpath , a FPS video game by Digital Extremes for the PC and Xbox...
covered "Black Metal" for their album When War Begins. - Kazjurol covered "Countess Bathory" for their ep Body Slam.
Legacy
- In 2005 it was voted the 68th best British album of all time by Kerrang!Kerrang!Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
readers. - The title track was featured on the soundtrack to Tony Hawk's American WastelandTony Hawk's American WastelandTony Hawk's American Wasteland, abbreviated to THAW, is a video game that was released for the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube and PC on October 18, 2005. Part of the Tony Hawk series, the game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision.The PC version of the game was ported and...
.