Venom

Cast In Stone

This is the REAL VENOM

Review Score:

(10/10)
It's about time Venom reunited, even if it was for a short time. But at least we got the "Venom '96" ep, "The Second Coming" live video+CD & finally this one right here: "Cast In Stone". This is how Venom should sound. Heavy as Hell. This CD kicks off with "The Evil One", the full length version that is. A shorter, rougher mixed version appeared on "Venom '96" (or "Live '96" on a different release). This song is just incredible. It's one of the heaviest and most devastating tunes Venom ever recorded. Seriously. Play it loud enough and it'll feel like a huge hammer is smashing your head in. And when Cronos growls, "Jesus f**ks you!", look out for a flaming doorway opening below you, cause you're goin' to Hell. Other awesome songs here are "Raised in Hell", a great head-bangin' number; "All Devil's Eve", where Mantas' guitar sounds like a massive freight train comin' at you; "Destroyed & Damned", another extremely powerful song, complete with thunderstorm fx & some surprisingly good singing from Cronos. But it's NOT a ballad, that's for sure. Then there's the ultimate Venom thrasher called "Flight of the Hydra", where Abaddon's arms probably fell off after he completed it. Also check out "God's Forsaken", "Mortals" and "You're All Gonna Die", a song which tells us that, no matter who you are or how important you think you are, you're still gonna take a dirt nap someday. Then when that disc is done, there's another disc full of re-recorded Venom classics like "Bloodlust", "Die Hard", "Ladylust", "Manitou" and others. And a song simply called "Venom". I don't know if this is new or a really old one that they just got around to recording, but it does have the Venom attitude. The songs on disc two are great, but of course, you can't beat the originals, you know? These CDs are how Venom might have possibly sounded if Mantas never left in the first place, but who knows? The songs are good & evil and really, really heavy, so I don't think you'll be disappointed. Reunions are sometimes crappy, but that's not the case with this one. Give your speakers a rest halfway through or they just might explode from a Venom overload. Crank it!!!

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