At War with Satan

Last updated

At War with Satan
Venomatwarwithsatan.jpg
Studio album by
Venom
ReleasedApril 1984
StudioImpulse Studios in  Newcastle, England
Genre
Length39:45
Label Neat
Producer Venom
Venom chronology
Black Metal
(1982)		At War with Satan
(1984)		 Possessed
(1985)

At War with Satan is the third album by the British heavy metal band Venom, released in April 1984. It is a concept album that tells the story of a war between Heaven and Hell which the latter side wins. It was touted as Venom's crossover into mainstream music, but failed to do so. [1] Shortly after it went on sale, the HMV record chain withdrew the album from its shelves because of its anti-Christian content.

Contents

Background

The inspiration for writing a track filling out an entire side of the record, according to Venom's bass guitarist and vocalist Cronos, came from Rush's 2112 album. [2] [3] "At War with Satan" is centred on a character named Abaddon (which is also the alias of Tony Bray, Venom's drummer), who is the guardian to the gates of Hell. [4] Cronos started writing, in his school days, a story about "how Hell revolts and takes over the heavens and throws God into Hell", a story later fleshed out as "At War with Satan". [2] The title track's imagery and storyline largely evokes the Book of Revelation and John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667–1674), filtered through a postmodern horror movie and pulp aesthetic. [5] The catchy opening riff of the title track derives from the song "Teaser" by Tommy Bolin (1975).

With side A taken by the epic title track, side B offers the "three-minute scorchers" for which the band is best known. [1] The metal journalist Malcolm Dome said that songs such as "Cry Wolf" showed how much Venom had matured in their songwriting without losing their edge. [6] According to the AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia, the album's last track, "Aaaaaarrghh", is "possibly the funniest song ever recorded". [1]

Artwork

At War with Satan's packaging resembled the leatherbound sleeve of a bookcover. A hundred-page The Book of Armageddon with the entire story of At War with Satan was supposed to be published alongside the album, but it never happened. [7] The Swiss independent distributor Disctrade tried to interest Venom in H. R. Giger's painting Satan I (1977) to no avail. [8] It later became the cover art of Celtic Frost's second album, To Mega Therion (1985). [9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 7/10 [10]

By the time At War with Satan went on sale, Venom had reached a crossroads in their career. [11] Critics felt that their third album should have propelled them into the heavy metal mainstream, something which failed to materialize. [12] Venom were also being threatened by thrash metal upstarts such as Metallica, [11] who two months before At War with Satan's release were the opening act for Venom's Seven Dates of Hell tour [13] (Roughly a year later Venom also took Slayer and Exodus on their North American Combat Tour). [14] This was Metallica's first European tour, which included concerts in Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Aardschok Festival in the Netherlands. [13]

The record was well received by major music magazines. "Proof positive that Venom are the best heavy metal band in the world", said Melody Maker 's Neil Jeffries of the album. "It will definitely go down in Heavy Metal history as the ultimate headbang," claimed a Sounds reviewer of the title track. [15] At War with Satan's entry on the "Where to Start with" section of the Kerrang! site says that this was the "last truly great record the Geordie three would make". [16] Some criticism, though, was directed toward the album's production values, viewed as subpar. [17]

The title track's merits divided critics. In the opinion of About.com's Chad Bowar, "At War with Satan" is at the same time "highly ambitious" and "bloated", but the song was "so over-the-top and so dramatic that it somehow worked" and made the album "an overlooked metal gem". [18] The Allmusic review's tone was harsher: this concept piece was an "ill-advised anomaly", much of it "decidedly crap". [1]

The rise of metal's popularity in the 1980s was paralleled by the political power gained by conservative organisations such as the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). The Christian campaign against the "offensive" content of rock music carried out by certain political groups in America eventually crossed over to the United Kingdom. Venom became one of its early victims: HMV stopped selling At War with Satan in fear of legal action because of Britain's obscenity laws. [19] The PMRC later included the title track of Venom's following album Possessed in their "Filthy Fifteen" list. [20]

Track listing

All songs written by Cronos and Mantas.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."At War with Satan"19:57
Side B
No.TitleLength
2."Rip Ride"3:09
3."Genocide"2:59
4."Cry Wolf"4:19
5."Stand Up (And Be Counted)"3:32
6."Women, Leather and Hell"3:21
7."Aaaaaarrghh"2:25
Total length:39:45
Bonus tracks in 2002 re-release by Castle Music/Sanctuary Records Group
No.TitleLength
8."At War with Satan (TV Adverts)"1:04
9."Warhead (12" version)"3:40
10."Lady Lust (12" version)"2.48
11."The Seven Gates of Hell (12" version)"5:28
12."Manitou (12" version)"4:42
13."Woman (12" version)"2:56
14."Dead of the Night (12" version)"4:09
15."Manitou (Abbey Road uncut mix)"4:49

Personnel

Venom
Production

Charts

Chart (1984)Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [21] 48
UK Albums (OCC) [22] 64

Related Research Articles

<i>Ride the Lightning</i> 1984 studio album by Metallica

Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.

<i>Among the Living</i> 1987 studio album by Anthrax

Among the Living is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on March 16, 1987, by Megaforce Records in the US and by Island Records in the rest of the world. The album is dedicated to Cliff Burton of Metallica, who died in a bus accident six months before its release while Metallica were on tour with Anthrax as the opening act.

<i>...And Justice for All</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Metallica

...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 25, 1988, by Elektra Records. It was Metallica's first full length studio (LP) album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, following the death of their previous bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. Burton received posthumous co-writing credit on "To Live Is to Die" as Newsted followed bass lines Burton had recorded prior to his death.

<i>Kill Em All</i> 1983 studio album by Metallica

Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venom (band)</span> British heavy metal band

Venom are an English heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the early wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.

<i>Black Metal</i> (Venom album) 1982 studio album by Venom

Black Metal is the second album by English heavy metal band Venom. It was released in November 1982 during the new wave of British heavy metal, and is considered a major influence on the thrash metal, death metal and black metal scenes that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>Scream Bloody Gore</i> 1987 studio album by Death

Scream Bloody Gore is the debut studio album by Florida death metal band Death, released on May 25, 1987, by Combat Records. It is considered by many to be "the first true death metal record". Chuck Schuldiner, the band’s founder and leader, performed guitar, bass and vocals, and composed all tracks on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Lant</span> British metal vocalist and bassist

Conrad Thomas Lant, also known by his stage name Cronos, is an English musician. He is the founder, vocalist and bassist of heavy metal band Venom.

<i>Welcome to Hell</i> 1981 studio album by Venom

Welcome to Hell is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Venom released in December 1981 through Neat Records. After various line-up changes and recording several demo tapes in Impulse Studios, Venom gained success and attention with the single "In League with Satan", their dark, satanic image and their fast, raw sound. The band re-recorded all of the demos' songs, which Neat Records released as an album.

<i>Possessed</i> (Venom album) 1985 studio album by Venom

Possessed is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Venom, released on 8 April 1985. It is the band's last studio album to feature guitarist Jeffrey Dunn before his first departure from the band in 1986. At the time of its release, it received mixed reviews, even from critics who had liked Venom's earlier albums; Possessed was thought to be in another league as compared to the band's earlier works, even though much of the material on Possessed was written before the release of its predecessor, At War with Satan. It was the first Venom album recorded outside of Impulse Studios. The song "Possessed" is ranked No. 14 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of the 15 songs the group found to be most objectionable.

"...And Justice for All" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the second track on the band's album of the same name, and was released as a promotional single in 1988. Like the album it features on, it is named after the last four words of the Pledge of Allegiance.

<i>Calm Before the Storm</i> (Venom album) 1987 studio album by Venom

Calm Before the Storm is the fifth studio album by British heavy metal band Venom. The original title of the album would have been Deadline, but the title was changed when guitarist Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn left the band and was replaced by Jimi Clare and Mike Hickey. Both were to follow bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant in his later solo career and the latter would also return on the 2006 album Metal Black.

<i>The Waste Lands</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Venom

The Waste Lands is the eighth studio album by British heavy metal band Venom. It is the last with bassist/singer Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan and also the last before the reunion of the classic Venom line-up from their first four albums, Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War with Satan and Possessed. Like the previous album, Temples of Ice, the album was originally supposed to be produced by ex-Child's Play producer Howard Benson, however he was once again unavailable so the band decided to stay with Kevin Ridley. The working title for this album was Kissing the Beast, but the band changed it when they got the album cover from Tari József.

<i>Eine kleine Nachtmusik</i> (album) 1986 live album by Venom

Eine kleine Nachtmusik is a live album released by English heavy metal band Venom in 1986. It contains partial recordings of two different concerts with two different setlists. The first disc contains a show recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London on 8 October 1985 and the second disc recorded at The Ritz in New York City on 4 and 5 April 1986. The title Eine kleine Nachtmusik is German for "A Little Night Music". The title is taken from Mozart's piece of the same name.

<i>Hell</i> (Venom album) 2008 studio album by Venom

Hell is the twelfth studio album by heavy metal band Venom. It was released in 2008 through Universal. It is the first Venom album to feature La Rage on guitar and the last to feature Antton on drums, who left Venom in 2009 and was replaced by Danté.

<i>Cast in Stone</i> 1997 studio album by Venom

Cast in Stone is the ninth album by British heavy metal band Venom, and their first album in 12 years to feature the original lineup. Recorded at Lartington Hall Studios near Barnard Castle, it was released on SPV/Steamhammer in 1997. It is the last Venom album to feature Abaddon on drums.

"Countess Bathory" is a song by English heavy metal band Venom. The song originally appeared on the band's 1982 album Black Metal as well as their 1986 live album Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

"In League with Satan" is the first song released by the English extreme metal band Venom. It was released on 17 April 1981 as a single with the B-side "Live Like an Angel" by Neat Records and later appeared on the band's first album, Welcome to Hell. The song has been cited as the first black metal song and is also often cited by critics who claim a connection between heavy metal and Satanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloodlust (Venom song)</span> 1982 single by Venom (speed metal band)

"Bloodlust" is a single released by English speed metal band Venom on August 13, 1982 through Neat Records. It is the bands second single and the follow-up to their debut single "In League with Satan".

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Rivadavia, Eduardo. Review of Venom's At War with Satan at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 Kitts, Jeff (19 November 2008). "Venom's Cronos: The Guitar World Interview". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Kupfer, Thomas (September 2012). "Venom. Jesus musste gehen". Rock Hard (in German). No. 304. p. 40. ISSN   1437-8140.
  4. ↑ Karsmakers, Richard (January 1995). "An Interview with Abaddon". Metal-e-Zine. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Barron, Lee (Autumn 2004). "Milton's infernal majesty: Postmodern poetics within Venom's at War with Satan". Chapter & Verse. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Dome 2002, p. 7.
  7. ↑ Stöver, Frank (1995). "Interviews: VENOM". Voices from the Dark Side. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Fischer & Ain 2009, pp. 148–149.
  9. ↑ Fischer & Ain 2009, p. 227.
  10. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 396. ISBN   978-1894959315.
  11. 1 2 Dome 2002, p. 8.
  12. ↑ Dome 2002, p. 9.
  13. 1 2 McIver 2009, p. 125.
  14. ↑ McIver 2008, pp. 64–65.
  15. ↑ "Venom Quotes". Venom Collector Page. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Venom – Where to Start with". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Dome 2002, p. 6.
  18. ↑ Bowar, Chad (17 September 2010). "Retro Recommendation: Venom – At War with Satan". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  19. ↑ Dome, Malcolm (5 September 1985). "Battle of the Bans". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  20. ↑ Jonathon Green, Nicholas J. Karolides: Encyclopedia of Censorship. New Edition. New York: Facts on File 2005, p. 625, accessed on 14 May 2013.
    - Barry Miles: Zappa: A Biography. New York: Grove Press 2004, p. 332f., accessed on 14 May 2013.
    - Wes Orshoski: Classic Metal. In: Billboard , 25 May 2002, p. 76, accessed on 14 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Venom – At War with Satan". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company .

Works cited

  • Fischer, Tom Gabriel & Ain, Martin Eric (2009). Only death is real: An illustrated history of Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost: 1981–1985. New York: Bazillion Points Books.
  • Dome, Malcolm (2002). At War with Satan. In: Venom (1984). At war with Satan [CD]. Surrey: Sanctuary Records Group.
  • McIver, Joel (2008). The bloody reign of Slayer. London: Omnibus Press.
  • McIver, Joel (2009). Justice for all: the truth about Metallica. London: Omnibus Press.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.