Review by Chris Pratl on October 10, 2018.

As a man that goes back with Venom 30-years next summer I admit to a tremendous amount of trepidation when it comes to any post-Resurrection releases that, in my eyes, have stultified the band’s unhallowed name. Already into the first track “Hail Satanas” and hearing the ho-hum vision, I wasn’t exactly impressed, but I’m going through twice as always.

I honestly went into this thinking it was going to be more assembled refuse from Cronos and whoever else he has in the shell that is Venom these days, but I’d be lying if I said this album was bad. In fact, it’s really not too bad at all. That said it’s not the dark and horrifying Venom we’re used to, so dispel the notions of a new era’s In Nomine Satanas or In League with Satan right away; the opening track in “Hail Satanas” is widely misleading in that the absolute danger associated with Venom’s image is long washed away by age, a changed musical tide, and a lack of Jeff Dunn and Tony Bray. On that note, Rage and Dante provide a solid backbone to Fallen Angels with some very potent guitar work and competent drumming that often makes one miss Abaddon less and less when it becomes apparent he was the weakest link in the chain all of these years. However, no effective replacement for Jeff Dunn has ever been found for that original ‘dirty’ sound that is both necessity and longing element.

“Damnation of Souls” is one of the tracks that call ever slightly upon the old-school Venom feel, providing a designated journey backwards for a brief few minutes as Cronos and company power through the track with not so much of a hint at reticence. This album is not a distant past glories re-validation for Venom by any stretch, but for its main function and purpose it’s really more than just okay and will more than likely find a soft spot in the black hearts of many a Venom fan, young or old. Other songs like “Beggarman”, “Lest We Forget” and “Sin” are fluid pieces of a larger puzzle that have more memorable and interesting riffs than pedestrian rehashes. Completing the musical picture are some slower, unexpected passages here and there that are not only perfectly-placed but timed accordingly to not wear out a welcome or simply take up empty space. As a whole, the original Venom sound is, at the very least, altered and more modernized to pretty much blend in with the modern thrash bands of today. The crisp, think production doesn’t necessarily deny a lineage as much as it showcases a different Venom that, for this record, manages to encapsulate a resonating and palpable sound. 

I’ve always said that Venom lost that familiar edge once they learned to effectively play their instruments. At worst it’s an insult of high order; at best it’s a testament to the fact that even a minimalistic band with borderline talent can destroy and conquer the masses with honest, integral music that influenced a virtual planet of musicians from 1980 onward. The band has certainly capitulated on its instrumental prowess of late, and this album has some really fine moments of old school heavy metal, even if the NWOBHM influence has long been washed away. Cronos sounds more lyrically-inspired than on Hell or Metal Black and while the original danger associated with Venom might be muffled the anger and volatility are still ever present.

Overall this is one of the better post-original lineup releases since Prime Evil. I’m once more glad to be proven wrong, especially concerning a band that has, quite literally, molded and shaped my life in large ways…and damn them to Hell for that! 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by Chris Pratl on November 18, 2018.

When you get two heavyweights such as Rogga Johansson and Paul Speckmann collaborating on a project, you hopefully feel a severe rush of excitement as I did. As long as I've been a fan of Paul Speckmann from his bands Master, Abomination, Funeral Bitch and other various bands and projects, I know him to be a man of quality with no shortcuts taken in his music. On the same token, Johansson himself possesses an impressive list of credits from Paganizer, Revolting and into Humanity Delete, not to mention everything in between. If you are an extreme metal fan and are not familiar with either of these men, eternal shame on you for existing at all. 

Sulphur Skies is a death metal undertaking of vast importance and much-detailed scrutiny. When these men assign themselves to projects, it's usually microscopically evaluated by the elitist automatons in the movement, ready to strike down the effort with an uninformed keystroke or predetermined opinion. They seem to get scorn for not recreating the wheel with every release, but a simple standard of quality and dedication always trumps a staunch switch in style to assuage the easily lulled masses too scared to accurately define dedication. Once you are familiar with both of these guys' respective catalogs, you follow for life or your deviate for something easier to dissect. After going through the album once, now thrice for pleasure and measure, I can say that this collaboration is a winner all over. 

What is offered here in Sulphur Skies is a generous amount of death metal speed, slow and crunching groove-inspired volatility, and well constructed vocal patterns. After being battered about with the opener, “Everyone Rots,” I'm not able to settle down for one single second. “Taste the Iron” is a slower entry into ugly brutality as Speckmann growls about suffering within an iron maiden device, a long-abolished and primitive form of amusing torture that still brings a smile to this old man's face. My personal mental illness aside, the next track in “Sulphur Skies” has some of the best riffing around; the true art in death metal guitar isn't vying for some tired technically-advanced foray into flailing pinch harmonics or lightning-fast scale humping, and I wish more musicians would realize this. These riffs and arrangements here are Death Metal 101. 

Some of the really powerhouse tracks here are influenced by many years of tiling a soil long dried up by horrifyingly boring and trite bands attempting to lay new soil to an already rich field. Among those ancient influences, there is no larger champion that Paul Speckmann; his influence has been long felt and disgustingly under-appreciated for too many years. You can most certainly hear some of his moody Sabbath bass influences in the 'slower' tracks, but there's an unmistakable viciousness to the guitar work, especially in “Vile Stench and Decay”, which has some great tonal brashness. While I'm constantly reminded of Revolting and the recent Bone Gnawer EP ala Rogga's guitar work, this only adds to my personal enjoyment because as ugly as it can get, Johansson manages to disfigure it all so perfectly under the caustic shroud of bare-bones rudiment. 

Going into this for the third time in one sitting, I grow more impressed with the level of intensity from this record. Johansson's guitar prowess is becoming something of an underground legend. Sure, some people seem to find his riffs overused and almost obligatory, but there an undeniable darkness that emits from nearly every riff the man produces that settles in your soul and grows like a festering tumor fit to burst. Moving past this euphemistic malignancy, simply put, Rogga himself is long associated with quality. One listen to “The Real Victims” and you might just understand the correlation between good death metal and plasticity feigned for the sake of posturing. There is no technical brilliance here, no over-saturation of production to kill the essence of the album, and no mix-matching of styles foreign to the intended mark. All instruments, while clear and mixed well, do not compete with one another for mock superiority, and that makes the album even more enjoyable. 

For people who enjoy their death metal with a generous meshing of antiquity and modernization, you should really take in this pairing and enjoy the simplicity of one deadly and historical meeting of the minds, and how wonderfully sick they are!

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by Chris Pratl on November 18, 2018.

When you get two heavyweights such as Rogga Johansson and Paul Speckmann collaborating on a project, you hopefully feel a severe rush of excitement as I did. As long as I've been a fan of Paul Speckmann from his bands Master, Abomination, Funeral Bitch and other various bands and projects, I know him to be a man of quality with no shortcuts taken in his music. On the same token, Johansson himself possesses an impressive list of credits from Paganizer, Revolting and into Humanity Delete, not to mention everything in between. If you are an extreme metal fan and are not familiar with either of these men, eternal shame on you for existing at all. 

Sulphur Skies is a death metal undertaking of vast importance and much-detailed scrutiny. When these men assign themselves to projects, it's usually microscopically evaluated by the elitist automatons in the movement, ready to strike down the effort with an uninformed keystroke or predetermined opinion. They seem to get scorn for not recreating the wheel with every release, but a simple standard of quality and dedication always trumps a staunch switch in style to assuage the easily lulled masses too scared to accurately define dedication. Once you are familiar with both of these guys' respective catalogs, you follow for life or your deviate for something easier to dissect. After going through the album once, now thrice for pleasure and measure, I can say that this collaboration is a winner all over. 

What is offered here in Sulphur Skies is a generous amount of death metal speed, slow and crunching groove-inspired volatility, and well constructed vocal patterns. After being battered about with the opener, “Everyone Rots,” I'm not able to settle down for one single second. “Taste the Iron” is a slower entry into ugly brutality as Speckmann growls about suffering within an iron maiden device, a long-abolished and primitive form of amusing torture that still brings a smile to this old man's face. My personal mental illness aside, the next track in “Sulphur Skies” has some of the best riffing around; the true art in death metal guitar isn't vying for some tired technically-advanced foray into flailing pinch harmonics or lightning-fast scale humping, and I wish more musicians would realize this. These riffs and arrangements here are Death Metal 101. 

Some of the really powerhouse tracks here are influenced by many years of tiling a soil long dried up by horrifyingly boring and trite bands attempting to lay new soil to an already rich field. Among those ancient influences, there is no larger champion that Paul Speckmann; his influence has been long felt and disgustingly under-appreciated for too many years. You can most certainly hear some of his moody Sabbath bass influences in the 'slower' tracks, but there's an unmistakable viciousness to the guitar work, especially in “Vile Stench and Decay”, which has some great tonal brashness. While I'm constantly reminded of Revolting and the recent Bone Gnawer EP ala Rogga's guitar work, this only adds to my personal enjoyment because as ugly as it can get, Johansson manages to disfigure it all so perfectly under the caustic shroud of bare-bones rudiment. 

Going into this for the third time in one sitting, I grow more impressed with the level of intensity from this record. Johansson's guitar prowess is becoming something of an underground legend. Sure, some people seem to find his riffs overused and almost obligatory, but there an undeniable darkness that emits from nearly every riff the man produces that settles in your soul and grows like a festering tumor fit to burst. Moving past this euphemistic malignancy, simply put, Rogga himself is long associated with quality. One listen to “The Real Victims” and you might just understand the correlation between good death metal and plasticity feigned for the sake of posturing. There is no technical brilliance here, no over-saturation of production to kill the essence of the album, and no mix-matching of styles foreign to the intended mark. All instruments, while clear and mixed well, do not compete with one another for mock superiority, and that makes the album even more enjoyable. 

For people who enjoy their death metal with a generous meshing of antiquity and modernization, you should really take in this pairing and enjoy the simplicity of one deadly and historical meeting of the minds, and how wonderfully sick they are!

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)