Review by Felix on April 29, 2019.

V.E.N.O. f**king M.!

Cronos is back once again. I am skeptical after the last EP and especially in view of the fact that all its three examples of mediocrity have found a place on Storm the Gates. Thus, a 95 + X % rating would be ridiculous, even for someone like me who once was a Venom fanboy and now has become a Venom fan-grandfather. Cronos will never again release a new At War with Satan, but a more than solid full-length should be possible. Maybe the droning, more or less rumbling sound of the album does not meet the greatest expectations, yet it embodies the typical flair of the noisy British legend pretty well. Needless to say, that Venom do not concentrate on technical tricks and so the production must be considered as suitable for this group - even though it would be a shame for any other formation due to its lack of sharpness and precision. But let the truth be told without any kind of cynicism. Storm the Gates (by the way, nice artwork) has an acceptable production in objective terms, no more, no less.

13 songs seem to be an omen for creativity, but honestly speaking, in the case of Venom, this would be a daring thesis. The pounding, mid-paced compositions of Storm the Gates sound antiquated. Cronos seems to have fallen out of time and the disappointing EP does not remain an isolated case. The album lacks energy and spontaneity. I miss outstanding pieces which would be able to challenge the highlights of the band's back catalogue. Generally speaking, the here presented tunes enlarge the catalogue of the trio, but they do not enrich it. It is truly bitter, but the majority of the songs raise the question of Venom's right of existence in 2018. I hate to say it, but 36 years after the groundbreaking Black Metal and 34 years after the visionary At War with Satan, this new work does not deserve a comparable attribute, even though I am not speaking about a complete flop. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that the entire work has almost nothing in common with black metal. Even the comparatively diabolic atmosphere of its predecessor, remember "Smoke", "Evil Law" or the title track of "From the Very Depths" is missing.

Some good riffs have been created and they are responsible for the fact that the album does not drown in the big sea of meaninglessness. If one accepts that Venom are seemingly no longer able to convey a diabolic aura, one can enjoy some tracks and have fun. "Over My Dead Body" marks the most vigorous song, it is almost an explosive eruption in the context of this album. (But its lyrics prove evidence that the band has lost the orientation. Cronos moans about omnipresent propaganda and I really don't see a link to the "Satanic" topics that made this band once great. I am sure that Satan tears will extinguish the fires of hell as soon as he listens to this work.) "Notorious", "I, Dark Lord" or the dense and robust "Immortal" score with strong choruses and fine guitar work. The voice of unbreakable gnome at the microphone also can be mentioned as a plus point, because he still has a certain charisma which fits the musical approach. Nevertheless, there is not an ounce of originality or creative insanity. It is rather an album for obedient civil servants. Teachers, employees at the cadastral office and the part-time workers of the urban library will enjoy the fact that Storm the Gates somehow reflects their personalities. No unnecessary stress, please.

Venom's once gargantuan reputation is the main reason why the band is still alive, even though it is laudable that they still try to forge new strong albums. From the Very Depths was an excellent result, at least from my point of view. But here we have to face a work that holds no components in order to blow the listener away. Too many run-of-the-mill pieces mirror exactly the feature that all artists, but especially Venom, always intended to avoid since the beginning of time. They are ordinary. The closing title track is the final disappointment. I always thought a title track should be something special, but here we have just another piece of more or less structured noise. The once polarizing pioneers deliver songs which are too good to hate them and too bad to love them. I will walk the way of Venom with them until the bitter end, come hell or high water. But it seems as if the end is coming nearer and nearer.

V.E.N.O.f**king M.?

Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Review by Frost on November 28, 2021.

Recently, I went to the Bandcamp of Death Kvlt Productions and decided to make a huge purchase. Since Bandcamp and a bunch of labels (some of which of their own volition, I'm sure) are doing huge discounts on their digital material there, what better time was now than to get some metal? With that in mind, the entire digital discography of DKP was bought for a little over a dollar. All 71 digital releases in my library to do with as I please. Well, with the exception of Lamp Of Murmuur's stuff, but that's more so my issue with the band deciding to be as much of a cunt as possible by only allowing one song to be digitally available on the BC while making infinitely scarce the number of physical copies they make, making their music almost impossible to buy cheap anywhere.

Rant on one band's business practices aside, Vegard. Vegard is an atmospheric black metal band from the UK formed in 2018. From what I've seen, they've been relatively hard working with a handful of demos, a split, an EP, and two full lengths over the course of two years. The two men at the helm of this band, Grond and Count Vornok, it seems want to make a name for themselves in the black metal underground given the amount of material they've pumped out pretty consistently.

The album I decided to give a listen to is their second full-length, Bewitched By Moonlight Rituals. There's an inherent spookiness to this album, a moribund chill that permeates the air when it begins and will linger for a while after the last track concludes. As it progresses, the album slowly pulsates towards an ever-greater encompassing coldness that seeks to swallow the room in a crystalline aura of misty fog, enveloping the listener in its frigid winter grasp that is threatening, yet mysterious and welcoming like the call of a siren. There aren't any fast, sweeping tremolo picks, no insanely fast hyper blasting drums – none of that is present on this album. Instead, we're treated to a slow, pleasurable vibrato of soft as silk keyboards in the forefront, slow paced, meticulous drumming, and incredibly thin guitars with heavy distortion in the background, occasional acoustic guitar parts which serves as the catalyst for a very pleasing atmosphere, topped off with a pretty thin production job, this album is cold, cold, cold to the bone.

Now all of this is typical for atmospheric black metal. Nothing unique is being brought forth to shake up the established formula too much. What this album makes up for in its lack of doing anything out of the ordinary are the great songs it produces. For those who enjoyed the most atmospheric parts of Wolves In The Throne Room, early Burzum, and maybe early Ulver, this is worth checking out. The keyboards really stand out in creating a really vibrant, ominous setting of being lost in the woods. My favorite song so far is 'Summoned To Dusk', which really commands my attention with its beautifully haunting melody and entrancing shrieking vocals performed by Count Vornok whose performance wouldn't be out of place as a terrifying spectre roaming the forest. Again, very typical black metal banshees, but I feel these kinds of screeches work best with atmospheric black metal. The minatory nature of them fits more so here than if they were to be swapped out on a Darkthrone or even a Tsjuder album. These echo laden screeches are more akin to, as I mentioned earlier, Wolves In The Throne Room. The bass on here is nice and audible, which always leads me to give a band extra point. On top of that, it's not stagnant at all behind the guitars and is off doing its own thing. Also beautiful. Some of the most interesting bass lines we hear in songs like the opening track and the last track, 'A Tomb Shrouded In Mists'.

Already throughout the writing of this review, I've gone through this album twice through. That's because not only is this album engaging, but it’s also mesmerizing. It's hypnotic. It's trance like. As this album closes yet again, I have to say that I'm definitely going to check out this band's other stuff. I can't say this album is a masterpiece, but it's immensely entertaining. All atmoblack fans should give this thing a listen.

Rating: 8 out of 10