Venom is an English heavy metal band formed in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne.… Read Full Bio ↴Venom is an English heavy metal band formed in 1978 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 (1981) and Black Metal (1982)—are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Venom's second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the extreme metal subgenre of black metal. However, Venom's later discography remained speed/thrash metal, as to not having a single record that has black metal elements.

Venom's original personnel came from three different bands: Guillotine, Oberon and Dwarfstar. The original Guillotine featured Jeffrey Dunn and Dave Rutherford on guitars, Dean Hewitt on bass guitar, Dave Blackman on vocals, and Chris Mercater on drums who replaced Paul Burke, the original drummer when the band was founded. Blackman and Mercater were later also replaced by drummer Anthony Bray and vocalist Clive Archer. Later, Dean Hewitt was replaced by Alan Winston on bass. Around that time a number of personnel changes occurred. Clive Archer, Eric Cook, Tony Bray and Ian Kell formed a band while working at Reyrolles. Ian Kell was replaced in mid-1978. In late 1979, Conrad Lant replaced Dave Rutherford. Lant later switched to bass after the departure of Winston. The band members took on new stage names. Archer became "Jesus Christ", Lant "Cronos", Tony Bray "Abbadon", and Jeff Dunn "Mantas".

Prime influences of the formative band were Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Kiss. Other musicians that have influenced Venom are Deep Purple, Sex Pistols, the Who, the Tubes, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley.

'Welcome to Hell' influenced several later bands. Venom's music helped shape the development of many thrash metal bands, specifically the "Big Four of Thrash" (who in turn were highly influential): Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth (Metallica opened for Venom on an early 1980s tour, and Venom opened for Metallica and Slayer on the Ride the Lightning tour, and Slayer played with them and Exodus on the Combat Tour in 1985). Venom would also be of extreme importance to the black metal scene and even the early death metal scene, with numerous bands copying styles, themes, and imagery from the band, such as the Swiss band Hellhammer (later to become Celtic Frost), whom also helped pioneer the genres. Music critic Bradley Torreano wrote that Venom "caught the attention of both metalheads and punks, the band was emulated by the former and turned into camp icons by the latter." Henry Rollins once compared the band to Spinal Tap.

Death & Dying
Venom Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Old man death sits all alone
In quiet contemplation
Picking at his blackened nails
Waiting for his next victim
Watching as your life force drains
Your end is nigh
Happily he comes to take your soul
Before you die

Old man death - Death & dying

Old man death expressionless
Staring into nowhere
Duty bound collecting souls
Pleas for mercy wasted
He's the one stands at the gates
Past death's immigration
Take a ride to the other side
Don't ask dumb questions

Old man death angel accursed
King of afterlife
Ancient as the sands of time
His tempus fugit cries
With a choice of short & swift
Or everlasting pain
Old man death decides your fate
Death is all the same

Old man death - Death & dying

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Venom's song Death & Dying deal with the theme of death and the image of an anthropomorphic representation of death itself, an old man sitting alone watching for his next victim, collecting souls and deciding whether to grant them a short and swift death or an everlasting pain. The lyrics describe death as a natural process in which an individual’s life force gradually drains out, and old man death happily comes to take their soul. Moreover, the song depicts old man death as an ancient being, duty-bound to perform the task of collecting souls, and he appears to be completely expressionless or emotionless in the performance of his job.

The lyrics of Death & Dying contain a lot of metaphors and imagery. Old man death is described as sitting alone and picking at his blackened nails, perhaps symbolizing the waiting and patience required to collect souls. The lines "Watching as your life force drains, your end is nigh" paints a picture of a helpless individual succumbing to their inevitable fate. The line "Don't ask dumb questions" creates an eerie vibe and implies that old man death is not interested in negotiating or showing mercy.

Overall, the song is a commentary on the inevitability of death and the powerlessness of humanity in the face of it. The lyrics suggest that old man death is indifferent to what type of death he grants an individual, which only reinforces the idea that death is a natural process that we cannot control.

Line by Line Meaning

Old man death sits all alone
Death is personified as an expressionless old man who is alone and waiting for his next victim.

In quiet contemplation
Death sits in silence, deep in thought as he awaits his next task.

Picking at his blackened nails
Death is restless as he plays with his blackened nails, possibly due to boredom or anxiety.

Waiting for his next victim
Death's sole purpose is to collect souls; he patiently waits for his next task to come to fruition.

Watching as your life force drains
Death doesn't miss a beat; he observes as life transitions to death, as your vital energy fades away.

Your end is nigh
Death knows that your life is almost over, and he prepares himself to claim your soul.

Happily he comes to take your soul
Death is happy to collect your soul; it is his duty after all.

Before you die
Death is the final stage of life; he comes before anyone and everyone passes on to the afterlife.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ANTONY ESME LANT, CONRAD THOMAS LANT, MIKE HICKEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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