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.
Insane
Venom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No escape,no orifice,they're only drained through their eyes!
The mindless thoughts and afterglow,the scars that's left behind,
Drilled upon the cranium and sculpted deep in the mind!
How they writhe in pain,padded room of doom,
INSANE!
Pulling at the iron bars and tearing at the walls,
Screaming with Insanity but no-one hears the calls!
You know in truth your mind is clear but no-one's here to tell,
A frienzied madness echo's out inside your own brain-cell!
How they writhe in pain,
Padded room of doom!
Schizo
How they writhe in pain,
Padded room of doom,
INSANE!
A Venomous completion now is riddled through you veins,
Staring at the button padded walls,
INSANE!
Nothing left inside your head and empty, useless, tomb,
Here you live,alive, undead,inside your pillowed room!
How they writhe in pain,
Padded room of doom,
INSANE!
INSANE!
INSANE!
INSANE!
The lyrics of Venom's song "Insane" delve into the depths of madness and the mental turmoil that one experiences when trapped within their own mind. The song reflects upon the pain and suffering of individuals who find themselves confined to a padded room, struggling to cope with the scars left behind by their own mind. The lyrics describe the helplessness of being trapped within a mazonic mind, with no escape and no way out. The only escape is through their eyes, with their thoughts drained away.
The song is a reflection of the agony that comes with being trapped within your own mind, and the tearing pain of trying to break free. The lyrics talk about the mental scars that are left behind and the way in which madness echoes out inside the brain-cell. The imagery within the song is powerful, with the cries of insanity being trapped within the padded room of doom, and the mental anguish being depicted through the writhing of pain.
It is apparent that the song 'Insane' by Venom depicts the intense agony of being trapped inside one's own mind, and the despair of seeking a way out. It is an emotive and powerful song that portrays the hardship and pain of being trapped in one's own mazonic mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Trapped inside Mazonic minds that simple thought denied,
This line describes being trapped in a confusing and somewhat hostile mental space.
No escape,no orifice,they're only drained through their eyes!
This line refers to not having an outlet for emotions or thoughts, which can induce tears.
The mindless thoughts and afterglow,the scars that's left behind,
This line talks about the lingering memories and consequences of past traumatic events.
Drilled upon the cranium and sculpted deep in the mind!
This line refers to the permanent damage caused by traumatic experiences that shape one's thought process.
How they writhe in pain,padded room of doom,
This line is describing the discomfort and desperation that comes from being trapped in a padded cell.
INSANE!
This is the chorus or response that repeats throughout the song, symbolizing the feeling of being unable to break free from a negative mental space.
Pulling at the iron bars and tearing at the walls,
This line describes a feeling of being trapped and needing to escape, even if violently.
Screaming with Insanity but no-one hears the calls!
This line describes feeling unheard or misunderstood, which can lead to more frustration.
You know in truth your mind is clear but no-one's here to tell,
This line is similar to the previous one in that it describes feeling like reality is at odds with others' perception.
A frienzied madness echo's out inside your own brain-cell!
This line is describing the feeling of being trapped within one's own head, with no one to talk to or vent to.
Schizo
This line is the band taking the opportunity to use one of their favorite slang terms to describe the feeling of a dissociative state.
A Venomous completion now is riddled through you veins,
This line refers to the feeling that this negative state of mind is taking over your whole being.
Staring at the button padded walls,
This line makes reference to the fact that padded cells are designed with a very specific kind of furniture and aesthetic.
Nothing left inside your head and empty, useless, tomb,
This line again describes the feeling of being trapped and hopeless, with one's own mind having become a kind of burial ground for one's self-esteem or sense of self.
Here you live,alive, undead,inside your pillowed room!
This line describes feeling like you're alive, but somehow not really living, in a space that feels more like a crypt than a living space.
INSANE!
Final repetition of the chorus, sealing the idea that one's stuck in an unending cycle of negativity in their own head.
INSANE!
Chorus.
INSANE!
Chorus.
INSANE!
Chorus.
Contributed by John L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.