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.
Pandemonium
Venom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Towards you clenching fists
Inhaling atmospheres
From hot fiery pits
Laughter announces
The musical war
Crowley pronounces
A mystical law
Pandemonium
Pandemonium
Screaming & shouting
Smashing your head
Songs of our pasts
Songs of the dead
Echanting ceremonies
Of the flesh
Speed into thrash
Black into death
Pandemonium
Pandemonium
Furious souls
In a chaos of sound
Traders in black
& the dark underground
Metal militia
Malevolent minds
Pandemonium
Begins to unwind
Pandemonium
Pandemonium
The lyrics of Venom's song Pandemonium paint a picture of a chaotic and intense scene, where the energy is palpable and the air is thick with anticipation. The listeners and performers alike are described as stretching their arms out with clenched fists, inhaling the atmosphere from hot fiery pits, and preparing for a musical war. The reference to Crowley pronouncing a mystical law suggests that there is a deeper, mystical meaning to what is happening, and invokes the image of a pagan ritual. As the song progresses, the chaos intensifies, with screaming, shouting, and smashing heads, and references to the past performances and deceased musicians. The lyrics describe enchanting ceremonies of the flesh, which could refer to anything from hedonism to sacrificial rituals, and the speed of the music shifts from thrash to death.
The chorus repeats the word "Pandemonium," which means a place or state of extreme confusion and disorder, and underscores the sense of chaos and intensity throughout the song. The lyrics mention the furious souls and malevolent minds of the performers and traders in black, invoking a sense of darkness and danger around the scene. Overall, the song creates a vivid image of a wild and unpredictable musical performance, with a sense of danger and mysticism laced throughout.
Line by Line Meaning
Stretching their arms out
The crowd is aggressively reaching out towards you
Towards you clenching fists
The crowd is making aggressive gestures with their fists towards you
Inhaling atmospheres
The crowd is taking in the environment they are in
From hot fiery pits
The environment they are in is hot, fiery and intense
Laughter announces
The crowd is excited and energetic, as if they are announcing the start of the show with laughter
The musical war
The concert is like a war, with the band and crowd battling it out with music and energy
Crowley pronounces
An air of mystery and magic is present, with the reference to famed occultist Aleister Crowley
A mystical law
The magic and mysticism present at the concert seems to be governed by a higher law
Pandemonium
The chaos and madness that is taking place at the concert
Screaming & shouting
The crowd is loud and intense, with lots of screaming and shouting
Smashing your head
The music is so intense that you feel like your head is being smashed
Songs of our pasts
The band is playing music that is nostalgic and reminiscent of the past
Songs of the dead
The music being played is related to death or mortality
Echanting ceremonies
The concert feels like a ceremony, with magic and mysticism at play
Of the flesh
The ceremony seems to be focused on the physical and carnal
Speed into thrash
The music is shifting into a faster, thrashier style
Black into death
The music is getting darker and heavier, moving towards death metal
Furious souls
The crowd and band alike are full of frenzied, angry energy
In a chaos of sound
The concert sounds like a chaotic mess of different sounds and noise
Traders in black
The band and crowd are dressed in black, like a group of traders
& the dark underground
The concert feels like an underground event, something secret and hidden from view
Metal militia
The crowd seems like a group of warriors, amped up on metal music
Malevolent minds
The people at the concert seem dark and hostile, with evil intentions
Pandemonium
The chaos and madness at the concert is reaching its peak
Begins to unwind
As the concert comes to an end, the chaos and madness begins to die down
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Conrad Lant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
⛥Soap⛧
Alguien sabe porque este excelente álbum de venom no está en Spotify??
Rainbow
Lo mismo digo
Carlos Torres
Es una de mis rolas favoritas y prendidas... El album es una joya
Carlos Torres
Es una de mis rolas preferidas..
Chingonsisima...la neta..
Phi Ai
This hits the spot. Awesome contrast when the solo kicks in.
7878rich9898
Why this band is perfect?
bonehead 13
i love this record,cronos is a legend
DANIEL MARTINEZ
excelente album.. banda ritual
Raging_Goblin88
Best Venom album since Possessed.
fncardoso
I would die for this Solo.