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.
Schizo
Venom Lyrics
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Mystery surrounds him,
What terrible secret does he hide,
An ordinary man,
Doing what he can,
But what goes on inside his mind.
The night draws nigh,
Axe blade shines,
Midnight chimes.
Morning comes around,
Headless bodies found,
Our little friend just sits and smiles ha ha,
Take them home and love them,
Read the bible to them,
Be sure to kiss each one goodnight.
But come the night,
You'll freeze with fright,
Axe drawn high,
Another dies.
Creeping and searching for victims unknowing,
What fate doth await round each corner,
The take in the night,
He's got you in his sight.
Now that I have warned you,
Always look behind you,
You'll never know just who'll be there,
That harmless looking dear,
May be the one to fear,
So never trust those you don't know.
But come the night,
You'll freeze with fright,
Axe drawn high,
The bastards die.
The song "Schizo" by Venom tells the story of a seemingly ordinary man who has a terrible secret. Children find him mysterious, and the song wonders what goes on inside his mind. The man seems harmless, doing what he can, but his inner demons come out at night. The lyrics speak of the night drawing nigh, with darkened skies and an axe blade shining. The night brings terror as our little friend takes unsuspecting victims, creeps around searching for those unknowing, and draws his axe, ready to strike.
The final verses of the song caution the listener to beware of those who seem harmless during the day, as they may be the ones to fear at night. The song creates a sense of foreboding with its haunting melody and lyrics that warn of the danger lurking in the shadows.
The lyrics of "Schizo" by Venom are evocative and chilling, telling a terrifying story of a disturbed mind. The song is an intense and unsettling reflection of the darker side of human nature, and the music adds to the haunting quality of the lyrics. The message of the song is clear: be careful who you trust, especially at night.
Line by Line Meaning
Children gather round him,
People are drawn to him
Mystery surrounds him,
No one knows much about him
What terrible secret does he hide,
He has a dark secret
An ordinary man,
He seems like a regular person
Doing what he can,
He tries to live his life normally
But what goes on inside his mind.
His thoughts are unknown
The night draws nigh,
Nighttime is approaching
With darkened sky's,
The sky is dark
Axe blade shines,
He carries a weapon
Midnight chimes.
It is midnight
Morning comes around,
Morning arrives
Headless bodies found,
Dead bodies are discovered
Our little friend just sits and smiles ha ha,
He is amused by his actions
Take them home and love them,
He takes the bodies and cares for them
Read the bible to them,
He reads religious text to the bodies
Be sure to kiss each one goodnight.
He shows them affection
But come the night,
When night falls again
You'll freeze with fright,
You will be scared
Axe drawn high,
He is ready to kill
Another dies.
Someone else is killed
Creeping and searching for victims unknowing,
He looks for people to kill
What fate doth await round each corner,
Anything could happen
The take in the night,
He can strike at any moment
He's got you in his sight.
He sees you as a potential victim
Now that I have warned you,
He is warning you
Always look behind you,
Be aware of your surroundings
You'll never know just who'll be there,
You can't predict who might be dangerous
That harmless looking dear,
Someone who appears harmless
May be the one to fear,
Could actually be dangerous
So never trust those you don't know.
Be cautious of strangers
The bastards die.
He kills his victims
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ANTHONY C. BRAY, CONRAD THOMAS LANT, JEFFREY DUNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Nissardpertugiu
@ShagStars Productions it was a Fuck you all rules like keith moon , with Paice and Cozy heavy groove .
I will add nightmare , good playing . The riffs , the accent of drums , and remember that legato bass stuff .
Great song
Hounds of hell sounds apocalyptic evil .
And the drumming is fine , the triplets and the hypnotics end ..
I dont think back to it thinking you can do that if you can't really play .
With the years going on , i think they took the other way primitive to just piss of everybody on purpose .
Same , Bursting out , both version , the tempo actually doesnt moove as much , the bass is picky and the drum fills as cozy powell on extreme moody evil set are cool .
Sometimes it was a bit out of control .
But hey , thats the part of it .
I mean if you listen some mahavishnu orchestra stuff , budgie , Trapeze , Sabbath .
Even they really more progressive virtuoso things , they raw , mad , and had that primitive edge a that same time too.
Same things with elvin jones .
Some of this solos would be very fluid and melodic .
Others would be abstract , dirty and dark ( as the one with Art blakey duet ) on purpose .
Modern metal Inquisition call that forbidden and sloppy , but i think they missed the point .
So its like saying all thoses guys sucked because they didnt play like a robot .
Stupid .
@kafritsa8716
I once met a woman with schizophrenia. Unexpectedly she was the sweetest person I've ever known. Somehow this song reminds me of her but not in a mocking way
@ProletarianNuklearWarrior
Schizoid disorder is very different to schizophrenia
@davidbolger2000AD
Was this Cecelia McGough by any chance??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ray180597
Morning comes around, Headless bodies found, " Our little friend just sits and smiles ha ha, Take them home and love them, Read the bible to them, Be sure to kiss each one goodnight." You gotta fucking love Cronos ! GENIUS !
@beamsfromdaathsun2340
Two bands that really impacted me and my taste about metal are Black Sabbath and Venom! Real Black Metal here.
@theodderotter6635
none of that screaming bullshit
@jongonzalez4003
"Schizoid" is the legitimate title of this track.
@vivaldireal1741
No it’s Schizo on the record
@hammersmashedface6059
@All I Wanted was a Cherry Pepsi they changed it back to schizo
@gerardhp1745
Yo le digo eschizo ^<^