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.
The Witching Hour
Venom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The witching hour draws near,
Come hear the bell is tolling,
Mortals run in fear,
Prepare the altar now and hear the virgin cry,
Hold fast the sacrifice,
For now it's the time to die,
All hell breaks loose,
Unveil the pentagram,
And feel the demons lust,
Come watch the holy men,
Who look on in disgust,
Come taste blood,
And feel the heat of Satan's breath,
Look in the sky's and see,
The warriors of death,
All hell breaks loose,
Hell's breaking loose,
Witching hour.
Our work is now complete,
The blood runs fast and free,
And Satan takes his bride,
And cry's of blasphemy,
All hell rejoices at the child,
That she will bear,
And Satans only son,
Shall be the worlds despair,
All hell breaks loose,
Hell's breaking loose,
Witching hour.
The lyrics to Venom's song Witching Hour are a celebration of the occult and a warning to mortals to fear the power of Satan. The song begins with the moon calling out to all those who practice witchcraft, as the witching hour draws near. The bell is tolling, a sign that something wicked is about to happen, and mortals are running in fear. The lyrics go on to describe the preparation of an altar, where a virgin's cry is heard and a sacrifice is made. It's a time for death and all hell breaking loose.
The song then goes on to describe the unveiling of the pentagram and the feeling of the demons' lust. Holy men look on in disgust as the participants revel in the heat of Satan's breath and the taste of blood. The sky is filled with the warriors of death, and all hell breaks loose. The work is complete, and the blood runs fast and free. Satan takes his bride and cries of blasphemy are heard. The child that she will bear is Satan's only son, the world's despair.
The song concludes with a final warning that all hell is breaking loose, and the witching hour is upon us.
Line by Line Meaning
Come hear the moon is calling,
The full moon is rising, signaling the beginning of the witching hour.
The witching hour draws near,
The time when magic and supernatural events are most potent and dangerous is approaching.
Come hear the bell is tolling,
The sound of a church bell ringing ominously adds to the fearful atmosphere.
Mortals run in fear,
People who do not practice the dark arts feel frightened and vulnerable during this time.
Prepare the altar now and hear the virgin cry,
A maiden is being sacrificed on the altar while the attendees listen to her screams.
Hold fast the sacrifice,
The sacrifice should not be allowed to escape or be rescued.
For now it's the time to die,
This is the moment when the sacrifice's life will be taken.
All hell breaks loose,
The chaotic and destructive forces of the underworld are unleashed.
Hell's breaking loose.
The devil and his minions are causing mayhem and destruction.
Unveil the pentagram,
The symbol of the devil is being revealed and worshiped.
And feel the demons lust,
Those participating in the ritual feel overwhelmed with a carnal desire for evil things.
Come watch the holy men,
Religious figures observe the scene with a mixture of disgust and horror.
Who look on in disgust,
Their principles of faith are being defiled by the revelry.
Come taste blood,
Blood is being consumed, possibly as part of the sacrifice or in celebration.
And feel the heat of Satan's breath,
Satan's fiery and malevolent power is present and palpable.
Look in the sky's and see,
The heavens themselves testify to the evil being committed below.
The warriors of death,
The forces of darkness are represented by terrifying warriors.
Our work is now complete,
The dark ritual has concluded successfully.
The blood runs fast and free,
The shedding and consumption of blood was a central part of the ritual.
And Satan takes his bride,
The devil claims a bride or consort to serve him in his endeavors.
And cry's of blasphemy,
The participants revel in acts that would be considered sacrilegious or abhorrent by most people.
All hell rejoices at the child,
The dark beings celebrate the prospect of a new evil being born into the world.
That she will bear,
The consort of the devil will give birth to the Antichrist or another evil entity.
And Satans only son,
The offspring will be considered Satans only offspring by those involved in the ritual.
Shall be the worlds despair,
The child will be responsible for bringing about destruction and despair to the world.
Witching hour.
The song speaks of the time when supernatural forces are at their most powerful and dangerous.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ANTHONY C. BRAY, CONRAD THOMAS LANT, JEFFREY DUNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andy Wood
Imagine being able to go back in time to the medieval ages, play this song and say “this is the Devil’s music”
Apollyon the Destroyer
@Flaming Flammenwerfer Oh well. At least I'll die warm.
Kareem Hussein
@aaalltcringeieeett aaalltcringeieeett You don't even have to travel back in time. I know places where you're still going to be threatened if you play this nowadays! hahahaha
Rtb1
@Flaming Flammenwerfer Adäquater Benutzername
𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝕭𝖆𝖈𝖐𝖚𝖗𝖔
@Metalhead
They would have burned us at stake because of the fact that we can travel through time which is like fucking Black Magic to them.
Metalhead
@Flaming Flammenwerfer they would definitely burn us at the stake because they would thought we are worshiping the devil.
evilbug555to666
That 2nd solo brings tears to my eyes....so soulful yet so brutal....long live VENOM🤘🤘
Jay Duffy
"Don't listen to that! It's the Devils music!" My mom yelled in 1982, & I responded "exactly & it's freaking awesome!" She quickly closed my door
Aurora Borealis
She later became a Trump supporter
Heather
I had this record and a subway poster of Peter Murphy at Hammersmith Palais on my wall facing the door. It kept everyone out of my room. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣