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.
Valley of The Kings
Venom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The dying slaves and the loyal
Were drowned out by the noise from
The blazing fires and sandstone walls
Which separated them from the
Procession outside who chanted
And sang aloud on this their most
Spirit of pharaohs
Rise to the stars
Their mortal shell stays
In the valley of the kings
Worship the pharaohs
Children of gods
Their earthly symbols
In the valley of the kings
The unheard cries of the tortured
Souls lay buried deep in the bowels
Made thick unearthly air
With a sense of sinister foreboding
Even the cold night sky
Saw not a cloud nor star was moving
Caught in the crossfire of sadness
And fear of the pyramid
In the valley of the kings
The lyrics of Venom's song "Valley of the Kings" tell the story of the burial rituals and ceremonies that took place in ancient Egypt. The beginning of the song sets the scene for the events that took place during these times in history. The screams of terror from dying slaves as their pharaohs were buried were drowned out by noise from roaring fires and sandstone walls that separated these slaves from the procession outside. The outsiders sang and chanted on this, their most ceremonious of nights, and hoped that the spirits of the pharaohs would rise to the stars.
The second half of the song reflects on the burial process and the tortured souls that were buried deep in the bowels of the earth. These souls were not heard, and the cold night sky saw no movement of stars, leaving a sense of sadness and fear that shrouded the pyramid. The song ends with a sense of worship for the pharaohs, who were considered as children of gods. Their earthly symbols stayed in the valley of the kings.
Overall, the lyrics of "Valley of the Kings" provide a glimpse into the ancient Egyptian burial rituals and ceremonies, with their emphasis on the immortality of their pharaohs and their afterlife. The imagery used in the lyrics creates a sense of otherworldliness and foreboding, leaving the listener with a sense of awe and respect for the culture of ancient Egypt.
Line by Line Meaning
They say the screams of terror from
It is said that the sounds of fear coming from
The dying slaves and the loyal
The slaves who were dying and the faithful who remained
Were drowned out by the noise from
Were overpowered by the sounds of
The blazing fires and sandstone walls
The bright flames and the sturdy walls made of sandstone
Which separated them from the
That separated them from
Procession outside who chanted
The group of people outside who were singing
And sang aloud on this their most
And performed with great enthusiasm on this, their most
Ceremonious of nights
Important ceremonial night
Spirit of pharaohs
The essence of the rulers of ancient Egypt
Rise to the stars
Ascend to the heavens above
Their mortal shell stays
Their physical body remains
In the valley of the kings
In the resting place of the great Egyptian pharaohs
Worship the pharaohs
Honor and adore the powerful rulers of Egypt
Children of gods
Believed to be descendants of the gods themselves
Their earthly symbols
Their tangible representations in the material world
In the valley of the kings
In the place where they were laid to rest, among their treasures
The unheard cries of the tortured
The unspoken screams of the tormented souls
Souls lay buried deep in the bowels
Spirits were entombed deep within
Made thick unearthly air
Creating an atmosphere that was otherworldly and dense
With a sense of sinister foreboding
A feeling of ominousness and danger
Even the cold night sky
In spite of the cool nighttime air
Saw not a cloud nor star was moving
There were no clouds in the sky, and not a single star twinkled
Caught in the crossfire of sadness
Trapped in the midst of intense sorrow
And fear of the pyramid
And the terror that came from the pyramid itself
In the valley of the kings
In the sacred grounds where the great pharaohs were buried
Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Stonegrunger
Excellent Venom, a great, huge band, one of the best of all time
flambo
All the trolls. The riff was one of the best in the album! \m/
sectvm drums
hail venom!
Movies For Adults
Man music. 🤘 😈 🤘
Hey you weirdo
I am a woman and i am here :)
MyAlexdc
WTF ONLY 3035 VIEWS !!!! venom is venom!!! enjoy this !! there is no other band they have history ...what? don't tell me that now all of you guys forgot that!!!
S. Yaser Tahery
9 years later from your comment and only 16k views, and stupid bullshit gets millions. Doesn't matter I feel petty for the rest of humanity.
J.P H
balls...... 😈👊🔥
Dot
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MrSkullfaceflamenco
Sounds like a bad Venom cover band.