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.
Welcome to Hell
Venom Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living low in a world of our own
Destined to live right
We're taking hell as our home
Burning lives burning
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell (hell)
Kill, we will kill, death
Masturbating on the deeds we have done
Hell commands death kill
Argue not or feel the death of sun
Burning, lives burning
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
The Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want
He maketh me in green pastures to lie
And leaves me beside the waters in peace
Leave your souls at his feet
Kiss the flames, scorn defeat
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me
Die, we won't die, live
Our choice of difference is what you'll never know
Mortal voids, live, die
Buried deep beneath the fall of the snow
Burning lives ending
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
The lyrics to Venom's song "Welcome to Hell" are poignant and explicit, reflecting the band's ideologies towards a darker world that they claim is their own. The opening lines, "Fight, we will fight right, Living low in a world of our own, Destined to live right, fight, We're taking hell as our home," implicate that the band is approaching this world with a sense of defiance and rebellion, carving out their own niche in a society that does not understand or accept them. They are destined to fight, to live in their world, and to defend it relentlessly.
The second verse gives insight into the band's attitudes towards death and the afterlife, proclaiming "Kill we will kill death, Masturbating on the deeds we have done, Hell commands death kill, Argue not of feel the death of sun." Here, the band is embracing death as something to be both feared and accepted, likening it to a sexual act that they must indulge in. They are content in their actions, feeling that they are doing the bidding of hell itself.
The last verse illuminates the band's desire for individuality, concluding with "Mortal voids live die, Buried deep beneath the fall of the snow." The idea here is that they are different from the rest, and that their mortality is just an illusion. They feel that they are buried deep, hiding away from a society that they do not want to belong to, and that their true identity is under the protective veil of snow.
Line by Line Meaning
Fight, we will fight right,
We will fight with honor and integrity
Living low in a world of our own,
We live by our own rules and values
Destined to live right, fight,
We are destined to live by our own standards and continue to fight
We're taking hell as our home,
We are comfortable and unafraid in our chosen lifestyle, which others may deem 'hellish'
Burning lives burning,
Lives are being destroyed and consumed by violence
Asking me for the mercy of god,
Those affected by the violence are seeking help from a higher power
Ancient cries crying,
The pain and suffering caused by violence is not a new problem
Acting fast upon the way of the dog,
Those who perpetrate violence are acting on their animalistic instincts
Welcome to hell,
Welcome to our world, which others may view as hellish
Kill we will kill death,
We will cause death and destruction without fear of consequences
Masturbating on the deeds we have done,
We derive pleasure from our violent actions
Hell commands death kill,
Our world demands that we cause suffering and death
Argue not of feel the death of sun,
We don't argue or question our way of life, which will inevitably lead to death
Leave your souls at his feet,
Abandon hope and morality, submit to our lifestyle
Kiss the flames,
Embrace the destruction and pain caused by violence
Scorn defeat.
Reject any notion of defeat or weakness
Die we won't die live,
We won't allow ourselves to be vulnerable and subject to death
Our choice of difference is what you'll never know,
Our lifestyle and values are not meant for outsiders to understand or comprehend
Mortal voids live die,
Death is an inevitability for all mortals
Buried deep beneath the fall of the snow,
Death and decay are hidden away and overlooked by society
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Anthony Bray, Jeffrey Dunn, Conrad Lant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Miikuli poika
Fight, we will fight right
Living low in a world of our own
Destined to live right
We're taking hell as our home
Burning lives burning
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell (hell)
Kill, we will kill, death
Masturbating on the deeds we have done
Hell commands death kill
Argue not or feel the death of sun
Burning, lives burning
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
The Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want
He maketh me in green pastures to lie
And leaves me beside the waters in peace
Leave your souls at his feet
Kiss the flames, scorn defeat
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me
Die, we won't die, live
Our choice of difference is what you'll never know
Mortal voids, live, die
Buried deep beneath the fall of the snow
Burning lives ending
Asking me for the mercy of god
Ancient cries crying
Acting fast upon the way of the dog
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Welcome to hell
Csaba
Venom in 1981: Hey, let's invent thrash metal and black metal at the same time, ok?
Stryker
Sabbath did the same thing by inventing both Heavy Metal and Doom Metal.
Csaba
@Stryker They invented metal in general
Antonio Ramon Concepción Vidal
Just the first 100 % satanic band
Metallica was the first Thrash Metal Band, Hit the lights the first Thrash Metal Song, and Kill EM All the first Thrash Metal Album.
Cushpnk
Rowan Easton These accounts are created one day apart. Stop trying to promote your stupid apps.
Yeah
@Antonio Ramon Concepción Vidal these dudes weren't Satanic lol
The only people who are actual Satanists are middle schoolers
dgoss1966
When this album came out, it was absolutely in a class of its own. Sure, the musicianship is primitive, but the songwriting is actually pretty well structured and for a kid trying to out-do his other metal head friends, this album scored massively. This was the sort of band that made the Ozzy fans cry and run screaming to their parents. I'm 43, and I listen to a lot of other music, but this old stuff still has a lot of the old magic.
Squidward Tentacles
Man, you’re like 55 now… wow
RCL
All of this is correct but their following album Black Metal was off the charts brilliant. Nothing like it whatsoever. At the time, I listened to hardcore, as it was called back in late 70's early 80's, Motorhead, Sex Pistols, etc. I think Keith Nichol(spelling?) should get some credit as he produced it.
John Doe 3000
It's actually crazy that this album is more than 40 years old.