Customer Reviews

Cast in Stone

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's about time Venom reunited, even if it was for a short time. But at least we got the "Venom '96" ep, "The Second Coming" live video+CD & finally this one right here: "Cast In Stone". This is how Venom should sound. Heavy as Hell. This CD kicks off with "The Evil One", the full length version that is. A shorter, rougher mixed version appeared on "Venom '96" (or "Live '96" on a different release). This song is just incredible. It's one of the heaviest and most devastating tunes Venom ever recorded. Seriously. Play it loud enough and it'll feel like a huge hammer is smashing your head in. And when Cronos growls, "Jesus f**ks you!", look out for a flaming doorway opening below you, cause you're goin' to Hell. Other awesome songs here are "Raised in Hell", a great head-bangin' number; "All Devil's Eve", where Mantas' guitar sounds like a massive freight train comin' at you; "Destroyed & Damned", another extremely powerful song, complete with thunderstorm fx & some surprisingly good singing from Cronos. But it's NOT a ballad, that's for sure. Then there's the ultimate Venom thrasher called "Flight of the Hydra", where Abaddon's arms probably fell off after he completed it. Also check out "God's Forsaken", "Mortals" and "You're All Gonna Die", a song which tells us that, no matter who you are or how important you think you are, you're still gonna take a dirt nap someday. Then when that disc is done, there's another disc full of re-recorded Venom classics like "Bloodlust", "Die Hard", "Ladylust", "Manitou" and others. And a song simply called "Venom". I don't know if this is new or a really old one that they just got around to recording, but it does have the Venom attitude. The songs on disc two are great, but of course, you can't beat the originals, you know? These CDs are how Venom might have possibly sounded if Mantas never left in the first place, but who knows? The songs are good & evil and really, really heavy, so I don't think you'll be disappointed. Reunions are sometimes crappy, but that's not the case with this one. Give your speakers a rest halfway through or they just might explode from a Venom overload. Crank it!!!

This is my first Venom CD and man was I blown away. I had heard some of their songs before but once I put Disc 1 of this CD I was blown away. This was total thrash metal with AWESOME lyrics! Venom came out in 1979 before thrash, death, and black metal existed and I truly believe that Venom influenced all 3 genres. The person that called this "a poor man's slayer" truly doesn't know what he's talking about. This band came out before Slayer, influenced Slayer and Slayer knows and pays tribute to this band all the time. Now, this may not be the most talented band of all time but this is just one of those CDS that when you put it in you are in another world and everything in my life is good. Also, it is 2 discs for only 15 bucks so it is well worth it. Buy today, or continue posing.

A previous reviewer stated Venom as a "poor man's Slayer", so obviously he does not know his metal history. One of the most influential bands (Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera's Phil Anselmo have all sited Venom as a major influence) to ever play metal, "Cast in Stone" is a good introduction to new fans of Venom. Both discs are packed with older and newer (and in some cases newly recorded and re-recorded) songs that may take a while getting used to (those used to listening to old Metallica and Slayer may take a bit before really getting into it), but once you do you will fully appreciate the impact that Venom had on the heavy metal music genre. "The Evil One", "Raised in Hell", "Your All Gonna Die", and "Rip Ride" are all great songs and among Venom's best. All in all, those looking to get into Venom should definitely give this a shot. A mini-poster is also included that is a pretty cool extra.

1997 was a year that will live in infamy. For starters, the original line-up of Venom, (Cronos, Mantas and Abbadon), was back and that's all I really think you need to know. However, I am a huge Venom fan so I will tell you what I think about it anyway. One word, classic. Venom had come back with a vengeance on this album and although it was new at the time, most of the songs are so good that this album would have been a great follow-up to 1985's "Possessed." The album opens up with the song "The Evil One" which is a slow, but good tune and introduces you to a slightly different band. "Raised in Hell" reminds me of songs off of the now legendary "Black Metal" album as does the song "All Devil's Eve". At this point in Venom's long career, a song like "Destroyed and Damned" was a breath of fresh air and "Domus Mundi" really threw me for a loop! The original unholy trinity's songwriting and musicianship had greatly improved and is in evidence throughout "Cast in Stone". Venom tried to do different things, but still retained the reckless abandon that all fans of this band are accustomed to. "Flight of the Hydra" is a track that is one of my favorite tunes because it is classic Venom. After the first 7 songs, the cd loses ground a little. The songs really don't have the best riffs in them. Out of 14 new songs, I would say 9 of them are very, very good. "Swarm", which closes the album is very weird indeed but very good. Again, I must say that Venom is always full of surprises, meaning that keyboards and acoustic guitars appear on this album from time to time, but don't let that scare you. "Cast in Stone" is worth getting, trust me. The 2nd cd is cool. It has 10 songs that were re-recorded. But, seriously folks, this was the first album where the original line-up first got back together and that is reason enough to own this truly majestic record. Old Venom fans would surprise me if they do not dig this album. This is heavy metal.

It is rare for a band that has a history to make a comeback album that is decent. Venom has risen to make an album that is Superior. The production has the effect of being overrun by a mounted, bloodsplattered hoard wielding battleaxes. The songs seem to be written from a mind that lives in a state of sheer brutal focus. It pushes aside the white noise and gimmick of modern metal bands, and instead thrusts to you a massive leg of mutton and tanker of ale. Enjoy this banquet feast after a long day of plunder and slaughter.

this cd sounds like a punch in the mouth. it pounds in your ear but doesn't do like all the newer black metal bands and just make fast incoherant thumping. in my opinion this is as hard as it can get and still sound like music. no stupid bumblebee solos or choking dog lyrics, just kick in the jaw metal songs. i will listen to this cd at least once a week for the rest of my life...

The classic lineup of one the most influential metal bands ever (Abaddon, Mantas, and the outrageous Cronos) reforms and issues their first disc together in over 10 years! It seems though, that the effort wasn't worth the wait. Gone are the days of go for broke playing, outrageous antics and the in your face attitude once "possessed" by this band. What we have here is a a seemingly half hearted effort, with little intensity and worst of all, no identity. This Venom plays it safe; basic 3 chord metal tunes, generic and plodding, which is quite a shock. Understandably all bands mellow out with age and address other parts of musicianship otherwise neglected in their youthful days. But here, Venom commit the worst crime of all and defang themselves. This release can be lumped in with all the other pricecutter bin fodder. While my views may be extreme, remember the glory days of Venom and ask yourself if this release can even cast a shadow on any of their old material. I think you'll come up with the same answer I did. While it's great to them back together as a group, it's a shame they wasted their time recording this disc. As an afterthought, it seems that they too, needed something to pump up this disc, so they went and made this a double cd and re-recorded some of their old classics. Again the results are less than spectacular. 2 stars for value (2 discs for $13!)and for the hope of them recording something special in the future.

THE WORLDS FIRST BLACK METAL BAND- AND AS THIS CD PROVES- STILL THE BEST! PRODUCTION ON THIS DISC IS FIRST RATE.

This was my second venom experience and boy I'm glad I bought it. Since Venom was such an inspiration for some of my favorite groups (namely Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera) I had to try these legends out. Because I wasn't big on their evil image and some of their insepid lyrics on the first album I bought of theirs (that album was Resurrection), I was leery about buying this disc. But to my surprise they're lyrics are a lot tamer on this album, which I personally found as a good thing. This album is just great power thrash all the way through and Cronos's voice is just amazing. He has one of the most disinct voices in the metal world. Fans of Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth should give this disc a try. You will not doubt find similarities from this disc in all three of those bands. As a bonus you get a free second disc with newly recorded classics. I find that a lot of fans of older Venom do not like these remakes, but I dug them. It really adds a new sound to the songs with the higher production. Overall a very good album with a great bonus disc.

What happened here? Venom has always been an above average black metal band, but not much to get all frothy and excited over. Slowing things down a bit and getting almost crunchy in their sound, Venom gives thrashheads lots of chunky stuff to chew on. Sure the Satanic lyric well has been abused and bled dry thousands of times in heavy metal's much criticized career, but at least Cronos makes it sound like old Belezeebub himself may have a pulse. It almost sounds... happy... ok, bad choice of words. With all the blurry crap out there in the black metal genre, its nice to kick back into gear again with some early eighties sounding devil hymns. Call them the Rolling Stones or the Black Sabbath of the Satanic world! Nice to see the production values cleaned up too! Send off the little ones or younger siblings to bed and enjoy some heathen party music!