From The Very Depths (Spinefarm), the fourteenth entry in the Venom canon, sees Cronos and company delving into the roots of underground punk and heavy metal, resulting in some satisfyingly atavistic blasts of noise. No squeaky clean production values are present to water down or blight the impact of the crunchy thrash riffage and relentless aggression present here.
Cronos’ spiteful delivery on ‘Temptation’ exemplifies what Venom have always been about; a gritty, go for the throat approach which requires little deviation from their original blueprint of crust covered heavy metal. ‘The Death Of Rock N’ Roll’ sounds like recent Darkthrone covering Mötorhead and with only one number on the album exceeding the five minute mark, things are kept nice and concise, as is the rough-shot blast of first single ‘Long Haired Punks’. The tongue in cheek old school hokum may not work for actual black metal fans but these japing Geordies were never ‘grim’ or ‘kvlt’ to begin with; luckily Cronos appears aware of the ridiculousness of his lyrics as he barks on the former “Line up the Marshall stacks! We’re killing King Creole!” while axeman Rage churns out some pumping speed metal riffage. ‘Evil Law’ rides a crushing mid-paced ostinato but overt repetition certainly kills its momentum, and the wah injected ‘Smoke’ is a questionable entry.
At fourteen tracks, this opus feels fleshed out in places with the elaborate intros of ‘Eruptus’ and ‘Ouverture’ adding nothing to proceedings, but luckily the album adopts a ‘play it straight’ ethos and is, for the most part, shorn of the modern influences or ham-fisted experimentation which has made their recent outings rather ponderous.
Creating menacing vicious heavy metal is what Venom is about and any deviation from this simple formula feels unnatural and forced. All the elements of the bands classic sound has been recalled in what may be the current line up’s finest work since the late nineties, although if you are looking for material of a quality akin to Black Metal or Welcome To Hell (Neat) then you will be found wanting.
A decent, if unspectacular, entry that preaches to the converted.
7.0/10
ROSS BAKER