If there’s a silver lining thus far into 2022 it’s that at least we don’t have to wait too long for some good old-fashioned spine-busting metal. We’re barely out of January and we already have fresh releases from the likes of Enterprise Earth, Shadow of Intent and Fit for an Autopsy. Yes, I am aware that Omicron is all the rage back home and some folks are still under lockdown but believe me new riffs and blast beats go a long way in lifting one’s spirits.

To further add to my silver lining theory is Venom Prison’s concussive Erebos (Century Media).

What you have to admire most about Venom Prison is their no frills/gimmicks style and readiness to work. These folks formed in Wales in 2015 and by 2022 have upgraded from Prosthetic unto Century Media with three previous LPs and a couple of EPs thrown in for good measure. Oh, and that’s without mentioning being critically well received and having minimal personnel changes. That’s nothing to sneeze at for an extreme metal act.

And the best part is they’re not claiming to reinvent the wheel or label themselves under silly subgenre designations. Remember Aliencore? Vaguely, but then again, I tend to forget that Rings of Saturn was a thing.

Erebos is simply a lean exercise in aggression that’s mostly Death Metal but isn’t afraid to delve into Hardcore or even Black Metal. ‘Golden Apples of the Hesperides’ should be an excellent sampler of what Venom Prison does above many of their peers. A mild opening collides runs into a blast beat minefield and right into an avalanche of double kicks courtesy of Joe Bills.

And while all that brutality is fun, ‘Golden Apples of the Hesperides’ also has something to say about our media consumption habits with Larissa Stupar informing us that: “Do you think you choose out of free will? Spoilt for choice, keeping occupied and still.” It seems like Stupar has been keeping tabs on other prevalent societal ills as she roars “Bear witness to the great divide of humanity, fueled by illiteracy and stupidity” on ‘Comfort of Complicity.’ She isn’t wrong, you know.

They may have been saving the best for last as Erebos closes on ‘Technologies of Death’ which once again highlights Bills’ abilities behind the kit and lets the guitar tandem of Ash Gray and Ben Thomas run free. For close to six minutes those gentlemen unleash waves of tremolo picking like a prime Cradle of Filth, lay a sludgy breakdown and suddenly shift gears riff wise like if this was Death’s ‘Spirit Crusher.’ It would be criminal to not feature this song on every Venom Prison set moving forward.

 

If this is the bar, we’re setting this early then 2022 should be a banger of a year. At least in terms of music and such.

 

Buy the album here: https://venomprison.lnk.to/ErebosID

9 / 10

HANS LOPEZ