Sons Of Satan

Venom Inc.
DNA Lounge, San Francisco
January 20, 2016

A couple of days before this show the anticipation was so thick in the air amongst old school Metal friends you could cut it with a knife.  Yes, there are 2 versions of "Venom" active now here in the 21st Century.  One is fronted by Cronos (aka Venom) and the other features the other 2/3 of the original band plus Tony Dolan of Atomkraft on vocals / bass (aka Venom Inc.).  Honesty is my only excuse:  People focus too much on Cronos being "Venom".  The original guitar tone of Mantas and the drumming of Abaddon were as much a part of the original band as anything else.  This makes Venom Inc. completely valid plus Tony Dolan was there back in The Day in Newcastle, England fronting Atomkraft.  Ironically, my teenage Metal 'zine featured both bands in 1983:

The Atomkraft article was probably the first thing ever written about the band (Peace in Rest, Sam Kress).  A couple of hours before the show things suddenly got crazy old school full circle with this message from the band's tour manager:

"Hi Brian - Just shooting an email to you real quick - I've got ya down for tonight. Also wanted to mention that I have that copy of Whiplash mag - bought at my local metal shop in Arlington TX when it came out!! Hell yes!"

Crazy, right!?

When I arrived at the venue it was immediately obvious the show had brought a lot of old school Metalheads out of the woodwork.  It felt like a high school reunion seeing so many familiar faces; not bad for a Wednesday school night.  Beers were shared with some good friends before all Hell broke loose (in a fantastic way of course).

As the support bands played I met up with John, the tour manager, and it was as if we'd known each other for 30 years.  Most people believe only the old Punk scenes had a D.I.Y. underground ethic.. but the early-80's Metal scene worldwide had just as much of that.  The fact that John and I met for the first time here in the 21st Century but our easy conversation was like we were right back in 1983 was a testament to our roots (bloody roots).   It was during this time I also met Tony "The Demolition Man" Dolan and a circle started 33 years ago with my old Whiplash 'zine was completed.  Amazing!

 The only other times "Venom" has visited San Francisco

I was standing at stage left as the house lights went down for the headliners and I noticed someone standing to my right... and it was Abaddon.. drumsticks in hand... ready for battle... and he still looks exactly as he did in 1983... long hair and aviator sunglasses!  It was a profound moment because tonight was the first time Abaddon and Mantas had performed in San Francisco since 1985 on that first U.S. Tour.  The original band never returned here after that.  Crazy.

Obviously there was some doubts in my head about how this version of "Venom" would be onstage.  However, my expectations were fueled by very positive reports from friends who had seen Venom Inc. before... The set opened with 'Prime Evil' and then for the next 90 minutes it was full-on classic greatest hits one after another after another after another.  'Die Hard' into 'Don't Burn The Witch' into 'Live Like An Angel (Die Like A Devil)' into 'Buried Alive' into 'Raise The Dead'...  My expectations were completely hung, drawn, and quartered.  The band was fantastic... and judging by the rabid crowd action on the floor below my San Francisco Metal brothers and sisters felt the same.

[Photo courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone]

As the next song, 'One Thousand Days In Sodom', got going someone came up next to me, fist in the air, and shouted the lyrics into my ear as the band roared onstage.  It was the guy who sings 'Master Of Puppets'.   It was adorable watching the guy who sings 'Master Of Puppets' play air guitar and drums for the entire set... and after the show he hung out for a long while chatting and reminiscing with the headliners. 

[Photo courtesy of Venom Inc.]

Like I said earlier, tonight felt like a high school reunion.. and it was pretty fucking cool that the class valedictorian showed up, right?

When it comes to vintage Metal bands it's not often that the present is BETTER than the past.  However, Venom in this incarnation was without question BETTER than the "Venom" that last played in San Francisco in 2006.  The performance tonight was about THE SONGS and was one of the most focused, no bullshit sets by a vintage Metal band that I've seen in recent years.  Tony Dolan's vocal delivery and bass playing is more direct and less cheesy than Cronos... and his stage presence more appropriate for the songs now.

[Photo courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone]

This BAND is fucking tight!  No sloppy rambling interludes.  I started geeking out watching Mantas and Abaddon playing these songs again.  At times I only watched each of them, soaking in their individual performances, and being reminded how important each of them is to what "Venom" meant to me.  Mantas' guitar tone.  Abaddon's double bass thunder.  Even after all these years it's all still right where it belongs.  Time travel does exist.

The main set closed with probably my favorite Venom song, 'Sons Of Satan', and the epic timeless evening was encored to a close with 'Black Metal' into 'Countess Bathory' into 'Witching Hour'.. and then the gates to Hell were closed and the band said goodnight.  The after show hang was something the teenage me would not have believed possible as all of the band members told me separately how they still have their copies of my old 'zine Whiplash.  Wow..

For those who care, chew on this setlist:

• Prime Evil 
• Die Hard 
• Don't Burn the Witch 
• Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil) 
• Buried Alive 
• Raise the Dead 
• One Thousand Days in Sodom 
• Warhead 
• Schizoid
• The Seven Gates of Hell 
• In Nomine Satanas 
• Bloodlust 
• Sons of Satan 
• Welcome to Hell 
• Black Metal 
• Countess Bathory 
• Witching Hour

All killer... No filler.

The subject of Venom (Cronos) vs. Venom Inc. (Mantas, Abaddon, Demolition Man) is not something I'm going to debate.  I have not seen the Cronos band since 2006 when he last visited The Bay Area.. but I have seen the recent footage posted online.  That being said, Venom Inc. captures the essence of what made the original band iconic to me in my salad days.  Ironically, a day or so after the show, I received a message from the band asking me a question:

I will leave it at that. 

I didn't do a merch audit... I was too distracted all night.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  It's rare for Umlaut to still be buzzing with excitement about a show days after it happened... but that's how I still feel after Venom Inc..  Amazing and this photo was 33 years in the making:

Abaddon.. Mantas.. Whiplash.. Demolition Man
[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

"Join Venom's Legions... 'cause we're going wild.."

Bill Graham Presents Black Metal

Back in The Day, Umlaut's old friend Toni Isabella worked for the legendary Bay Area promoter Bill Graham as the Booking Assistant for venues he operated. One of these venues was the Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco, which hosted many of the early and legendary Bay Area Metal shows including Metallica on the Ride The Lightning Tour, Mercyful Fate, the album release show for Exodus and their debut album Bonded By Blood, and many others. Another show Toni worked on was the April 12, 1985 show featuring Venom, Slayer, and Possessed:

Here in the 21st Century, Venom's logo seems tame compared to the more elaborate and unreadable logos created by today's Death Metal bands. However, back in those ancient times, a logo like Venom's was a very foreign thing... especially to a big time, legendary Rock & Roll promoter like Bill Graham.

When Graham saw the ad, he left Toni a post-it note that said:

"See me re: Venom".

When Toni went to see her boss he demanded that she explain (1) how anyone would know what band was playing because their logo was unreadable and (2) how did she expect them to sell any tickets to see this band called Venom if no one knew they were playing from the ad. After listening to her boss Toni replied with:

"The show is already sold out."

Upon hearing that her boss Bill Graham didn't have a problem with the ad.  Of course, the irony is that the band names on most of Bill Graham's old psychedelic Fillmore posters from the 60's are unreadable..

The End.

"Lay down your soul to The Gods' Rock & Roll... Black Metal.."

Welcome To Hell

The exciting sequels to No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn and Witching Hour!

"Ancient cries crying, acting fast upon the way of the dog.. Welcome to Hell.."

A million years ago in the Old Metal Days, Trace Rayfield and Umlaut were penpals and soldiers in the Metal War. Fast forward to the 21st Century and we've reconnected and have picked right back up where we left off as kidz: METAL. In 1983, Trace contributed to my fanzine Whiplash including some mind blowing historic interviews... like what was one of the first interviews Venom ever did in America. His interview appeared in Whiplash #1:

WHIPLASH: Do you guys have regular jobs?
CRONOS: No.
ABADDON: No.

Trace interviewed Cronos and Abaddon together before the show and then chatted with Mantas after the show. The interview was recorded in the bathroom of the venue they were playing in New York… but I’ll let Trace tell the story:

VENOM CONQUERS NEW YORK
By Trace Rayfield

Trace with Mantas & Cronos

April 1983.

My friend Bob Monko and I arrived in New Jersey after our 900 mile journey from St. Louis to see two New York shows by two of our favorite bands, Venom and upstarts Metallica. These would be Venom's first shows outside of England. We didn’t know jack shit about the New York area, so we figured Jon Zazula’s Rock ‘N Roll Heaven record store would be a good place to start. Of course, Jon was promoting the two Venom / Metallica shows on Staten Island that weekend, plus we wanted to check out his vinyl stock that might be of interest.

We got a hotel right across the street from the mall that housed Rock 'N Roll Heaven so that we could be close to the action. We certainly got Jon’s attention after explaining the distance that we traveled to attend the shows, in addition to dropping a couple hundred bucks on much needed product from his flea market style record store. In addition, I expressed an interest in interviewing both bands for my California penbanger pal Brian Lew, who was planning a new fanzine 3,000 miles away in San Francisco. Who better to ask than the promoter of the shows? We were assured we would have full access to the bands upon arrival at the venue. This was something my buddy Bob and I were not quite used to!

After mapping our way to Staten Island for the first show on Friday night, Jon informed us that it would be best to wait until Saturday or Sunday to do any interviews. We thought, O.K., here comes the old “dust off”. We were not very optimistic at this point, other than we had already met Lars of Metallica in the parking lot of the venue. The shows were at the Paramount Theater.

We had only heard the demo and early live tapes of Metallica with Dave Mustaine, and saw the photos that Brian had sent me, but we loved what we heard and saw from Metallica. Well, the California upstarts went on to shred the New York crowd with their new guitarist Kirk Hammett. Next up was Venom with tons of pyro to demolish the hungry New York bangers. Unfortunately, there were plenty of technical problems during their set. Later during our interview, Cronos said the problems happened because "American electricity is shit". Alrighty then.

Back at Rock ‘N Roll Heaven the next day, we are promised appearances by both Metallica and Venom, which certainly peaked our interest. Venom soon appeared to the delight of the local punters as well as your's truly. One kid even had Mantas' broken guitar neck that was sacrificed during the previous night’s show. Autographs and photos abounded, then the band headed for their next in-store appearance that Jon has arranged at Zig Zag Records in Brooklyn.

At this point, my buddy Bob and I departed with James and Lars of Metallica in tow for our 4-hour odyssey that resulted in the adventure documented here: No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn. This was followed by a night of more drunken debauchery, including an earsplitting performance by Canada’s Anvil at L’Amours rock club in Brooklyn. Then the next day we arrived back at The Paramount for a second night of the Venom / Metallica onslaught.

In true underground Metal style we are directed to the backstage restroom (bog) since it was the only quiet place to conduct an interview with Venom. I've posted the audio of the entire interview here:


Listen for Metallica’s opening number 'Hit The Lights' to signal the end of our interview.

Our Venom interview tape in hand, we scurried downstairs and into the sea of denim & leather to soak up the weekend grand finale. Metallica was on point once again even with Kirk’s inexperience with the band. Fortunately for both Venom and Johnny Z., things went off near perfect for Venom’s second American show ever. Venom would not return to the States until almost 2 years later to tour with Slayer and Exodus.

We were lucky enough to be invited to the after party at the Zazula Mansion back in New Jersey (actually it was a modest suburban home). More drinking and debauchery ensued but Marsha Zazula kept everyone in line. An unexpected highlight of the weekend came when Venom’s manager asked us if we could give himself and Mantas a ride back to their hotel. Let me think about it.. Duh!! Get in and let's go!

Their manager jokingly asked me if I wanted to be their road manager as they were impressed by my ’79 Chrysler Cordoba. Considering the tiny matchboxes that they called cars back in England I'm sure my car must have seemed like a limo to them. As a departing gift, I gave Mantas my wooden Black Metal inverted cross necklace that my brother made me at his tool and die job back in St. Louis; I'm wearing it in the pics that are posted here.

Pure exhaustion is the only thing that forced us to fall asleep after the whirlwind of the previous 3 days; that and the anticipation of our 900 mile journey back home. No pain - No gain! I was pleased to deliver the interviews to Brian a couple weeks later which of course went on to be in Whiplash #1 and the rest is underground Thrash Metal history.

Trace's autographed 1983 Venom trophies

Witching Hour

Tonight a friend sent me an iPhone pic of Mantas of Venom. He was playing a show down in Santa Clara with his 2012 band who I guess are called M-Pire of Evil. Clever. Anyway, it reminded me that I had this in my closet:


It's a 1983 VHS tape that my Metal comrade and Whiplash co-editor Sam Kress (R.I.P.) brought back from a trip to England. It had been given to Sam by Venom's then manager and has the 'Witching Hour' and 'Bloodlust' videos on it. A VHS tape in 1983 was still a magical item and VCR's were still the size of a small car that few families owned. The fact we had a VENOM video that no one else had was beyond mind blowing. This was also probably the only copy in existence outside of England.

I know it's impossible for kidz today to understand what a novelty it was for us to see a band on video when you can see video with a click on YouTube now. However, in those ancient times, this VHS tape was like receiving a gift from Satan himself. To actually see Venom moving instead of only in magazine photos was a revelation... even if Cronos was lipsyching. Fast forward to the 21st Century and I sound like an old man talking like this when watching these very same videos is this fucking easy:



'Witching Hour'


'Bloodlust'
Mantas in 2012 looks nothing like he did back in The Day; he should at least grow back his 80's porn star moustache. Although, his 2012 band M-Pire of Evil also features Tony Dolan of underground 80's U.K. Metal favorites Atomkraft. Probably the first article ever written about Atomkraft appeared in Whiplash #1 written by Sam in 1983:

[click for larger image]

If I had been paying closer attention I might have made the effort to see the show down in Santa Clara tonight. Oh well...

"ALLLLLLLLLL HELL BREAKS LOOSE..."

25 Years Ago Today

Slayer blew Venom off the stage that night in San Franfuckincisco...

(From the Umlaut Archives)

Rich Hellhound remembered that day in THIS post:

When I saw Venom at the Kabuki Theater in S.F. (with Slayer in '84?), there were a couple of Skinheads harassing Metalheads in the underground parking lot after the show. They were stereotype 'Skins; no shirts, suspenders, Doc Martens, etc., and one was trying to arrange a fight between his buddy (who stood in classic boxer pose, and never said anything) and whichever passing Metalhead would accept the challenge. The "sales pitch" was pretty amusing; it went something like "Just you and him, one on one," repeated over and over. In fact, I think that's literally all the guy said.

Granted my friends and I only paused for a moment to watch one of the exchanges, but I never actually saw a fight. They were still attempting to start something as we drove away. I remember wondering at the time if it wasn't all planned (Skinhead One: "Hey, there's a Metal show at the Kabuki." Skinhead Two: "Cool, let's hang out in the parking lot after the show lets out, and kick some Dirt Head ass!").

Perhaps (and this is a far more interesting theory), there is some sort of cosmic connection between Venom and Skinheads; an ancient, eternal battle that has raged for centuries. For surely the Black Metal Gods must have their adversaries, and would not this nemesis be the polar opposite of the mighty, long-haired warriors?

Oh, and Venom did suck live. I remember being pissed at how Cronos "altered" Countess Bathory (my fave Venom song at the time), so he could sing and play it at the same time. Most of the time he was singing, he wasn't really even playing (just holding chords, as if it were a guitar). Cronos was being spit on repeatedly, and at one point yelled at the crowd, "See that lighting rig up there? If you don't stop spitting it's coming right down on your fucking heads!" I also remember Mantas' lame Karate kicks at the end of the show.

Da-Do-Do-Do-Da Raining Blood

Marvel at how a random conversation on the Information Superhighway goes from a snide remark about The Police reunion tour to Slayer and a Camaro... just... like... that!

Umlaut: The Police reunion tour = Stones prices... "Tickets will be scaled primarily at $225, $90 and $50."

Tour Manager Doug ("TMD"): And this surprises you?

Umlaut: No... but I am surprised people would pay those prices to see 'em.

TMD: That remains to be seen. I'm thinking they'll do pretty good as far as ticket sales go.

Umlaut: They're the Stones of the 80's Gen.... It'll be huge and boring ... In order to get access to the ticket pre-sale via The Police tour site you have to join their fan club for $100... 4 ticket limit. Nicely done.

TMD: It's all about sucking as much money out of your fans as possible.

Umlaut: Just like Venom.... only alot more money.

TMD: They were both 3 pieces. You never see them in the same place. Maybe...

Umlaut: Both have shite bass players....

TMD: I think maybe they are one and the same.

Umlaut: Both are from Newcastle! (Sting and Venom)

TMD: Hey, do me a favor. Send the link to that Slayer Grammy Umlaut posting to my buddy Rich. He's copied here. He was around way back when in the Slayer World. And he will probably get a kick out of this "The Police are Venom" thread.

Rich Laminate: Yes I must confess, I am aware of the parallels between The Police and Venom. I must also confess Cronos/Conrad is a longtime friend although I have not seen him in a number of years. I must also confess to working for Sting briefly in 1986 as well as Venom. Actually the more I think about it the more bizarre it all is. I am sure I would not pay the $225 to see The Police. I might pay to see the original Venom again. "Buried Alive" and "Bloodlust" were always epic.

Umlaut: I saw Sting in 1986 as I was getting out of the Metal Days... and I saw Venom in 1985 and 2006 and was sorely disappointed both times.

Rich Laminate: Where did you see Venom? I think we played the Kabuki Theater if I remember correctly, Venom, Slayer & Exodus; real Exodus with Baloff. I was with Venom and Slayer at the time, I think we also played a theater in Sacramento, perhaps the State Theater... Yeah Venom probably lacked cool due to the very gay guitar players, as I recall Mantas did not feel like touring. As for Sting he was a pretty cool guy, very nice but definitely insanely talented and on his own page, like an Einstein type dude. I had a conversation with Branford Marsalis who was playing with him at the time. The funny part was that Sting would actually play the horn the way he wanted Branford to play the instrument which is kind of bizarre as the guy is ridiculously talented and I am sure does not need Sting to school him. Funny nonetheless.

Umlaut: I saw the Venom / Slayer tour at The Kabuki.. and I spent alot of time around 'Loff and Exodus back then. Venom didn't impress because they were so sloppy... especially coming after Slayer. The legendary story from The Kabuki is Cronos threatening to drop the lighting rig on the crowd if people didn't stop spitting on him (HAHA).

Rich Laminate: Were you at Day On The Green when Metallica played, I remember Harold O. with an "I Am An AIDS Victim" logo courtesy of James and Kirk.. Fun times. Whatever happened to local personalities Andy Anderson and Toby, the two immortal crowd walkers? Are they still alive?

Umlaut: I was at that DOTG... Yeah, Harold's legendary moment of degradation. I haven't seen or talked to Andy in 10 years. I haven't seen Toby since 1985 but a friend of mine ran into him several years back at... The Renaissance Fair. I have a vivid memory of Toby walking on heads during Slayer at that Kabuki - Venom show.

Rich Laminate: Those guys were amazing. We (Slayer) did a show in Sacramento with Exodus and DRI; another momentous show and they were diving off the PA. Personally I was busy trying to remove the endless stream of revelers from the stage. Rumor was we had like 5 or 6 people with broken limbs. The crowd was so violent, you had to love it. Ah nostalgia, the 80's.. They "weren't no tuna fish and they ain't no trout"; words to live by.

Umlaut: I have another vivid memory of Andy diving off the speaker stacks at The Warfield during the Motorhead / Mercyful Fate / Exciter show in '84... The last Metal show at that venue for, like, 5 years due to the damage done to the place.. Epic.


Rich Laminate: Slayer started the Reign In Blood Tour in Seattle and the crowd at the Moore Theater ripped the stone facings from the walls and began throwing it, along with various pieces of seats and what not, at each other. By the time the show was over the gig looked like Beirut. Speaking of Mercyful Fate and Exciter, when I met the guys in Slayer in 1984, Tom and I went to see Mercyful Fate and Exciter in Baltimore, MD and ended up with myself beating up like 4 or 5 bouncers at this club after way too many Red Deaths. When the promoter found out who Tom was he made the guy who started the ruckus apologize, who coincidentally had a broken nose courtesy of me. We went back into the gig to rage some more and of course crashed the car on the way home to New Jersey. Fun times......

Umlaut: The first time I met Tom was pre-Slayer and he was visiting S.F. with a mutual friend.. He was wearing a tweed blazer and cranked Santana in his Camaro. Funny.

Rich Laminate: Dude, the car we crashed was the Camaro. It was the first tour bus. I had an opportunity to segue over to KJ's recollection of the infamous Cronos / Tom Araya encounter, which I was present for.

[Umlaut Note: For the newbies, this incident has been Metal Legend around the world for over 20 years..]

If my memory serves me, we did not have enough money for hotel rooms and I believe we were in Buffalo or upstate New York somewhere and out of the kindness of their hearts, Venom allowed us to stay in their tour bus. Obviously boys will be boys and a certain kinship was developing over much alcohol.

I remember Cronos either passing out in the front lounge or maybe taking a breather and somehow Tom's dick came out in the general direction of Cronos, which was met by a very significant head butt to the face. In a split second the room went from drunken fun to, holy shit, we may get thrown off the tour, not to mention we are about to have nowhere to sleep. Even more amazing was Tom's nearly unfazed response and his limited laughter at the whole thing. A special moment in Metal history. I am glad to have been there. We took "no money" to a whole new level.

Umlaut: To quote Baloff: "METAL!!!!!" It's amazing how the story of Tom "marking" Cronos traveled all the way to S.F. back then in those pre-Internet / pre-cell phone days. The stuff of legend!

Rich Laminate: As for the story I was telling you last night, it is even more involved. It starts like this: Tom and I venture 2 1/2 hours south to see Mercyful Fate and Exciter at the Coast to Coast Club in Baltimore, Maryland. I had arranged us some passes through Doc Bevins the promoter, a very good guy. The first thing that happens is Doc provides Tom and I with an open bar tab, which lead to many, many, many Red Deaths; I can't even remember what is in them but they will hurt you.

Anyway, Mercyful Fate is on and Tom and I are in the crowd and there is a blind guy (complete with cane) standing in front of me banging his head; a little unusual, but whatever. This guy turns around and claims I am pushing him, which I am not. The bouncers got involved, a fight started, I whacked a couple of them before they dog piled me; all the while Tom is still watching the show. So they drag me out with Tom in pursuit. Now he is drunk and hostile and the promoter comes outside to see what's going on and finds his 2 guests fighting his hooligans.

Cooler heads prevailed and he made the guy who obviously got the worst of the beating apologize for starting it. I could not believe it: broken nose and bleeding, this poor dude has to apologize. Cool, now back to the show and more drinking. Somewhere along the line I ask Tom if he can drive because I am completely retarded and he assures me he can. After the show we head to the infamous Camaro for our drive home.

Along the walk through the parking lot we find original Old Bridge Metal Militia member Bob Ojo sitting on a parking stop with no shoes on and a t-shirt. This is important because it is November 1984 (pre-global warming), like 25 degrees, snowing and ice on the ground.. Remember no shoes and a t-shirt and obviously intoxicated. When questioned what the hell he was doing there and how did he get there, he seemed oblivious. Anyway times a-wasting and we need to take our comrade in arms in and take him home with us. He piles into the Camaro and off we go.

After a few miles I again ask Tom if he is OK to drive and he reassures me he is good. I fall asleep and awake to the sound of grinding metal and sparks showering the car, to which I react by grabbing the wheel and steering the car off of the barrier wall on I-95 and over the curb. Tom wakes up, hits the brake, the car stops and we are like "What the fuck just happened". Of course, our comrade in the backseat never even woke up after hitting the barrier and the curb and skidding to a stop.

After about a 3 second discussion we decided perhaps we should just stay there and sleep (in the grass on the side of the interstate). We slept for a few hours and then restarted our trip.

Everything was fine, and we made it back to Jersey and nearly home. 5 miles from our destination, we are entering an onramp on the Garden State Parkway and at the top of the ramp the car spins loose and does 2 complete 360 degree spins on the ice. Normally this would not be significant except for the 5 state police cars behind us, who immediately pull us over and inspect the entire car. How we did not get a DUI remains to be seen. We sat on the guide rail for like an hour; poor Bob, still no shoes and a t-shirt.

Tom was issued a ticket for careless driving and so we finally made our way home... Ah 1984, a much less complicated time........... What a metal night, drinking, fighting, car crashes and the police. I am feeling a little bit nostalgic, even weepy. Those were the days my friend. Ironically, Tom is still one of the nicest people I am privileged to be friends with and 23 years later we are still here laughing about the same stupid bullshit.......

Old Metal has the best stories.. Kidz these days don't even know.

Thanks Rich!

"Blasting our way through the boundaries of Hell, no one can stop us tonight.."

===
Several longtime readers commented to me privately that I should have called this post the sequel to last year's infamous Old Men Talking "conversation"; I agree.. My favorite thing about this space is how it can jar other peoples' memories... so I don't feel like I'm the only freak who finds this crap entertaining.

Old Metal Erik: I have been enjoying your blog and the resulting Earth Dog thread over my morning joe, and I gotta pipe in. I remember the Kabuki bill as Venom, Slayer, Possessed. Exodus did the tour but wanted to do their own hometown show for the Bonded By Blood release. I might be wrong, but we joked about the bill being Venom, Venom Jr. and Baby Venom.

As far as that Motorhead / Mercyful Fate /Exciter show: Awesome! And it marked the end of those seats at The Warfield. I did my share of destruction that night, flinging pieces of seats everywhere. It was truly chaotic.

Note for The Newbies: For almost 40 years The Warfield was a movie theater (Gone With The Wind had its West Coast premiere there in 1939). In the 70's the theater became a concert venue and the original main floor theater seating remained intact... until Motorhead and Mercyful Fate literally destroyed them in 1984. In the years following that mayhem the old theater seats were removed and The Warfield's main floor is now an open floor for General Admission standing.

Umlaut: [Posted on the Earth-Dog Forum] That Motorhead / Mercyful Fate / Exciter show at The Warfield was so epic... The theater style seats bolted to the floor.. Everyone rushing the stage when Fate came on.. I got knocked sideways out of the aisle and was laying across several chairs for a bit and I was afraid someone was going to land on top of me from above.. The debris from the busted chairs being thrown onstage during MH.. Then walking around down front after the show and seeing all of the wreckage.. the remains of the chairs still bolted to the floor but no more chairs... Epic!

The Warfield with its original main floor theater seating (1930's)

Old Metal Erik: Now, the irony. I spent the years 1988-1995 working at The Warfield and Fillmore, both on the stage crew for events, and on the maintenance staff when shows were slim. One of the main tasks for maintenance was repairing the damaged seats in the balcony - the exact same seats that used to be on the main floor. Talk about karma!

Nonetheless, I used to love working in the balcony, and finding all the lost concert goer loot. I found wristwatches, jewelry, money, and after Jerry Garcia shows there would be literally ounces of high grade pot to be had.

I was once reattaching a severed seat cushion, when a ticket stub fell out of the inner stuffing. It read "Loew's Warfield" and was dated 1932. I still have it in plastic somewhere. Crazy!

The Warfield as Movie Theater
Circa 1964 showing Boris Karloff's Black Sabbath (!)

These relics are courtesy of Chris J. (Thanks brutha!):

Count all of the umlauts!! However, wrong 1984 Motorhead band photo...

Revised ad with correct 1984 Motorhead photo

Live Like An Angel (Yawn Like A Devil)

Venom / High On Fire / Goatwhore
The Fillmore, San Francisco
August 27, 2006

A friend recently told me that she reads this space regularly, but usually not the "Metal stuff"… which means she actually doesn’t read this space very often (HA HA).

This was Venom's first visit to San Francisco in (DOH!) 21 YEARS (Hope I die before I get old!). Truth be told this was 1/3 of Venom since only Cronos remains from the original lineup. However, it was appropriate that this show was literally around the corner from where the 1985 show took place (For the S.F. Newbies: The Kabuki movie theater used to be a concert venue).. I even parked in the same parking garage that I did 21 years ago, but that was as far as the nostalgia went for me on this night.

(From the Umlaut Archives)

Of course, the irony about Venom is how The Kidz today consider them to be "legends", but the Old School knows what a big sham they were back in The Day. Yeah, yeah Umlaut ran out and bought Welcome To Hell and Black Metal when they first came out. Hell (pun intended) I even had the Venom Black Metal logo sewn on the back of my denim jacket circa 1985... and Hell (pun), Umlaut's Metal ‘zine from back in The Day is even pictured in the booklet of the recent Venom box set. However, all of that changed after I saw them live on their debut U.S. Tour. Click HERE to read about that debacle. So yeah, yeah Venom blah legendary blah blah.

Umlaut was expecting to have a routine night at home in front of the t.v., so THANKS to Todd for inviting me to be his All Access date for the gig. Also THANKS to Dema and Skychick for not being threatened by our strictly platonic male relationship.

During Goatwhore's set Todd and I sipped our drink tickets in the balcony like old men and tried to count the number of girls down on the main floor.. The count ended at 10 out of around 400 punters, which is probably a higher Chicks-To-Dudes ratio than in 1985.

Goatwhore is one hilarious (in a bad way) band name. They played a new song the singer introduced as 'Haunted Curse' and my inner English Lit Major thought "Isn't that the same thing??" It's sorta like calling a song 'Steel Metal'. Discuss amongst yourselves.

To keep myself amused, I sent text messages to Tour Manager Doug (TMD) and he responded all the way from Europe. I felt like CNN when I sent TMD a bulletin that Cronos had just brushed past me backstage. Technology Rules! Cronos was in full stage costume and his bald spot almost blinded me.

High On Fire were pretty darn molten; I’'ve seen ‘em too many times to remember, but I thought this set was really incendiary... and they didn’t even play ’'10,000 Years’'. I'm sure it was because they were jacked to be playing The Fillmore for the first time. Nicely done, lads. Horns, etc. etc.

Venom's opening salvo of ‘Black Metal’ > ‘Welcome To Hell’ > ‘Bloodlust’ > ‘In Nomine Satanas’ was entertaining, but I laughed out loud when Cronos said “"San Francisco! We FINALLY made it back!!"” Indeed, after 21 years Venom had finally made it back to S.F... but sadly a good bit of Cronos' hair hadn’'t.

Cronos (aka Conrad) still plays bass like a high school Lemmy wannabe, but it was hilarious watching him in between songs ("You are Venom's legions!", "This band will NEVER stop!!" etc. etc. etc.). The old songs all sounded a step slower than the original versions (I call that the "Lars Ulrich Syndrome") and his supporting cast didn't help things.

Guitarist Mykvs (aka Mike) introduced a song and he had, like, a TOTAL SoCal accent!! WTF?! NOT very Newcastle at all! I laughed out loud when Cronos shouted "MYKVS!" instead of "MANTAS!" at the start of 'Bloodlust'. Mykvs is Fake Mantas in the same way KISS have Fake Ace now; he looks and dresses like Mantas circa-1985 onstage down to the silly boots with chains. Oh, here's a direct quote from his page on the official Venom web site:

"PEAVEY: The Peavey 6505 is my amplifier of choice for the heaviest tones and reliability needed for the power of Venom."

Backstage I watched drummer Antton (who I believe is also Cronos' brother, the "out of the same womb" type..) warmup by sitting on a drum stool while holding his sticks in one hand and checking his cell phone messages with the other. Here's a direct quote from his page on the official Venom web site:

"HANSENFUTZ: I use these practice pedals to warm up before a show. They are light, strong and compact, and no hassle."

I had a total sense of deja vu as the houselights went down and the amped crowd began chanting "Venom! Venom!".... but just like in 1985, as the show progressed, the crowd's energy level got more and more tepid as the truth about how incredibly average Venom are onstage revealed itself. I was right there with them.

Venom played a new song called ‘Antichrist’ and I thought to myself "“Wait one darn minute... ‘'Antichrist’'??! SLAYER already did that!!"” Then I remembered that Slayer’'s song is ‘'THE Antichrist’'… Ahh, semantics. During the bloated epic that still is ‘'The 7 Gates Of Hell'’ I saw a kid down at the front yawn; I was right there with him.

It got to the point where The Pit was literally an open space on the floor with a lone sweaty XXL White Boy (and not even a jock... but a fat dork) walking around in a circle by himself shoving anyone who was near him... and no one challenged him. Finally, sweaty XXL White Boy just stopped walking. I was right there with him.

Now, I realize The Kidz in the crowd paid 30 bucks to be there and I skated in gratis via The List, but after an hour I'd had enough and I walked out during '‘Countess Bathory'’ and headed home. After 21 years it was reassuring that Venom still sucks and the legend of how much they sucked still rings true. On another note, I did begin the evening by entering The Fillmore via the backstage door, which I'’d never done before. Lock ‘'N Loll!

What time was dinner served?

Iron Maiden shirts seen = 1 (ONLY ONE!!). If you bought one of every Venom merch item you would have paid an astonishingly low $27!! Venom had only ONE t-shirt for sale and word backstage was they only had them in size Large, which was bad news for the numerous sweaty XXL White Boys in the house. On the way back to the car some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. All I gotta say in closing is "SLAYER!!".... just like I did in '85.

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ADDENDUM

Sent by Old Metal Steven:

Before the VENOM show in '85 me, Brad and Quintana (Andy Anderson and other assorted punters were there too) went and saw the REALLY cool show that evening; Raw Power at the Mabuhay Gardens! Arguably the greatest 80's era Euro hardcore band.

We arrived to the Venom show late and feeling very punk-rock obnoxious. we proceeded to chant "We saw Raw Power, We saw Raw Power!..." throughout Venom's set along with other silly taunts. I remember other people actually spitting at them and Cronos threatening to bring the lighting rig down on everyone's head!

We just laughed even more...the back of my head appears in a photo of Raw Power (from same gig) on the back of their debut album Screams From the Gutter. Immortality!!

Raw Power still rocks, Venom still sucks (after 1983 anyway).

In Nomine Venom

Umlaut's old friend Drunk Ted picked up the recent Venom box set... and his Elven eyes caught something very interesting in the set's extensive booklet:


Hmmm... Acting like a maniac... Whiplash??! No matter where Umlaut goes, there his past is... It makes me giggle to think that Cronos has a copy of my old 'zine in a box under his bed. Mayhem with mercy.

Note: If anyone knows where my Whiplash co-editor Sam Kress is, please tell him about this.. I haven't seen him in almost 15 years now. Thanks.

Click HERE if you must read more about Umlaut and Venom.. If you must... Live like an Angel, die like a Devil.

BLACK METAL

BLACK METAL [click for MP3!]

Note: The MP3 contains naughty words and references to Satan. It made Umlaut laugh out loud.

"I'm down with the muthafucking Devil, Joe!"

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Umlaut and K.J. have been friends since before the dawn of Christianity. We fought the Metal Wars together, with K.J. in command of the Northwest Front while I was in the NorCal trenches. Epic times filled with adventure.. but we're all growed up now.

VENOM on TOUR
Submitted by K.J.

Ah, "Black Metal." I remember playing "Teacher's Pet" during Journalism class in high school and being reprimanded.

I also remember Slayer shirts outselling Venom shirts during their 1985 tour together (with Exodus opening), when I (and Tour Manager Doug) worked for Boutwell Enterprises as star merchandisers.

Venom. Horrible live band.

I remember when Tom Araya, in a fit of drunken wisdom, relieved himself on a sleeping Cronos. He was rewarded with some Newcastle-styled fisticuffs and a swollen black eye.

On Another Note: Click HERE to read K.J.'s recent Film Threat interview with Elijah "Frodo Baggins" Wood!

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Just when you thought it was safe to read Umlaut again... MORE Venom. "Lay down your soul to the Gods Rock 'N Roll... BLACK METAL..."

VENOM in RUSSIA
Submitted by Cammie

And speaking of Venom... My Venom memory comes from a drunken night in St. Petersburg, Russia with a bunch of Russian friends.

We saw a flier saying that they would be playing an outdoor show that night (!!!!) (In 1993!) and as we got drunk we kept saying "We've GOT to see Venom" but of course we got too drunk and remembered too late and we ran down to the place just as they were leaving the stage.

The whole rest of the night as we drank more, we kept saying "I can't believe we missed Venom!!"

It would have been awesome and bizarre to see them there. I mean, what the hell were they doing in Russia in 1993?

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Who could have guessed that Venom, of all things, would cause such a flurry of responses from the Umlaut Community?? Umlaut's Old Metal friend Micki shared the exciting sequel to his Maiden Brazil report...

VENOM in BRAZIL
Submitted by Micki

When Venom went to Brazil with Exciter in 1986 they were supposed to give autographs in a Metal specialized store called Woodstock.

The store is located on one side of a valley called Anhangabau (an Indian name which means "River of Evil" - how cool is that? P.S.: There is no river anymore, just the valley) and across the Valley there are the "Galleries", a kind of vertical mall with lots of smaller Metal stores (therefore, you can say that the places to buy Metal in Sao Paulo is on both sides of the "River of Evil"...).

Since Woodstock was THE place for the Metalheads to meet and hang out then, people would go to the Galleries and afterwards gather at Woodstock.

Knowing a lot of Metal kids would be around because of Venom and Exciter's autograph sessions, a bunch of Skinheads gathered around the Galleries to beat up the weaker (and smaller numbered) kids (If they are so brave, why didn't they go to Woodstock? You know the answer...).

When some of those kids started showing up at Woodstock, bloodied and bruised, Venom's Cronos and Exciter's Dan Beehler (the guys present at the autograph session) started asking why.

When they became aware of the reason, they left the place immediately and crossed the bridge over the valley (the "Tea Bridge", because it was made by the English) in order to beat up the Skinheads!

After that, who cares the concerts sucked? Those guys ARE METAL! Those guys RULE!

P.S.: The manager who brought them over to Brazil (a British guy whose company was called Red Door Productions) ran away with all the money the bands made in the four shows they played there! For some reason English robbers love Brazil. Ronald Biggs spent most of his fugitive life there...


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Now this Venom thread is just getting plain silly.. Umlaut and John Marshall have known each other at least 22 years. Old Metallica fans will remember John as a member of their original road crew (stage manager / guitar tech) and fill-in guitarist in 1986 and 1992 when Hetfield couldn't play guitar due to injuries. Metal fans will know him as guitarist for the Northwest's mighty Metal Church from 1987-93.

VENOM on TOUR with METALLICA
Submitted by John

OK, I guess I'll join the bandwagon and add my Venom memories.......

The first time Metallica went to Europe was in February of '84, for two weeks worth of gigs opening for Venom. It was the first time any of us had been outside the U.S. (except for Lars). It was crazy to see the response they got, since they had never been to any of these places. It was when I truly realized Metallica was headed for the stratosphere. (OK I'll admit these memories are more about Metallica, but Venom was there).

I remember one gig where the dressing room was downstairs underneath the stage. I think it was Zurich. As soon as Venom went onstage, a roar went up, and some INSANE amount of pyro went off...... and chunks of plaster started falling from the ceiling. I was out of there quick.

I don't remember if Venom really sucked onstage. It was fun to make fun of their evil names though. MANTAS! No, Jeffrey.

I remember sitting in a restaurant in Italy WAY past closing time while the chef and the waitress kept bringing us food. Cronos was there, trying to pick up on the waitress. She was older, maybe in her 40's (oh shit I'm OLD), and not bad looking. I'm pretty sure he failed. I think I bought a bottle of wine there, the kind with the straw basket around the bottle. Somehow I got it all the way home in my suitcase without breaking.

I remember getting to a gig at about 10 or 11 in the morning for load in. No one was there, so we went out and found a bar/restaurant and Cliff orders a dark, bitter beer and starts chugging it. I thought it was nasty. I guess I didn't know shit about good beer when I was 22. I think it was Guinness he was drinking. I was probably wishing for a Michelob or Bud Light or something.

The last gig of the two weeks was a festival with about 6 or 8 bands. Venom went on last, Metallica supported. I think there were about 6,000 people there, probably the biggest gig by far they had ever played. When Metallica took the stage, the crowd roar LITERALLY sent chills up my spine. I couldn't imagine what it was like to be in the band. It was WAY cool. There's a photo from that era with the four guys in the dressing room in their underwear. You can see the bottom of Kirk's white socks, all dark and dirty because he probably hadn't done any laundry in a month or so. That photo was taken at this gig. Don't ask me how or why I remember that.

Good Times.

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Rich Hellhound and Umlaut were shoulder-to-shoulder in the NorCal Metal battles back in The Day. I think we also had Drivers Ed and Algebra together as well.

VENOM in SAN FRANCISCO
Submitted by Rich Hellhound

When I saw Venom at the Kabuki Theater in S.F. (with Slayer in '84?), there were a couple of Skinheads harassing Metalheads in the underground parking lot after the show. They were stereotype 'Skins; no shirts, suspenders, Doc Martens, etc., and one was trying to arrange a fight between his buddy (who stood in classic boxer pose, and never said anything) and whichever passing Metalhead would accept the challenge. The "sales pitch" was pretty amusing; it went something like "Just you and him, one on one," repeated over and over. In fact, I think that's literally all the guy said.

Granted my friends and I only paused for a moment to watch one of the exchanges, but I never actually saw a fight. They were still attempting to start something as we drove away. I remember wondering at the time if it wasn't all planned (Skinhead One: "Hey, there's a Metal show at the Kabuki." Skinhead Two: "Cool, let's hang out in the parking lot after the show lets out, and kick some Dirt Head ass!").

Perhaps (and this is a far more interesting theory), there is some sort of cosmic connection between Venom and Skinheads; an ancient, eternal battle that has raged for centuries. For surely the Black Metal Gods must have their adversaries, and would not this nemesis be the polar opposite of the mighty, long-haired warriors?

Oh, and Venom did suck live. I remember being pissed at how Cronos "altered" Countess Bathory (my fave Venom song at the time), so he could sing and play it at the same time. Most of the time he was singing, he wasn't really even playing (just holding chords, as if it were a guitar). Cronos was being spit on repeatedly, and at one point yelled at the crowd, "See that lighting rig up there? If you don't stop spitting it's coming right down on your fucking heads!" I also remember Mantas' lame Karate kicks at the end of the show.

Venom really did suck live..
(From the Umlaut Archives)