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If bees were to herald the coming of legendary metal bands, there’d certainly be a national buzz about now. Mere days from the start of their first ever Australian tour, and more than 30 years into their career, Venom Inc. the extreme metal band of the 1980s and pioneers of a multitude of genre staples, will soon bring the rapture to loyal fans.
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“I’ve wanted to go for a long time,” says the band’s drummer Anthony “Abaddon” Bray, “It’s gonna be good.”
It’s simply crazy that Venom Inc., given their accomplishments and being so solid in the metal scene even today, have yet to conquer some parts of the world. “The band originally, we didn’t tour a lot,” says Abaddon. “Since we’ve been [rebranded] Venom Inc. we’ve toured extensively – Europe, Asia a little bit, America… I dunno why we haven’t been down there!”
The mind boggles. A subgenre of heavy metal has been named for Venom’s great work Black Metal, people cite the band as influences and pioneers of said subgenre and yet they have such a reach without ever having been physically present. “When we first started, the head of Neat Records [Newcastle, England] said, ‘This band’s just creating such a buzz without having played any concerts, ’at that time,‘ Why you don’t just not play,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you just put out records and be this band that you can’t go see them, you’re unobtainable.’ Without deliberately doing that it’s kind of been a background to everything we’ve done. We didn’t set out to deliberately do anything, we just followed our heart.
“And that’s what this band’s been about –the heart and soul of the music, the heart and soul of the way we present ourselves. It’s all real, it’s not like a nine to five thing, it’s not a job, it’s how we live our life.
“That feeling, of people wanting to see us, people wanting to be around us, it goes ahead of us.”
We’re getting a lot of young people coming to the shows, people saying ‘I got my vinyl collection from dad, he explained how it important it was to look after these albums, look after black metal, to look after these albums and appreciate how different the band were.’”
[ABBADON]
Abaddon, brimming with a broad north English accent and brisk confidence, at the end of the day is just your typical bloke who just happens to really be into his music. “100%,” Abaddon agrees. “When we go to gigs, we like to hang out with the crowd, me in particular I like to have a drink with people, I like to chat and find out what they’re about.
“The thing that’s changed from the first time we put a band together is social media. Of course, you bump into people online, you get invested in their lives and what they’re doing, what they’re families are doing, then you finally get to meet them after years and years, they’re like friends now!”
And with the advent of social media, though Venom Inc. have been around longer than some of their fans have been alive (a point which Abaddon finds very amusing – laughter was never so mighty as when chortled by the drummer), their longevity is very impressive. No doubt Venom Inc. will have fans at their shows who are around their age – and their kids too. This influx of sharing information we have today and of obtaining music so easily, Venom Inc. also have a reach a lot further than anything they’ve ever anticipated it would be. “That’s the one thing that’s been most eye opening to me,” says Abaddon. “I expected 40-somethings, 50-somethings coming out saying ‘I remember growing up with your music.’
“A lot of bands like us, where our longevity was, when you grew up the stuff around you, specifically music, you remember those songs, you remember what you were doing – you were having trouble at school, you felt up some girl – all these things that were a big deal to you, the background was the music.
“So I expected people of a similar age to come along but we’re not, we’re getting a lot of young people coming to the shows, people saying ‘I got my vinyl collection from dad, he explained how it important it was to look after these albums, look after black metal, to look after these albums and appreciate how different the band were.’”
When Venom Inc. reunited in 2015 and hit the stage, the chemistry, the heart and soul of the group was as present as it had ever been. “That’s what we’re going to be bringing to Australia. It’s going to be the heart and soul of the band, it’s all out there. That’s never changed. From the early days in 1980, it’s never changed whatsoever.”
VENOM AVE AUSTRALIS TOUR
THURS 22 FEB – CANBERRA – THE BASEMENT
FRI 23 FEB – SYDNEY – MANNING BAR
SAT 24 FEB – BRISBANE – CROWBAR
THURS 1 MAR – MELBOURNE – MAX WATT’S
FRI 2 MAR – ADELAIDE – ENIGMA BAR
SAT 3 MAR – PERTH – AMPLIFIER
