Venom has long been my second-favorite band, second only to Black Sabbath, and I’ve followed the band over the years through all the ups and downs, alt-rock trends, lineup changes and reunions, and noticed the general indifference of the mainstream and many who claim to be metal fans. Let me start this review by saying that I am a hardcore Venom fan. Lend an ear to songs like "Damnation of Souls" or "Valley of the Kings" and convince yourself. It fails to deliver earworms, but it constitutes an honest effort. And I admit that I like this band, although "Fallen Angels" shows only a slight upward trend. Great poetry, I have never heard them singing about these satanic topics before! However, sarcasm is a nice thing, but who expected any other kind of lyrics? Just as a friendly reminder, we are talking about Venom. Just read some lines of the seventh track: "All hail Satanas. With regard to the lyrics, the three-piece is heading for absolutely new and previously undiscovered shores. It hails the attitude of the old school while appearing lackadaisical at the same time. Nevertheless, it lacks of sharpness and penetrating power. Inter alia because of the omnipresent bass guitar, the mix of "Fallen Angels" has its specific charm. Well, the recordings do not sound amateurish. The rumbling sound can be understood as a tribute to their chaotic early days, but I would have preferred a more powerful production. Too bad that the album seems to be recorded by a drunken poltergeist. There are also a few throwaway tracks, but in general, Venom deliver a serious and autochthonous work. While listening to this record, you have to endure a certain number of very strange breaks ("Nemesis" and "Lap of the Gods") and the vocals of Cronos do not score in all aspects. Additionally, they still sound skew sometimes. No doubt, Venom did not aim to break speed records while creating the full-length. Further solidly constructed tracks follow. It glitters with a smooth bridge and an effective chorus. Despite of this powerless start, the mid-tempo "Hammerhead" develops surprisingly well. It whispers a soft "Hello" instead of knocking the listener down. That alone gives me a good feeling.Ī shy drum kit welcomes the audience at the beginning of the opener. There is no need to get ecstatic, but the album shows that Venom´s fire is still blazing. Instead, Cronos and his band mates have written some more or less coherent tunes that combine the generally hostile approach of the band with solid riffs and leads. The predominantly crooked harmonies of the aforementioned predecessors of "Fallen Angels" have been almost completely banished. The band presents a relatively crude mix of heavy, power and thrash metal while black metal is of minor relevance. Nonetheless, Venom have regained their currishness, at least to a certain extent. Of course, the excessive barbarism of their first nefarious records of the eighties does not re-emerge. "Fallen Angels" was a small step in the right direction. However, I must admit that his continued commitment was better than killing the band. Well, these options are not mutually exclusive. I thought that Venom would have been well advised to commit suicide, of course, not the members, only the band itself.īut Cronos obviously saw no reason to share my fatalistic point of view or he just had no idea what to do instead of marching on with Venom. The group appeared as a toothless and grotesque creature, deformed and socially ostracized. On the contrary, these flabby records had put the band in another light. The two previous outputs, "Hell" as well as "Metal Black", did not score with beastly tracks. What is even worse, but this is anything else but a new finding, the British trio cannot be any longer described as the great beast. Now this header just stands for a nice line of the lyrics of the title track. No doubt, once they have appeared as prophets of a new metal style. To avoid misunderstandings right from the beginning: this album does not offer prophecies of the great beast called Venom.
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