Venom - Calm Before The Storm (1987)

Venom enter the late '80s with a new found freshness - grabbing melodic metal by the horns and incorporating into their previously rusty sound. Long gone are the formidable and sinister soundscapes which suggested prime evil conjuring - only Cronos' vile vocals echo those frothing sneers of yesteryear. There is a crystal sheen to 'Calm...' suggesting that the storm has already passed in those days of 'Black Metal' et al. Now the band have seemingly enlisted a producer instead of using a dustbin to darken their sound. Mantas has long gone, strangely also pursuing more melodic heights with his 'Winds of Change' opus, and now we're treated to 43 minutes of black n' roll that at its heart is still very much Venom and ragin; albeit with less sinister intent. 'Calm...' is probably the first Venom opus to combine heavy thrash chuggin' with what could best be described as pure metal solos, 'Black Xmas' a prime example of how that Venom crust meets straight up metal. This is a straight up metal record that does nothing to distance itself from the hordes of acts that also emerged at the time - Venom should have stuck to their guns, some of their hardened fans no doubt would have found themselves cringing at 'The Chanting of the Priests' with Cronos' out of place "oh oh's" although his bass rattles hard throughout. Certainly not my favourite Venom album, but Cronos and company clearly felt the need to shift into the late '80s with a clearer sound, but the tragedy is, despite this being a solid affair, Venom have never found their feet since.
7/10