Album Review: Venom Inc. – There’s Only Black (Nuclear Blast)

Venom Inc. will release ‘There’s Only Black’, their sophomore album and the follow-up to 2017’s Avé. It is scheduled for release on September 23rd, 2022, via Nuclear Blast.

There’s only black and there’s only heavy metal, Venom Inc. style. A ballistic explosion of heavy metal with strong thrash and speed overtones. There’s Only Black sees the band as alive as ever. Reckless, frenetic, and intense, there are no frills here. It’s all about head-banging as hard and fast as possible.

An easy enough task as Venom Inc. arrive on form with How Many Can Die, Infinitum and Come to Me. The riffs are sharp and serrated, the soloing is intense, the percussion is thick and meaty, and the vocals are gruff, growling, and furious. The first few tracks fly by in a blur of manic mayhem.

The title track though, is a high point of the record. Tremendous riffing, a frenzied guitar solo, a killer drum beat and some darker and nastier snarls in the vocals. All coming at the listener at a high velocity. A thrill ride of a track, it’s Venom Inc. at their absolute best.

More straight-forward and thoroughly enjoyable head-bangers with Tyrant, Don’t Feed Me Your Lies, Man as God and Burn Liar Burn. Venom Inc. are on top form here and turning back the years with satisfying heavy metal. Not quite ‘unchain your brain’ but deep analysis is certainly not needed.

There’s nothing wrong with that outlook either as this is such a blistering album, there’s no time to let it sink in. Wild, fast, and heavy. It’s a dream come true for those who love reasons to head-banging and little else.

To the surprise of literally no-one, there’s no change to the formula as the album reaches its apex. Nine, Rampant, The Dance and Inferno adding more weight to the claim that this is an album that easily surpasses the band’s debut. A bold claim too as Avé was a very strong release. Yet, fair, because Venom Inc. are clearly feeling creatively fulfilled and more than capable of delivering massive heavy metal tunes by the bucket load.

Venom Inc. – There’s Only Black Full Track Listing:

1. How Many Can Die
2. Infinitum
3. Come to Me
4. There’s Only Black
5. Tyrant
6. Don’t Feed Me Your Lies
7. Man as God
8. Burn Liar Burn
9. Nine
10. Rampant
11. The Dance
12. Inferno

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