Venom Prison – Animus (Prosthetic Records, 14 October 2016 / deluxe edition 23 February 2018)
British death metal horde Venom Prison, who exploded into international consciousness with their Prosthetic-released debut album in late 2016, are currently touring North America with a whole bunch of other heavy hitters in the genre.
In fact, the month-long tour is a little more than halfway over, so we don’t want to waste any more time — here’s our write-up of Animus, and later you can see the full list of dates, plus a handful of European cities the band will be visiting in August with Dying Fetus!
Ten tracks long (slightly over half an hour) in its original format, the newer version of the record added five live bonus tracks. But it doesn’t matter which you choose, either way you can expect to find yourself completely and entirely pulverized once you’re through listening. Reminiscent of the vicious energy given off by Employed to Serve or Immortal Bird, but while those bands often offset the extremity with variation in dynamic and pacing, Venom Prison seem to have more of a take-no-prisoners, to-hell-with-everything, full-speed-ahead-ALL-the-time, sort of philosophy.
With very few exceptions — brief moments here and there that could be construed as quasi-breakdowns, as well as the last minute of “Corrode the Black Sun” which features a mellower jammy outro (not unlike the ending of “Planet Caravan“) — the album is otherwise nonstop aggression, anger, and (no pun intended) venom. With heavily hardcore-influenced death metal at its foundation, the band employs a post-modern sensibility that’s grounded by severely thrashy guitars (recalling Slayer in tone and sometimes in style as well).
All of this is topped by harsh, brutal vocalization — clearly embodying passionate rage against thousands of years of societally and systemically embedded injustices and inequalities (and far worse atrocities). If that cover art (yes, that’s blood dripping; yes, as the result of “dismemberment”; yes, that’s exactly what you are imagining is being force-fed) isn’t quite enough for you, please feel free to peruse the lyrics as well. Not for the faint of heart.
Find the original Animus here, or the newer Deluxe version right here.
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Devastation on the Nation Tour 2018
Venom Prison w/ Psycroptic, Aborted, Ingested, Disentomb, Arkaik, Vale of Pnath (5/25-6/8), Signs of the Swarm (6/8-6/23)
5/25 – The Kingsland, Brooklyn NY
5/26 – L’Astral, Montreal QC
5/27 – Mavericks/Café Dekcuf, Ottawa ON
5/29 – The Foundry, Lakewood OH
5/30 – Harpos Concert Theatre, Detroit MI
5/31 – The Forge, Joliet IL
6/1 – The Riot Room, Kansas City MO
6/2 – The Roxy Theater, Denver CO
6/3 – Metro Music Hall, Salt Lake City UT
6/5 – Rickshaw Theater, Vancouver BC
6/6 – Studio Seven, Seattle WA
6/7 – The Analog Theater, Portland OR
6/8 – Cornerstone, Bay Area Death Fest, Berkeley CA
6/9 – 1720, Los Angeles CA
6/10 – Club Red, Mesa AZ
6/11 – The Launchpad, Albuquerque NM *
6/13 – Tomcats West, Fort Worth TX
6/14 – Come And Take It Live, Austin TX
6/15 – Cine El Rey, McAllen TX
6/16 – Walters, Houston TX
6/17 – The Masquerade, Atlanta GA
6/19 – Ground Zero, Spartanburg SC **
6/20 – Motorco Music Hall, Durham NC
6/21 – Soundstage, Baltimore MD
6/22 – Chrome, Waterford NY
6/23 – Rex Theater, Pittsburgh PA (w/ Post Mortal Possession)* no Psycroptic, Aborted
** no Psycroptic, Aborted, Arkaik
European Annihilation – Summer 2018 Tour
Venom Prison w/ Dying Fetus, Carnifex (13-16), Toxic Holocaust (13-16, 20-23), Goatwhore (13-23)
13 Aug – Islington Academy, London UK
14 Aug – Club Academy, Manchester UK
15 Aug – Kulttempel, Oberhausen DE
16 Aug – Chez Paulette, Pagney-derriere-Barine FR
18 Aug – Petit Bain, Paris FR
20 Aug – Secret Place, Montpellier FR
21 Aug – Kiff, Aarau CH
22 Aug – Spazio Naif, Milano IT
23 Aug – Club Stereo, Klagenfurt AT
24 Aug – Club Vaudeville, Lindau DE
