Welcome to Hell

Welcome to Hell
Studio album by Venom
Released December 1981 (UK)
Recorded August 1981 at Impulse Studios in Newcastle, England
Genre Speed metal, proto-thrash
Length 39:26
Label Neat
Producer Keith Nichol and Venom
Venom chronology
Demon
(1980)		 Welcome to Hell
(1981)		 Black Metal
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Welcome to Hell is the debut album by the English heavy metal band Venom, released in December 1981. Welcome to Hell is often described as speed metal, but it had a great influence on the then-emerging thrash metal style, and crystallized the elements of what later became known as death metal and black metal.[1]

The sound of the album is very noisy and rough, perhaps in part because the band thought they were recording a demo when they recorded the album over a period of only three days.

Geoff Barton stated in his 1981 five-star review of Welcome to Hell that the album had "the hi-fi dynamics of a 50-year-old pizza" and it "brought a new meaning to the word 'cataclysmic'".[2] However, those comments compared it to other heavy metal from the early eighties.

The first vinyl pressing included a poster and a pink lyrics sheet.

Contents

Track listing

LP

All songs written and composed by Bray/Dunn/Lant. 

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Sons of Satan"   3:38
2. "Welcome to Hell"   3:15
3. "Mayhem With Mercy"   0:58
4. "Poison"   4:33
5. "Live Like an Angel"   3:59
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Witching Hour"   3:40
2. "One Thousand Days in Sodom"   4:36
3. "Angel Dust"   2:43
4. "In League With Satan"   3:35
5. "Red Light Fever"   5:14

CD

No. Title Length
1. "Sons of Satan"   3:38
2. "Welcome to Hell"   3:15
3. "Schizoid"   3:34
4. "Mayhem With Mercy"   0:58
5. "Poison"   4:33
6. "Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil)"   3:59
7. "Witching Hour"   3:40
8. "One Thousand Days in Sodom"   4:36
9. "Angel Dust"   2:43
10. "In League With Satan"   3:35
11. "Red Light Fever"   5:14
Bonus tracks in 1985 rerelease by Combat
No. Title Length
12. "In Nomine Satanas"   3:28
13. "Bursting Out"   2:56
Bonus tracks in 2002 rerelease by Castle/Sanctuary
No. Title Length
12. "Angel Dust (Lead Weight version)"   3:03
13. "In League With Satan (7" version)"   3:31
14. "Live Like an Angel (7" version)"   3:54
15. "Bloodlust (7" version)"   2:59
16. "In Nomine Satanas (7" version)"   3:29
17. "Angel Dust (Demo)"   3:10
18. "Raise the Dead (Demo)"   3:29
19. "Red Light Fever (Demo)"   4:51
20. "Welcome to Hell (Demo)"   4:57
21. "Bitch Witch (Outtake)"   3:08
22. "Snots Shit (Outtake)"   2:06

Comes with a 12- page booklet. Some versions have slipcase cover.

Credits

Legacy

The black metal band Mayhem borrowed their name from the song "Mayhem with Mercy" and covered the song "Witching Hour" on their EP Deathcrush. Stoner metal group High On Fire covered the song "Witching Hour" on their limited edition live album Live At The Relapse Contamination Festival as the closing track. The hardcore punk band The Meatmen covered "In League With Satan" on their 1996 album War Of The Superbikes, Vol.2. In addition, the Canadian parody metal band Zimmers Hole references "In League with Satan" in the title of their album When You Were Shouting at the Devil... We Were in League with Satan.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Welcome to Hell - Venom". Allmusic. "Make no mistake: Welcome to Hell, more than any other album, crystallized the elements of what later became known as thrash, death, black, and virtually every other form of extreme metal".
  2. ^ Barton, Geoff (December, 1981). "Review of Welcome to Hell". Sounds.

References

External links

Venom
Studio albums
EPs
Compilations & live