Welcome to Hell
Encyclopedia
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
.
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'". 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.
band Mayhem
borrowed their name from the song "Mayhem with Mercy" and covered the song "Witching Hour" on their EP
album 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
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, released in December 1981. Welcome to Hell is often described as speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
, but it had a great influence on the then-emerging thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
style, and crystallized the elements of what later became known as death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
.
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'". 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.
LP
CD
Comes with a 12- page booklet. Some versions have slipcase cover.Credits
- VenomVenom (band)Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Performer- Conrad "Cronos" LantConrad LantConrad Thomas Lant is a British musician who is the vocalist and bass player of the influential black/thrash metal band Venom, from 1979 to 1987 and from 1995 to present.- Early life :...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Tony "Abaddon" Bray – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Conrad "Cronos" Lant
- Keith Nichol - ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Legacy
The black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
borrowed their name from the song "Mayhem with Mercy" and covered the song "Witching Hour" on their EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
album Deathcrush
Deathcrush
Deathcrush is an EP by the influential Norwegian band Mayhem. It was released in 1987 and was the first studio release by any band of the Norwegian black metal scene. "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" was voted Most Gruesome Lyrics Ever by Blender Magazine. Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound...
. Stoner metal group High On Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
covered the song "Witching Hour" on their limited edition live album Live At The Relapse Contamination Festival as the closing track. The hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band The Meatmen
The Meatmen
The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee originally from 1980 to 1997, and reformed in 2008. They are currently still touring and recording.The Meatmen made fun of the hardcore punk scene of the time...
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
When You Were Shouting at the Devil... We Were in League with Satan
When You Were Shouting at the Devil... We Were in League with Satan is the third album by Canadian metal band Zimmers Hole. The name is a reference to Mötley Crüe's album Shout at the Devil, as well as the band Venom's first album, Welcome to Hell, containing the song "In League With Satan."Drummer...
.