Last week I gave you the documentary Black Metal Satanica as a primer for the genre. For this weeks installment of Black Metal Friday, we examine the origin of the genre’s name. Here with the title track of their second album, Black Metal, is the English band Venom.

While technically more on the punk/metal side of the spectrum, this album and song contain the basic DNA of what would morph into the genre of black metal. Frenetic speed, the vocal stylings of singer Cronos and the imagery glorifying Satan were all to be adopted along with the phrase “black metal” by the next wave of extreme bands to follow. The first true example of the black metal sound would surface the following year with Bathory’s first album, which we will explore next week. Until then, horns up and enjoy the song that spawned a genre.

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