Venomous Maximus – debuting on LP here after an independently released EP earlier this year – are 80's metal children, to be sure, but not the kind that grew up on the usual thrash or glam… in this case it's more like NWOBHM-inspired doom by the likes of Candlemass and Witchfinder General. While other bands toiling in the genre are either content to mine the Sabbath / Pentagram formula or else modernize under the aegis of sludge and black metal, this Houston quartet is firmly entrenched in the second wave. "Moonchild", for instance, opens with a galloping riff that could just as easily be Saxon if it didn't have that bottomed out crunch behind it.
That said, Venomous Maximus is not a nostalgia act, they just don't feel obligated to "upgrade" their primary influences to avoid accusations of irrelevance. There are clear signs of a unique artistic vision independent of those influences at play, though; in my review of their EP I criticized the vocals for not being more prominent while acknowledging the limited production budget.
While the overall assessment of the production was well founded, in hindsight I think I may have misunderstood what singer Gregg Higgins was going for. His vocals are thin and reedy compared to just about anyone else's in the genre, but this appears to be a deliberate trade off, Higgins eschewing "heavy" in favor of a foreboding quaver redolent of a doomsday preacher trembling beneath the weight of imminent doom. It's an acquired taste, sure, but it gives the music the sound of that Lovecraftian "cosmic indifference" that is frequently sought after but rarely achieved with any great effect. "Battle for the Cross" is a good entry point for that aesthetic.
"Give Up the Witch" is reprised from a previous 7" (collected on the aforementioned EP) but, done with a proper production, is finally given its due and may well serve as the band's long term masterpiece. That song excepted this is all new material, most of it chugging along at a downhill pace on the back of Higgins and co-guitarist Christian Larson's palpable chemistry.
The interesting dichotomy that sets this band apart, I think, is that the music and lyrics both could lead some to peg these guys as a tongue-in-cheek act for the b-movie set, but much like King Diamond's contribution to Mercyful Fate, Higgins' dead serious wail broaches the eerie possibility that maybe there really are monsters under the bed.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvCGGXb9514&feature=plcp[/youtube]
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