Venom are an English heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the early wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.
Lant and Dixon performing in 2013
Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan (pictured in 2013) fronted the band from 1989 to 1992.
Venom at Hellfest 2008
Venom perform at Brutal Assault 2014
New wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an article by Geoff Barton in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of new heavy metal bands in the mid to late 1970s, during the period of punk rock's decline and the dominance of new wave music.
A miners' strike rally in 1984
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister of Motörhead was a reference figure for the whole movement.
Patches with band logos and cover art are usually sewn on the denim jackets of metalheads.
Iron Maiden's Eddie in a horror/sci-fi setting. Horror and science fiction were recurring themes in both lyrics, show scenography and cover art for NWOBHM bands.