Venom Prison – Primeval
Release Date: 9th October 2020
Label: Prosthetic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Grind, Blackened Thrash.
FFO: Napalm Death, Zyklon, Meshuggah.
Review By: David Oberlin
In lieu of a new album Venom Prison have instead recycled their past EP’s for a combined opus titled Primeval. Containing their previous 2015 EP’s Defy the Tyrant & The Primal Chaos, both re-recorded and thus renewed. Its entirety also includes an additional two tracks. Where Venom Prison have kindly extended their hermetic proclivities unto the ears of those daring enough to engage with their off-brand of death-like grind.
Primeval takes the original five year old releases and turns their respective productions up to and beyond eleven. What was once a pale, gangly and bloated form has had a make-over to fatten up its riffs with higher gain and more power. And where once the mastering sounded like some tech-guru mic’d up the ensemble with just an empty tin of beans, with a top E string for a lead, it now sounds like a full on fresh breakfast. Presented as a hot mess of might and metal.
Five years is a long time to adapt and change in an industry but the substance of Primeval is now more consistent with the rest of Venom Prisons’ discography. If anything those early years were heavier and less pronounced than the bands more studiously engineered later release. And their presentation was feathered to a degree of fuzzy chaos. But, still an intrepid augur into what would welcome one of Wales most wicked exports onto the map.
Re-cycling old material is great and all; Iteration is key to learning and development. Yet, where Primeval shines is in its epilogue where Venom Prison give us an insight into what is coming with Defiant To The Will Of God and Slayer Of Holofernes. The two brand new tracks that leave you wanting more. Two wonderfully polished tracks that reek of blackened death with respect to their dual ancestor– thrash. They are good songs and show that the band has matured gracefully in respect to their days as tin can enthusiasts.
Primeval is a fun little discourse into closing the gap between new and old fans of Venom Prison and should easily please both. With the addition of new tracks, as a teaser, it becomes more than just a remake. Sitting quite comfortably as a reboot with an open ending.
(3 / 5)
