ALBUM REVIEW: Animus (Deluxe Edition) – Venom Prison

If, by some twist of fate, you’ve been hidden under the biggest of rocks for the past two-and-a-half years, let’s bring you up to speed: VENOM PRISON are arguably the breakout UK band at the moment. A tour-de-force of riffs, fury and blistering death metal, they put the entire scene on notice when debut record Animus was unleashed two years ago and followed that up with groundbreaking shows at both Download and Bloodstock, the latter on the Main Stage, a thumping UK tour and, in preparation for the carnage to continue this April when they open for TRIVIUM alongside CODE ORANGE and POWER TRIP, those lovely people at Prosthetic Records have reissued the debut album in a special two-disc format that includes five bonus tracks recorded live across the band’s Sacrificed Summer tour in August last year.

Generally speaking, it’s not a good thing to sound like a broken record but this is one hell of an exception; regardless of how much you’ve spun it, Animus is still one of the most ferocious albums to see the light of day this side of the decade. If you’ve somehow not heard it before, it’s ten songs long, just a smidge over thirty-three minutes and the sonic recreation of total annihilation. Even now, the steady yet sinister undertones of Syllogism are somewhat inconspicuous but Abysmal Agony, with its horrible, piercing opening shriek from the whirlwind that is Larissa Stupar renders resistance utterly futile to all who hear it. There’s almost too much to talk about; Celestial Patricide is the bastard child of GOJIRA and CANNIBAL CORPSE, the power of Corrode the Black Sun is enough to make mere mortals quake and Devoid sounds like it’s come from the depths of hell and been rubber stamped by Satan himself. There isn’t a moment across the whole record that doesn’t sound exciting, fresh and lethal, which has only added to the extraordinary trajectory that VENOM PRISON have found themselves on since its release.

Naturally though, the main attraction for purchasing this is the bonus live tracks which include Babylon the Whore, the opening track from the band’s 2015 EP The Primal Chaos and a firm fan favourite. It opens the quintet and immediately VENOM PRISON prove their chops; everything sounds so much harsher, evil and just better; even the lack of an audience cheering or interaction doesn’t take the shine off the intensity that roars out of the songs. Stupar is on another playing field here, every scream threatening to rip her vocals chords clean out of her neck, Jay Pipprell‘s drumming is off the wall and the guitars from Ash Gray are as menacing as they come. The highlight is probably the excellently titled Desecration of Human Privilege, but the truth is it could have been any of them and, on another day, would be.

Generally, deluxe editions of albums are a way of tying a fanbase over until the next studio release and can often be found in the ‘take it or leave it’ section of an individual’s mind. But this time around, a truly brilliant album has been made even better, and for that reason it should be a definite purchase at the earliest convenience.

Rating: 9/10

Animus Deluxe Edition is out now via Prosthetic Records.

For more information on VENOM PRISON like their official page on Facebook.