Venom Prison: Looking Back To The Future

“To be completely honest, I didn’t really get the feeling that we were on to something significant. When we first wrote those songs, myself and Ash had left our respective bands and we were just really missing writing and performing music. We were like ‘oh maybe we’ll be playing a few weekend shows here and there’ and that was it. I know that sounds kind of weird considering everything that’s happened, but at the end of the day we were just writing songs about issues that we cared deeply about.” When it comes to putting one’s individual stamp on the extreme music scene in such a short space of time, there are few bands that have managed to do this so successfully – and unapologetically in terms of artistic shit-kicking fury – than VENOM PRISON.

Awards, critical accolades and begrudging acceptance from the biggest of doubters have all crossed the sonic path of these 21st-century death metal iconoclasts since their 2015 inception. Which makes the above admission from vocalist Larissa Stupar as modest as it is mystifying. Speaking to Distorted Sound, she’s affable and softly spoken but make no mistake – an unmistakable iron will belies that calm demeanour. You might say that this was perfectly illustrated via the release of last year’s Samsara; as the quintet quietly side-stepped those so-called sophomore album jitters to deliver a rage-soaked, gut-punching opus.

As Coronavirus continues its cruel decimation of the music industry as we know it, VENOM PRISON, like many of their peers, have remained determined to stay active during this period of uncertainty and upheaval; whether it be keeping a presence on social media platforms, live streaming or going one better providing new (and reimagined) material for fans to seek out and savour – in the form of the Primeval album.

It’s a return to their roots that features re-recordings of early EPs, Defy The Tyrant and The Primal Chaos, plus two brand-new bludgeoning cuts. Scheduled for an October release at the time of this conversation, it seemed the opportune moment to go back (to the future) – and explore a journey which as Larissa recounts, somewhat incredulously at times, had no final destination initially. “I think about [the past five years] sometimes and everything that’s happened is just unbelievable. Even all the tests that we’ve been presented over the years have turned out to be positive. We just always try and have a positive outlook on everything ‘coz honestly VENOM PRISON was never meant to be what it is now,” she reveals. “I think we just like to take those chances – to see how much and how far we can push ourselves as people and the band as a project and to just see what we can get out of it. But as long as we enjoy what we’re doing and others do and we develop, that will push us to be who we truly are.”

During these quieter COVID-driven times, a few clips of early VENOM PRISON performances – including one ferocious appearance from Germany’s Leperfest in 2015 – have hit the web. Whilst the fire on display is undeniable and arguably as potent as what we see today, would it be fair to say that there was an underlying sense of naivety at play to this incarnation of VENOM PRISON? “Absolutely. Because at the time it was just like any other music project we’d done before. We were just a bunch of hardcore kids playing metal! But that’s exactly where our energy comes from when we’re on stage,” Larissa explains. “Like you’ve said already, I just don’t think we were really prepared for what was gonna happen. But at the same time we didn’t really care.”

Just two short years later, a proverbial baptism of fire beckoned as the collective had both Bloodstock and Glastonbury knocking on their door – two equally different festivals but nonetheless impossible to predict or prepare for in terms of the ensuing reactions. Larissa chuckles as she fondly remembers the latter (“this extreme metal band at Glasto it was honestly just insane!”) but freely admits to a feeling of trepidation when it came to taking on Bloodstock’s main stage. “I have to admit that I didn’t immediately feel accepted. But that’s because there’s just this different mentality – there wasn’t this mosh and two step energy – but that was something that we just needed to get adjusted to,” she reiterates. “We were the second band to play on the Sunday and I just thought no one is gonna be there to watch us. Then when we walked on, there were over a thousand people there and it was like yeah this is insane and I definitely felt the energy of the crowd. And that’s definitely something that surprised us a lot – and the moment we felt accepted within the metal community.”

Delving into the VENOM PRISON back catalogue, it’s akin to this multi-headed sonic hydra that has only grown and matured over time – from those manic howls at the start of Babylon the Whore on the Primal Chaos EP to current album Samsara’s twisted darkness. But as artists who have never shied away from the issues – from anti-fascism to misogyny and rape culture – the band have also utilised each album release as a platform in order to educate the listener and encourage them to reflect on their own behaviours.

Whilst Larissa insists they’ll continue to do so via their music, she certainly didn’t anticipate the positive impact it would have on her individually or the fans. “It’s been a great help in trying to process things that I’ve experienced and being able to draw power from surviving certain things instead of letting myself become victimised and just taking that control over myself back. Knowing that there are people who relate and understand exactly what it feels like – and just having that connection to them without ever having spoken to them,” she divulges warmly. “And I know it sounds kind of weird ‘coz I keep saying we could have never expected it, but at the end of the day we were just writing songs about issues that we cared deeply about and that we loved hearing and playing. The artwork [for Samsara] too was polarising. None of that was something that we anticipated. We were just trying to do things differently and putting our own perspectives on it. And every time there was a positive reaction we were just really surprised.”

With reactions to the aforementioned EP still to come at the time of this interview, the focus quickly shifted to the series of tour dates that had just hit social media. Whilst these hang in the balance due to the ongoing Coronavirus restrictions, Larissa is determined to maintain the band’s online presence in the meantime – and encourages her peers to follow suit. “I think for bands it’s really hard to stay alive without having the platform of live music. But what you can do is just stay alive on social media. Share your thoughts, tell people what you’re going through, that you will be back and aren’t gonna give up. We’re all in the same boat – so let’s just keep this community going.” Whilst their past has proved exhilarating, in Primeval, VENOM PRISON allude towards an even more exciting future. And Distorted Sound cannot wait to open the next chapter in this book.

Primeval is out now via Prosthetic Records. 

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