Venom Prison: Torchbearers For A Generation
As we close a decade, and the inevitable assessment towards the best bands and best albums we’ve experienced these last ten years, it’s intriguing to reflect upon the trends and and scenes that have both thrived and withered. One of the blessings we’ve experienced this past decade is the absolute boom in young, hungry and downright exciting bands; especially here in the UK. VENOM PRISON are arguably one of the leaders of the pack. Since the release of Animus in 2016, the wrecking crew have never taken their foot off the gas and to see them go from strength to strength is a compliment to their incendiary sound. Reflecting on their beginnings and how quickly the band catapulted into the spotlight can be pin pointed to one event, one show; Damnation Festival 2016.
“I was talking about this earlier this week funnily enough,” remarks guitarist Ash Gray. “The fact that when we played this [festival] three years ago, the first record, Animus, had come out. So three years later, to be asked to headline one of these stages is pretty fucking cool. It’s nice to see that the progression is actually there, it’s not like we’re just going to play this festival again. Actually, it’s like wow we’ve landed this position three years later. It means a lot to be honest and everyone seems pretty proud of it, I’d definitely say it’s an achievement.”
Achievement is a word that is becoming common-place within the VENOM PRISON camp. Since their explosive inception, achievements have come to the band in their droves, (“on my hard-drive at home I have kept every flier, every photo, everything from the day this band started,” Ash says) and this year’s Damnation is yet another triumph. The band returned to headline the very same stage in which announced VENOM PRISON to the world. It’s a touching gesture and is a clear example of just how far they have come in three years. On a wider level however, it demonstrates the vital role Damnation has in promoting emerging talent.
“Damnation, it seems quite open to be bringing these new bands in,” Ash agrees. “I’ve seen that GODEATER opened up the Tone MGMT Stage this year, they are a relatively new band. Looking back, that’s kind of what we did so it’s cool to see that this is a trend that is happening, it is not just a one off thing. They’re carrying on a formula of bringing in new bands, put them early in the day, and then a few years later bring them back higher up the lineup. It is just natural progression and I think it’s a good chance for bands who are at that early stage to be able to play to a crowd of that size, you wouldn’t get that on a standard club show tour.”
Indeed it seems that Damnation plays a vital role in establishing new talent and VENOM PRISON are clear recipients of the role the festival has in establishing bands. And it isn’t just metal. Across the board, across the entire spectrum of heavy music, the scene is thriving. A crop of exciting talent are spear-heading the UK scene to lofty heights, and VENOM PRISON are certainly part of the pack. Ash believes that the boom in our scene is, largely, down to the a cross-pollination of styles, both on a musical level and with the fans themselves.
“I remember listening to a hardcore band called GUNS UP and in the inlay there was a funny little message saying ‘thanks to ENTOMBED for letting us steal their riff’. I then listened to ENTOMBED and I was like ‘It’s the fucking same thing!’ They did steal it! But then, hang on a minute, they like ENTOMBED, they are all into that shit. It’s a lot more connected than people think. METALLICA for example. You take some of the grooves and the stompy bits out of METALLICA and put it into a hardcore band, you’ve got a fucking hardcore band,” Ash says. “Out of all of the years I’ve been playing music in different bands, this has been one of my favourite points. I don’t feel like I’m just listening to other bands and going oh we sound like that. I’m listening to all these bands and going oh this is cool! CONJURER for example, I’ll listen to them or EMPLOYED TO SERVE for example, they’re not death metal. They are a hardcore/metal band if you want to call them that and we don’t sound anything like them!”
Given Damnation‘s placement at the tail-end of the year, the headlining triumph caps off a phenomenal year for VENOM PRISON. The highly anticipated Samsara dropped in March (we had the band grace our cover for that album) and September/October saw the band return to North America for a hugely successful headlining run, including a session at the famous Audiotree. Quite the year then. “There was a lot of very good shows we did out there,” Ash says upon reflecting on their recent US run. “When we played LA it was crazy! It’s like we’re from over here, how the fuck do they know who we are? Then we got asked to do the Audiotree thing and I was like wow, I watched Audiotree all the time, how the fuck do they know who we are? Also, us going out there looks good here.”
It’s funny that a large portion of our conversation with the VENOM PRISON revolves around the scene as a whole, not just their success. It’s incredibly humbling and showcases the collective workload of our scene, but above all, it shows that Ash and, indeed, VENOM PRISON are grounded. With their incendiary sound and the drive of a bulldozer, VENOM PRISON are torchbearers for a generation. And they deserve every ounce of success.
Damnation announced VENOM PRISON to the world, you’re now headlining a stage, how important is this festival to the career of the band?
Ash: Honestly, I was talking about this earlier this week funnily enough. The fact that when we played this three years ago, the first record Animus had come out, and we were just going to do another record so three years later, to be asked to headline one of these stages is pretty fucking cool. It’s nice to see that the progression is actually there, it’s not like we’re just going to play this festival again. Actually, it’s like wow we’ve landed this position three years later. It means a lot to be honest and everyone seems pretty proud of it, I’d definitely say it’s an achievement.
You’re coming into Damnation with Samsara, have you noticed in the interest in VENOM PRISON increase, especially after the release of your second album?
Ash: I never tend to look at that so much, basically the way I look at it is that every time we do a record I want to see the next natural progression onwards. I want to see the next level open up. So when we did Animus, it did the world of good to us, and we managed to land all these tours. So with Samsara, it’s like let’s see what gates we can open up now. Let’s see what tours we can do, let’s see where we can get more exposure or maybe go on a tour that’s a little bit different from what we sound like. The TRIVIUM tour for example, that worked wonders! That’s how I see it when we released Samsara, where do we go now? I never look into whether more and more people are getting into it but as far as natural progression goes with tours and stuff, it is strong. Hopefully people are following along with that.
Do you think that is what the scene needs? Rather than this obsession towards a particular sub-genre, it should be an umbrella of heavy music all coming up at the same time?
Ash: It definitely needs to be a thing because it’s funny, growing up I was always into metal but I didn’t come from a metal scene. I came from a punk and hardcore scene which is very different. VENOM PRISON was the first time I actually came into the metal scene. When VENOM PRISON did the first Damnation it was also my first Damnation. When we played Bloodstock, that was my first Bloodstock. All these metal festivals that we’ve been playing, they are my first metal festivals. I was always into metal and it has always had a big influence on me. When previous bands disbanded or I left, whatever it was, it was nice to start VENOM PRISON and it feel refreshing. It wasn’t just new for me musically, it’s new for me going into a different culture.
You’ve recently been on tour in the US and you recently did a session at AudioTree. So it’s fair to say that’s been a successful run for VENOM PRISON. Do you feel that tour helped you grow to that next level?
Ash: I think that tour helped a lot. There was a lot of very good shows we did out there. When we played LA it was crazy! It’s like we’re from over here, how the fuck do they know who we are? Then we got asked to do the Audiotree thing and I was like wow, I watched Audiotree all the time, how the fuck do they know who we are? Also, us going out there looks good here. People go like “oh VENOM PRISON, that’s their second time going to the US”. When we went there last year, it was good for us, and then coming back this year we had people saying to us they’d seen us last year on The Devastation of the Nation package. I’m like fuck me, we were third on an eight band package and now we’ve done a headline tour out there. It’s so cool to see. When you do these big packages, it’s a lot for people to take in, there’s a lot of music all in one day and it’s very hard to take it all in. You’ve got to fucking eat, you’ve got to rest your ears, you’ve got to fucking put your brain back together! It is difficult so for people to see us when we are third on and a year later come back out to see us, so out of eight bands we were the one you paid attention to? It’s quite an overwhelming thing.
Samsara is out now via Prosthetic Records.
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