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New Album of the Week: Venomous Maximus – Beg Upon The Light

October 30, 2012 by A.S. Van Dorston

Venomous Maximus knew what they were doing when they planned to release their debut album the day before Halloween. Their style of occult metal is perfect for the best holiday of the year. Named after a tattoo traditionally given only to the toughest, most battled-hardened soldiers, Venomous Maximus are no hipster neophytes. They are a group of grown-ass men based in Houston, TX who have been in numerous bands and earn livings doing tattoos (Gregg Higgins), building motorcycles (Bongo) and making Big Daddy’s Ass Burn Sauce (Trevi Biles). I immediately flipped out over last year’s EP The Mission, particularly the title track and “Give Up The Witch,” which was re-recorded for the album.

They don’t quite share much in terms of sound with recent occult favorites Ghost, The Devil’s Blood or Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, but they do spin some great eerie yarns along the lines of Mercyful Fate, mixing in some Sabbath, Iron Maiden, 80s thrash , a touch of stoner doom and contemporary inspirations High On Fire. They come across more as fans of occult culture and Hammer Horror films like Blood Ceremony rather than taking themselves seriously as worshippers of Satan, though they do seem quite serious in their beliefs about being descended from Cthulu-like alien overlords! Their musical experience, obsessions and art culminate in a fully formed package in Beg Upon The Light, easily one of the best debuts of the year in any genre.

The production is perfect. Not quite as rough as the EP, it still retains a layer of thrashy grime while still being able to discern the lyrics from Higgins’ dramatic vocal performance, a rare thing these days. It’s hard to decide on the album highlights, as there are many strong contenders with “Path Of Doom,” “Moonchild,” and “Battle For The Cross.” From the opening doomy minor organ chords of “Funeral Queen” to “Hell’s Heroes,” there’s not a weak track in the bunch. I’ve listened to the album over a dozen times and am still having a blast with it. I saw the band open for The Gates Of Slumber and Hammers of Misfortune earlier in the summer, and they have some hard touring ahead of them, but they seem well on the way to success.

A new video should be coming soon. This is from their EP.

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