WEEK 192 – VENOM PRISON

My HeadBangers welcome from South Wales, UK the Death Metal Band:

VENOM PRISON

“Pain Of Oizys”

“Nemesis”

Let’s look at some bio on these guys & girl:

Venom Prison is a Welsh Death Metal Band. Stephen Hill of Metal Hammer described their second album as “2019’s most anticipated extreme metal albums. Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar was described by Kerrang! as “metal’s most important – and uncompromising – voice”. The band has released four studio albums.

Let’s look at some history on this band, you know I love the history…

In 2015, former Wolf Down vocalist, Larissa Stupar (born in Russia), moved to Wales, where she met Ash Gray of “brutality Will Prevail”, with whom she would begin writing music. They coined the name “Venom Prison” as it was “the most metal name they could imagine”. The pair released the demo EP Defy the Tyrant in 2015, before recruiting Ben Thomas to play lead guitar and Joe Sheehy to play drums, along with bass guitarist Mike Jeffries. This line-up released the 2015 EP The Primal Chaos.

The band released their debut studio album on October 14, 2016 entitled Animus. The album was released to critical acclaim. On July 7, 2017 the band released a music video for “Perpetrator Emasculation” from Animus. The band were set to support “Decapitated” on their November 2017 European tour. Following the arrest of all four members of Decapitated’s line-up for allegations of rape, Venom Prison cancelled their shows with the band. (Holy Shit I didn’t know that DAMN)! In August 2018, the band joined Dying Fetus, Toxic Holocaust and Goatwhore on their European tour. In May and June 2019, the band toured Europe, beginning in Germany and ending in the UK, opening for Fit for an Autopsy.

Their second studio album, Samsara was released on 15 March 2019. On March 21, 2019, the band announced a collaboration with American streetwear brand The Hundreds.

Venom Prison’s third album Primeval, a collection of re-recorded early material, was released on October 9, 2020.

On December 10, 2020, Venom Prison announced on social media that they had been signed to Century Media Records, and the band had begun recording their next studio album. The album, titled Erebos, was released on February 4, 2022. Venom Prison performed on the Main Stage at Bloodstock 2021.

The band is generally described as death metal, featuring elements of hardcore punk and grindcore. In an article for Metal Hammer by Stephen Hill, they were described as “part-death metal/part-hardcore”. Their lyrics are generally based around political and social topics such as misogyny, rape culture, fascism, mental health and organized religion. The members have cited influences including Carcass, Napalm Death and Metallica. Frontwoman Larissa Stupar has described her past involvement in anti-fascist and animal rights activism as inspiring the political content of Venom Prison’s music.

Let’s meet the band:

Larissa Stupar – Lead Vocals (2015-present)

Ash Gray – Guitar (2015-present)

Ben Thomas – Guitar (2015-present)

Mike Jefferies – Bass (2015-present)

Joe Bills – Drums (2019-present)

I also wanted to post this, it’s from Larrisa to all their fans, this was posted on their FB site last June:

It is with great sadness that we’d like to inform you that we decided to cancel all our upcoming performances for 2022. During my pregnancy I have made plans to make festivals and shows possible for Venom Prison. I have now realized that I was being too ambitious and was putting too much pressure on myself to make things happen while navigating motherhood for the very first time.

Ash, Ben, Mike and Joe have worked really hard to return back on stage while trying to accommodate my situation. And I am very grateful for their support and understanding. We really tried but my son and family need me full time at the moment.

We are going to focus on the creative side of things for now before we can start playing shows again. This means we have more new material on the horizon and other positives to focus on – Larissa

“My Thoughts”

First off I have to say that I give much respect to the men in the band for working to keep things together while Larissa is bringing a lil metalhead into the world. It’s not easy, you guys deserve a big thank you from everyone.

Now for Larissa, I have heard many many vocalist and I have to tell you your vocals are right up there at the top girl. Keep going don’t let anything stop you. I love their music and how they have all stuck together. All my HeadBangers check them out you won’t be sorry.

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers. Join me next week for another band and another song. In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..