True Raw Talent
“I” is a great way to start off Venomous Maximus’ new album: No Warning. It’ short, eerie, but it sets up the mood of the rest of the album through the raw sound and fading out ending. Venomous Maximus has created an album of multiple styles and sounds, that all fit cohesively together in this album. Lead singer Greg Higgins has a Jim Morrison like voice, but he uses it differently, creating some fantastic metal songs that even non-metal fans would enjoy.
“Spellbound” is the first real song on the album, and it’s also one of the standouts. The guitar sets the song off, before going into Higgins deep vocals. Much like the title of the song, it sounds like Higgins is spellbound, with the way his voice often fades out. It’s a great song to start the album off with, and definitely, sets up the rest of the songs for success. The next song “Pray For Me” better displays Higgins vocals due to the louder feel of the song. His vocals are melodic while remaining haunting, rising above the music and finding a place of their own in the listener’s ears. “Return of the Witch” starts off much like “Pray For Me” but almost a minute in it becomes it’s own unique song, repeating the title as the refrain “return of the witch.” Like the first two songs on the album, this one has a spiritual and mystical quality to it.
The fifth song on the album “All of My Dreams” is very different than the rest. It’s completely acoustic, featuring simple guitar playing and Higgins’s vocals. It’s played at a lower volume, feeling authentic, as if Higgins was playing and singing live. It’s a love song, Higgins crooning “all of my dreams are of you.” It’s a beautiful song, feeling slightly misplaced amongst the songs of spells and witches before. It’s a song that would make any listener want to see Venomous Maximus live, as it shows the true raw talent of the band.
The last few songs on No Warning are “Blood for Blood,” “Endless,” and “Sea of Sleep.” “Blood of Blood” has a great beat to it, making it catchy while keeping that creepy feeling that the majority of the album has. “Endless” is ironically one of the shortest songs on the album, starting off like an old English folk song, with some beautiful guitar playing. It has no lyrics and is simply the guitar talent of the band, signifying yet another break away from the metal style the rest of the album has. Finally there is “Sea of Sleep” a song almost 10 minutes long, and ends No Warning with a bang. It’s loud, exciting, and plays much like a story within a song. The song has a false ending, for a couple of minutes, before launching into some more rocking guitar and drums to end it off.
Venomous Maximus’ new album may not be for everyone, but it has a little bit of everything, ranging from the hardcore, to the mystical, to the simple acoustic. This album can be purchased off of Band Camp, and it’s definitely worth a listen for all fans of the genre.
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