Darkness comes from within us

United Kingdom’s  death metal band Venom Prison is back with their second full length album titled Samsara and the album is filled with promising metal music.  Guitarist Ash Gray, bass guitarist Mike Jefferies, guitarist Ben Thomas, vocalist Larissa Stuper and drummer Joe Bills provide a glimpse into the existence of darkness  on this album. Stuper’s vocals on this record are dynamic because her vocals on each track provides a sense of livid anger, the tone in her voice when she growls has gone thicker and her shrieks sounds like she is expressing herself through the music. The rest of the band are playing loud and wild musical tunes with their instruments. Both Gray and Thomas are playing vigorous riffs which can cause their fans to dance crazy and their guitar solos bleed with piercing sound. Jefferies bass guitar can be heard being played erratically in the background on each track and Bills’s drumming provides a promising touch of wild drum beats.  This album displays creativity and in some ways this album is better than the band’s first full length album Animus.

On the album there is a song called “Uterine Industrialization”  and this is a dark song because it does relate with what is going on within our society. Bills’s drum solo starts the song and then it is followed by Stuper’s vocals, Jefferies’s, Thomas’s and Grays guitar playing.  Stuper’s vocal provides the anger she has toward the political topic of abortion and she demotrates with great authority how her voice is a tool for her to express herself. Also the band is playing angry tunes which are filled with rage to provide listeners with the sense of the looming darkness. Thomas’s guitar solo on this track is pure with cutting edge sound which displays how passionate he is as a musician and also Jefferies’s guitar and Gray’s bass guitar skills can be heard matching the same note Thomas is playing when he finished playing his guitar solo. Overall this song has a dark meaning and the band is not afraid to express their feels about the controversial topic but this song shows how creative the band is.

Another song on the album which profoundly displays another dark meaning in the song titled “Dukkha” and the reason why it is a dark song is because of the lyrics. The lyrics gives an insight of how depressed a person is and he or she about how the darkness of depression can take over people’s lives and even worse it can cause them to end their life. The instruments on this track provides a feel of great sadness at the beginning of the song because Bills’s drumming introduces the song then it is followed by all three guitarists playing a short tune filled with emotion and then Stuper’s voice appears with a loud and grungy sound. What is seemingly interesting is how Stuper’s grunge vocals change with different tunes throughout the track and the rest of the band are playing with passion while matching the tune of her voice.  Toward the end of the song, Thomas plays a short and sharp guitar solo which displays an intriguing ending of the song.

Another song filled with darkness is called “Asura’s Realm” and the lyrics to the song provides a glimpse of emotions about a rivalry destroying everything that is laid in their path and in some ways the lyrics could have been written about how poor people want to fight against the rich because the darkness the rich people bring into the society and they create havoc toward those who are not as fourtane as they are.  Thomas leads the song off with an electrifying solo and then the rest of the band joins him playing in a loud rhythmic tune. The sound of Gray’s and Jefferies guitar can be heard blending in the background and once Thomas finished his solo, all three guitarists played in harmony until Stuper’s vocals appear on the track. Her vocals are unique because she is able to provide a low tone grunge vocal while ate the same time she shrieks out the lyrics.  It feels like Stuper’s shrieks expresses the emotions of what is happening in the world and in our society. Bills’s drumming on the song plays in tune with lob rhythmic beats which help the guitarists create the sound of metal music fans want to hear.

Fans of Venom Prison will enjoy this album because the band bring a classical approach to death metal music and it seems like the band has answered the expectations  from fans and music reviewers because the music is filled with promising death metal music and the band did a brilliant job creating this record.