Venomous Maximus (VM) hail from Texas and they play occult rock, blending the chugging swagger of stoner rock with the darker, more atmospheric elements of doom. The genre is gaining steam and Venomous Maximus are poised to lead the American hordes.
They previously released a 7 inch and an EP, and have finally delivered a full length. Upon us they’ve bestowed Beg Upon the Light, and I love it, but depending on your familiarity with their other works, you might be a bit confused. They’ve changed a bit, but isn’t some Cold Lake transformation, fans of their previous work shouldn’t be turned off by the new sounds. VM have simply matured and gotten a bit more interesting; they’ve added light instrumentals which offer a nice contrast to the heavier tracks on the album.
The first track “Funeral Queen” is one of those instrumentals, a tune dominated by organ and accompanied by synths. It conjures the work of John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness comes to mind) and sets the tone for the light/dark contrasts of the album. “Moonchild” is what could be called a single, it was released to YouTube a few months back, and this track is more representative of their earlier work. It is heavy, the vocals are clear but tormented. They claim to be influenced by High on Fire, and it shows, but not in a derivative way.
The production has improved on this release. The vocals are cleaner and some effects have been added to give the tracks more texture. The song “Venomous Maximus” adds some siren effects in the beginning, and “Moonchild” has a female voice saying something. I can’t understand her and perhaps need better headphones.
“Mothers Milk” is the strangest track on the album. Where those other light songs I mentioned are short and used for contrast, this is a full song with cello as the main instrument with a bit of acoustic guitar joining after a minute or two. They play it with heart and pull it off.
I applaud them for trying something new and I think they succeed. If I had to publish one gripe it’s that I preferred the original “Give Up the Witch”. They include a reworked version on this release that lacks some of the punch the original had. But if you haven’t heard the original you might like this one just fine. But who cares what I think. Give ‘em a listen and make up your own mind.
Words: Justin Gish
Venomous Maximus | Big Cartel
They previously released a 7 inch and an EP, and have finally delivered a full length. Upon us they’ve bestowed Beg Upon the Light, and I love it, but depending on your familiarity with their other works, you might be a bit confused. They’ve changed a bit, but isn’t some Cold Lake transformation, fans of their previous work shouldn’t be turned off by the new sounds. VM have simply matured and gotten a bit more interesting; they’ve added light instrumentals which offer a nice contrast to the heavier tracks on the album.
The first track “Funeral Queen” is one of those instrumentals, a tune dominated by organ and accompanied by synths. It conjures the work of John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness comes to mind) and sets the tone for the light/dark contrasts of the album. “Moonchild” is what could be called a single, it was released to YouTube a few months back, and this track is more representative of their earlier work. It is heavy, the vocals are clear but tormented. They claim to be influenced by High on Fire, and it shows, but not in a derivative way.
The production has improved on this release. The vocals are cleaner and some effects have been added to give the tracks more texture. The song “Venomous Maximus” adds some siren effects in the beginning, and “Moonchild” has a female voice saying something. I can’t understand her and perhaps need better headphones.
“Mothers Milk” is the strangest track on the album. Where those other light songs I mentioned are short and used for contrast, this is a full song with cello as the main instrument with a bit of acoustic guitar joining after a minute or two. They play it with heart and pull it off.
I applaud them for trying something new and I think they succeed. If I had to publish one gripe it’s that I preferred the original “Give Up the Witch”. They include a reworked version on this release that lacks some of the punch the original had. But if you haven’t heard the original you might like this one just fine. But who cares what I think. Give ‘em a listen and make up your own mind.
Words: Justin Gish
Venomous Maximus | Big Cartel
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