Review Summary: A familiar bloodbath
To what extent is originality all that matters in art? Do we need to create something unique, will we have to touch the stars to earn our immortality? I have my personal opinion on these underlying issues regarding our creative nature, but this is certainly not the place, nor the right moment, to express it. What interests me is to take the abstract concept and carry it to Baest's sophomore release, in order to support my view on
Venenum and its relevance to death metal, at the end of this decade. Those who are aware of the band's debut album, already know these Danes have a strong passion for Bloodbath. This crush didn't fade in
Venenum, as is instantly shown in the opener "Vitriol Lament", which features a straightforward chainsaw approach, reminiscent of their Swedish influence. This song also highlights the band's polished, song-oriented signature, always present throughout the album.
Venenum flows reasonably well, much due to coherent musical direction and dynamic song structures. If we look at the first half, all tracks present artful contrasts, that swing between doom, mid-paced and blast beat signatures. Of these first songs I would like to highlight "Gula's" doomy verse, which is probably the moment with strongest personality in
Venenum, and "Nihil's" contagious mid-paced riff, that inevitably leads to indoor headbanging choreographies. Nothing sounds out of place, everything seems tidy and clean, just like a Danish teenager's room, with Bloodbath posters meticulously glued all over the place. So it was with some surprise that I came across the contrasting Chuck Schuldiner's post-Human harmony in "As Above So Below" and Bolt Thrower's "No Guts, No Glory" cover, that closes the album with a slightly different tone. Apart from these two moments, the remaining tracks are consistent with
Venenum's overall aesthetic, being the title track worthy of mention, given its inherent chainsaw fierceness, that makes it one of
Venenum's core songs.
Returning to my initial questions,
Venenum is certainly not artistically relevant nor does it add anything original or exciting to the genre. Its excessive closeness to Bloodbath deprives the band of any distinctive personality, preventing them from achieving a prominent place within the genre. But to what extent is originality all that matters in death metal? Is it the beginning, the middle and the end? Not necessarily. Genuinity, humbleness, musical competence and the ability to entertain, are also attributes I highly consider in music, and that my friends, is what you can expect from
Venenum, a familiar chainsaw, that will cut you, bleed you and entertain you, as long as you see it for what it is.
