Venom Prison – “Animus” [Album Review]

Having teased us with new single “Abysmal Agony”, we’ve finally got our hands on a copy of Animus, the debut album from South Wales death metal filth merchants Venom Prison and, trust me, this slab of extremity does not disappoint one bit.

Frill-free, Animus is a straight-down-the-line, no messing, no bullshit death metal album. Scathing blasts of fury, Animus is an unholy listen. Topped off by vocalist Larissa Stupar’s acidic vocals, Animus is the kind of album that should come with a health warning.

Aside from opener “Syllogism” which sees the band taking a sludgier direction, the formula is generally screeches of feedback giving way to jarring guitars, crushing blast-beats and those vocals. Oh, those vocals – absolutely rancid – just how death metal vocals should sound. The likes of “Celestial Patricide” and the aforementioned “Abysmal Agony” set the bar at a whole new level for the rest of the UK death metal scene and, believe me, courtesy of tracks like “Corrode The Black Sun”, that bar has been set really fucking high.

In the general scheme of things, the UK death metal scene never gets enough credit but then again, it rarely produces bands that stand out. Welsh crushers Venom Prison are looking to right that wrong and, armed with the filthy bastard of an album, they are well and truly going to put the UK death metal scene back on the map.

Animus Track Listing:

01. Syllogism
02. Abysmal Agony
03. Celestial Patricide
04. Desecration of Human Privilege
05. Corrode The Black Sun
06. Immanetize Eschaton
07. The Exquisite Taste of Selfishness
08. Devoid
09. Perpetrator Emasculation
10. Womb Forced Animus

Run Time: 33:07
Release Date: October 14, 2016

Check out the track “Celestial Patricide”