VENOM Versus This Is Spinal Tap - "That Movie Was Never Pointed At Us; It Was Aimed At Bands Like SAXON, SAMSON And IRON MAIDEN"
June 28, 2008, 16 years ago
The following is an excerpt from a story filed by The Guardian (UK) featuring VENOM frontman Cronos:
"This is the devil's music"Credited with inventing an entire genre and influencing some of the world's biggest metal bands, Venom are still seen as a bit of a joke in this country. So what's kept them going for 30 years, asks Stevie Chick.
Ask Conrad Lant - whose working name is Cronos - if he sees any parallels between the absurd events chronicled in This Is Spinal Tap, and the experiences enjoyed by Venom, the legendary heavy metal group he has fronted, on and off, for almost 30 years, and he is instantly dismissive. "That movie was never pointed at us," says the singer/bassist, evenly but firmly. "It was aimed at bands like Saxon, and Samson, and Iron Maiden. They all lived that ludicrous lifestyle; we never did. We were always down to earth, we always had friends who'd give us a slap if we got too full of ourselves."
To underscore (but also sort of contradict) his point, Lant cites the scene where Tap's guitarist Nigel Tufnell sketches out blueprints for their Stonehenge stage set on a napkin, confusing inches for feet, and ending up with stage props that are dwarfed by dancing dwarves. "When Venom do something like that, it's always the other way round," he guffaws. "Our stage show's generally too big to fit inside the venue!"
Go to this location for the complete story.
