Shadow Kingdom Records has announced the signing of Houston, Texas’ Venomous Maxiums.

The name of the band reminds us of the classic Gladiator film where Russell Crowe (aka “Maximus”) was nothing short of a complete madman who would die for his family and country without fear or worry of what might happen to him in the process. Venomous Maximus is very much like that in their attitude and approach to playing music with conviction and without any genre barriers. In Venomous Maximus, we have a band that is interested in writing GREAT, memorable songs that vary in length, tempo, and emotion.

Those whom are familiar with Venomous Maximus’ 2012 Napalm Records release, Beg Upon The Light, know what kind of a treat you’re in for. The band’s upcoming new album, Firewalker, is a great continuation of their talents. It’s really rare to find bands that have no barriers and just focus on quality songs. This really takes us back to the beginning of heavy metal when Black Sabbath would put out records. Some of the jams would be fast and heavy, while others would be slow and powerful. Black Sabbath could play any genre because they invented all of the heavy metal genres you hear today and when you hear Venomous Maximus’ music, it reminds us of those same ideals. It’s just GREAT music and you love hearing it.

 

Gregg Higgins heads this band with his very powerful and commanding vocals and chants that immediately raise fists in the air. There’s an obscure psych / rock band (also) in Texas from the 70’s/80’s called Roky Erickson. Gregg’s strong vocals remind us of Roky’s vocals in a way that is so captivating, it literally forces you into their world, and you get lost in the music. With the rest of the band being tighter than two coats of paint, this band can do it all and do it all extremely well! Venomous Maximus can easily become as big as - and share fans with -- bands like Grand Magus, High On Fire and Mastodon, while not sounding like any of those bands and paving their own “path of doom”.

 

Venomous Maximus is currently wrapping up work on its new album, Firewalker. Early reports indicate the band's new material to be both "epic" and "sonically huge".

Stay tuned for updates.