Welcome back to Hell

What a find! In a moment of NWOBHM nostalgia, I tried a search for "Venom Seven Dates of Hell" on YouTube yesterday and there it was - all ten songs from the 1 June 1984 Hammersmith Odeon gig. It was orginally released on VHS and I think that is where xyz8472 got it from.

I was there. No, really, I was. I remember it being one of the loudest gigs I have ever been too, with plenty of pyro and the odd guitar being smashed up. My old mate Steve the Postman, was a huge Venom fan and had a copy of this video.

For those who may not be familiar with the band, this is the intro from the biography on their website:

Venom, the original inventers and founders of Black Metal, the creators of Thrash, Speed, Death and Power Metal, the deadliest force ever to hit the music scene, the original sinners playing the Devil's music at its highest intensity, the ultimate Rock n' Roll band, Venom.

An appeal

At this time of year, spare a thought for those helpless souls who cannot stop playing a certain massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

They will often blame anyone but themselves, including fellow players and even rock stars:

Metallinews

Last night Metallica played a gig at at the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles as part of the Silverlake Conservatory's annual benefit show, to just 2,000 fans. The Silverlake Conservatory, set up by Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, is a music school for kids. Flea joined the band near the end of their set for a rendition of 'Fight Fire With Fire'. Fan shot Youtube clip:



Meanwhile, legendary Rock photographer Ross Halfin has also spent some time with the band. Photos from the sound check for last night's gig are here.

Finally, the Mission: Metallica website went live on Monday. Not much on it yet, a trailer and a preview which has snippets of some new stuff - which sounds very promising.

Lonnie Donegan on Speed...

…is how Railroad Bill describe themselves on their Myspace page - go listen to a tune or two and check out the forthcoming gigs.

Back in February, they went to the legendary Toerag recording studios in London. Chris (tea chest bass supremo) has kindly put some footage up on Youtube for our viewing pleasure.

How to be Metal

After all, it doesn't hurt to be reminded.

Thanks to Nic for this:



Warning, this clip does contain some rather 'fruity' language, which may offend some viewers.

This is why I don't watch Eurovision

Although, I think England will struggle to come up with something better.

Thanks again to Simon for this.

Forget Top Cat…

…here's the Sabs



Thanks to Simon for this one!