VENATOR
“Psychodrome”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Venator are a heavy metal band from Austria formed in 2016, releasing their debut E.P. ‘Paradiser’ in 2020, debut full length album ‘Echoes From The Gutter’ in 2022, with sophomore album ‘Psychodrome’ emerging in 2025.

“a full on and intense gallop of highly infectious heavy metal” was how I described the bands debut album – and the same could easily be said about the bands new one too! Albeit the new album is a much harder hitting affair than ‘Echoes From The Gutter’ – Venator fired up and ready to shudder the world with ten new songs across forty four foot to the floor minutes of highly head bang-able heavy metal, the one minute instrumental ‘Into The Drome’ setting a highly eerie atmosphere as the band builds a crescendo of anticipation toward the album opener (proper) ‘Steal The Night’.

And what an opener – the glorious sound of classic heavy metal filling the air as Venator pound the ground with immense pace and power – ‘Steal The Night’ firmly rooted in old school territory! And when I say old school, I mean over forty years ago old school when heavy metal was still in its infancy, the likes of Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon defining the sound of traditional metal for generation after generation to follow, with Austrian metallers Venator one of the most recent generation. A sensational opening gambit, ‘Psychodrome’ storms on at pace with ‘Children Of The Beast’, the ground shuddering under the bands feet as nearby buildings crumble into ruins such is the oomph of the albums opening brace! Even every listener around the world has been slammed to the floor by the incredible outburst of energy surging outta Linz, ‘Ravening Angel’ marching into sight with a sound that dates back to the turn of the eighties when rock and metal first came together to form the iconic NWOBHM. Venator may be over twelve hundred miles and forty five years away from the birth of heavy metal right here in the UK, but boy have they perfected the essence and spirit of that time – a time I know very well, for I was just a teenager back then, growing up listening to all of metals greatest bands shape a genre of music that I still love and very much adore today!

There’s no stopping the band when they’re in this mood, ‘The Final Call’ maintaining the albums breathless rampage, Venator fully fuelled and ready to go the distance, pummelling a worldwide audience with a sensational barrage of heavy metal – the increase in speed of ‘The Final Call’ after a minute and a half is fucking emphatic! So emphatic, everyone’s breaths are gonna be taken away in an instant, the Austrian outfit powering on with ‘Radar’ – the pace and power top level stuff as the band keep every mosher around the world frantically head banging! ‘Cause frantic is the only style of head banging this album deserves, the urgency of ‘Radar’ greater than that of any other song heard so far, ‘Race To Glory’ maintaining the previous songs impetus and sizzling pace, albeit with a much higher melodious intent! Now don’t get me wrong, every song on offer has a high melodious intent, it’s just ‘Race To Glory’s is much higher – and if I can be brutally honest right here, is it really 2025 and not 1985? I get easily confused you see when the heavy metal on show is this fucking good, reminding me of my youth during the eighties when I would listen to metal twenty-four-seven! Wait a sec…I still listen to metal twenty-four-seven now, even after forty five years of listening!

Entering the fray with a thunderous gallop, ‘Dynamite’ is the heaviest song heard so far, Venator roaring through the gears to deliver a pace changing tempo changing sonic assault to stun and amaze every listener, fan and follower around the world – and when I say “every”, I mean all eight billion people on the planet! Yes readers, Venator’s music is that infectious, it’s gonna get you no matter how far – ‘Fear The Light’ maintaining the albums terrific traditional metal feel, the band adopting a mighty mid tempo foot stomp so powerful that Earth may be knocked off its axis and into a new fucking orbit! Definitely one of the best full on and relentless metal albums of the year, Venator are a much stronger outfit than three years ago, the band ending their sophomore album with a final furious flourish of fast paced heavy metal in the shape of ‘Astral Seduction’. Simply oozing with everything great about the metal music genre, ‘Astral Seduction’ is just one out of the ten highlights ‘Psychodrome’ has to offer!

Overall, a full on gallop of infectious heavy metal, Venator have delivered power, pace and head bang ability in copious quantities.

TRACKLIST

Into The Drome
Steal The Night
Children Of The Beast
Ravening Angel
The Final Call
Radar
Race To Glory
Dynamite
Fear The Light
Astral Seduction

https://venatorsteelcity.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/VenatorHeavyMetal/

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