"Bloodlust" is a single released by English

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

band

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

on August 13, 1982 through

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of t ...

. It is the bands second single and the follow-up to their debut single " In League with Satan". Side B contains the song "In Nomine Satanas". Live versions of the songs appear on their 1986 live album '' Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'' as well as re-recorded versions of both songs with "Bloodlust" appearing on some versions of their ninth album ''

Cast in Stone ''Cast in Stone'' is the ninth album by British heavy metal band Venom, and their first album in 12 years to feature the original lineup. Recorded at Lartington Hall Studios near Barnard Castle, it was released on SPV/Steamhammer in 1997. It is ...

'' on a bonus disc of 10 re-recorded tracks, and "In Nomine Satanas" on a rare limited edition 1996 mini album. Both these versions were on the 2006 expanded edition of the album. Another version entitled "Bloodlust (Radio 1 Session)" would appear on the 2002 CD reissue of ''

Black Metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

''.

Writing and recording

The song "Bloodlust" is one of the bands oldest songs originally written by vocalist and bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant while he was still with his previous band Dwarfstar. While recording the single another song, "Senile Decay", was also recorded but was not released until 1985 on the bands compilation album ''From Hell To The Unknown...''.

Music and lyrics

The lyrics of the single deal with horror folklore and

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

. "Bloodlust" tells the story of "Count Cronos", a character (named after Lant's stage name) engaging in vampiric behaviours such as stalking his prey in the night and biting into their necks, draining them of "your life giving blood" and leaving them to die. "In Nomine Satanas" is written in a mix of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. It tells of the story of Satan's legions rising, praising him and singing his songs, then finally launching a war on humanity "In the name of Satan".

Music video

In September 1982, the band released a 2-track video entitled ''Live Sept '82''. The video shows the band playing two tracks, a newly recorded version of "Witching Hour" and "Bloodlust", on stage complete with smoke effects and pyrotechnics. The purpose for producing these videos was to give potential promotors/venues an idea of what a Venom live show would be like, for example, what size/height of stage would be required as well as specs for the pyrotechnics as the band was looking to emulate Kiss’s stage show. According to Lant, the band encountered difficulties in their native

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with many of their tour dates being announced and cancelled at the last minute due to some venues not allowing the use of pyrotechnics. This would turn out to be an issue that would plague the band throughout their career.

Reception

In his review of the bands sophomore effort ''Black Metal'', Eduardo Rivadavia of

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called "Bloodlust" as absolute classic along with another Venom song, "Countess Bathory". Edwin Pouncy of ''

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'' magazine wrote a raving review and made it the Single of the week.

Track listing

Credits

– producer, performers ** Conrad "Cronos" Lant – bass, vocals ** Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn – guitars ** Tony "Abaddon" Bray – drums *Venom – producer, engineer

References

{{Venom Venom (band) songs 1982 singles