''Cast in Stone'' is the ninth album by British heavy metal 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 ...

, and their first album in 12 years to feature the original lineup. Recorded at Lartington Hall Studios near

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

, it was released on SPV/Steamhammer in 1997. It is the last Venom album to feature Abaddon on drums. Like the previous two albums, ex- Child's Play and then-current

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

producer

Howard Benson Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008. Early life and education Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...

was originally in talks to produce the album, with band frontman Cronos wanting the album to have a similar production to

's 1995 album ''

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

''. However, once again, Benson was unavailable.

Critical reception

"''Cast in Stone'' is heavier than

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and more tuneful than

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

", according to '' Vox''. "A surprisingly listenable album that's maybe more old school metal than

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...

, but aims a swift kick between the legs and truly delivers", concluded reviewer Jerry Ewing, giving the album three stars out of five.

Track listing

Credits

* Cronos – bass, vocals *

Mantas Mantas is a Lithuanian given name. Mantas is also a surname found in several European countries including Portugal, Spain, Greece, Germany, and others. The exact connection between the different regions of occurrence is presently unknown, although ...

– guitar *Abaddon – drums, samples

References

External links

Venomcollector.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cast In Stone 1997 albums Venom (band) albums SPV/Steamhammer albums Albums produced by Kevin Ridley Thrash metal albums