This article is about the Venom album. For the heavy-metal compilation box set, see Welcome to Hell (album). For the skateboarding video, see Toy Machine.
Welcome to Hell is the December 1981 debut album by the Englishheavy metal band Venom. The sound of the album was very noisy and rough, perhaps in part because the band thought they were recording a demo when they recorded the album over a period of only three days. Geoff Barton stated[citation needed] in his 1981 five-star review of Welcome to Hell the album had "the hi-fi dynamics of a 50-year-old pizza" and it "brought a new meaning to the word 'cataclysmic'". However, those comments compared it to other heavy metal from the early eighties.
The album is often described as "speed metal", although it had a great influence on the then-emerging thrash metal style.
The first vinyl pressing included a poster and a pink lyrics sheet.
Track listing
LP
All tracks are written by Bray/Dunn/Lant
Side A
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Sons of Satan"
3:38
2.
"Welcome to Hell"
3:15
3.
"Mayhem With Mercy"
0:58
4.
"Poison"
4:33
5.
"Live Like an Angel"
3:59
Side B
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Witching Hour"
3:40
2.
"One Thousand Days in Sodom"
4:36
3.
"Angel Dust"
2:43
4.
"In League With Satan"
3:35
5.
"Red Light Fever"
5:14
CD
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Sons of Satan"
3:38
2.
"Welcome to Hell"
3:15
3.
"Schizoid"
3:34
4.
"Mayhem With Mercy"
0:58
5.
"Poison"
4:33
6.
"Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil)"
3:59
7.
"Witching Hour"
3:40
8.
"One Thousand Days in Sodom"
4:36
9.
"Angel Dust"
2:43
10.
"In League With Satan"
3:35
11.
"Red Light Fever"
5:14
Bonus tracks in 1985 rerelease by Combat
No.
Title
Length
12.
"In Nomine Satanas"
3:28
13.
"Bursting Out"
2:56
Bonus tracks in 2002 rerelease by Castle/Sanctuary
No.
Title
Length
12.
"Angel Dust (Lead Weight version)"
3:03
13.
"In League With Satan (7" version)"
3:31
14.
"Live Like an Angel (7" version)"
3:54
15.
"Bloodlust (7" version)"
2:59
16.
"In Nomine Satanas (7" version)"
3:29
17.
"Angel Dust (Demo)"
3:10
18.
"Raise the Dead (Demo)"
3:29
19.
"Red Light Fever (Demo)"
4:51
20.
"Welcome to Hell (Demo)"
4:57
21.
"Bitch Witch (Outtake)"
3:08
22.
"Snots Shit (Outtake)"
2:06
Comes with a 12- page booklet. Some versions have slipcase cover.
The black metal band Mayhem borrowed their name from the song "Mayhem with Mercy"[citation needed] and covered the song "Witching Hour" on their EP album Deathcrush. Stoner metal group High On Fire covered the song "Witching Hour" on their limited edition live album Live At The Relapse Contamination Festival as the closing track. The hardcore punk band The Meatmen covered "In League With Satan" on their 1996 album "War Of The Superbikes, Vol.2". In addition, the Canadian parody metal band Zimmers Hole references "In League with Satan" in the title of their album "When You Were Shouting at the Devil... We Were in League with Satan"..
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