Venom will be embarking on a tour in South America this coming December 2009. Brazil’s show will be the first in 23 years as the band played a historical handful of gigs in the country in ’86. Die-hard fan – and also Rockonnection collaborator – Leandro Jorge, from Rio de Janeiro, started, in 2004, a website entirely dedicated to those shows in ’86 (www.venombrasil.com.br, in Portuguese language) and now he was chosen by Cronos himself to do the first interview about the show in Brazil. Check it out!

Hi Cronos! It is a great honor to talk to you again! During the last 23 years people were asking for Venom to return to our country. Why did it take so long?
Hi Leandro, it's great to speak with you again and thank you for making a fantastic Venom website and supporting us for many years. To answer your question, basically when we played in Brazil in ‘86 we were not happy with the organization. It were European promoters who sorted the tour and they didn't have a clue, and we knew it would take a South American promoter to really do it properly. Every time we spoke about returning we haven't been able to get the contacts. So when our agent in New York told me that he had lately been working with some promoters in South America and they were very interested in bringing Venom to their country for a tour, we jumped at the chance.

We know about all the organization issues Venom had in ‘86, but do you keep good memories of the Brazilian Legions? Is there any story about that crazy ‘86 tour that you never told anybody yet?
The shows themselves were fantastic, the Legions were amazing and it was great to play to our Latin Legions. We had an amazing reception when we arrived at the airports with thousands of fans waiting to greet us; it was like being in the Beatles, we couldn't believe it! Also the fans had loads of different versions of our albums that we'd never seen – obviously bootlegs – but whatever, the way we saw it was that our Latin Legions would find any way to get their Venom albums, hell yeah.

Do you have the tapes of the shows in Brazil, and are there any plans to release some of it in DVD?
No, we've looked everywhere… We thought there were cameras at a few of the shows, but nothing has surfaced. I do remember when we had the big nets in Sao Paulo and several big cameras shooting the show, but whatever happened to this video footage is a mystery.

It is great to think that Venom are rehearsing specifically for the Latin American tour! Can you tell us anything about the set list for these 5 dates (12th Dec Brazil, 10th Dec Argentina, 9th Dec Chile, 6th Dec Colombia, 5th Mexico)? Can we expect some surprises that you don’t usually play, like ‘Angel Dust’ or ‘Sacrifice’?
Yes indeedy, the recording stopped and we started to work on the tour set list straight away. I want to make a real special set list for this special tour, a new approach to the show where we get to play something from every Venom album, basically covering the whole 30 years of Venom's career. So we’re now up to speed and ready to Rock, we’re counting the hours to the first show and sorting out the final preparations, its great. We can't wait to hit the stage again to play our loud music.

I saw Tony Martin’s show here in Rio in 2008, and all the people there said that the drummer was killer! It is incredible that this guy is in Venom now! How is it to rehearse with Danté and how did you meet him?
Hell Yeah your right. Yes, Danté has played with Mr Martin and also many other great artistes over the years. We wanted someone who had a lot of experience to join the band, so we were looking for someone with a background in both Rock and Metal, the same as the original drummer in Venom from ’79 – that way we can capture the true Black Metal approach. When we first met I only gave him the original Venom albums to listen to, not the most recent albums, this was so he would pick up the feel and power that the original drummer made in the early days. I didn't want him to be influenced by the nu-metal approach that the last drummer had. The Black Metal drumming style is special, and I wanted to make sure Danté was able to understand that and play that way also. The new songs we've been writing sound fantastic and Danté has brought a great feel to the band, he is a pleasure to work with and a true professional.

Can you make some comparison between Metal Black and Hell, and what can we expect for next CD?
Since the Metal Black album I've been writing in the same vein as the original albums of the early 80's, although it also depends on the way the guitars and drums play that will determine the outcome. Now I think the last 2 albums were definitely in the right direction for Venom but I'm on a mission to always improve the band, and with the way both Rage and Danté have been playing with the new songs, I know we are even closer to the perfection I seek. Venom is all about intensity and atmosphere and these guys know all about that, so we’re gonna have a killer new album ready for the Legions by 2010.

What about the DVD about Venom’s history that was going to be made?
We put that DVD on hold as the label wanted to release the Deluxe Edition of Black Metal, so I asked if we could also include the 7th Date Of Hell video as this has never been released on DVD. Besides, our fans are getting ripped off on the internet buying crap copies, so now they can have a great DVD of our sold out legendary ‘84 show from the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Are you in touch – or are you friends –  with people in the Metal scene in England, like Lemmy, Steve Harris, or others like that?
Yeah I see them at concerts and awards meetings etc. It’s always great to meet up with other musicians and drink many beers. We also discuss upcoming new bands and who is touring with who. I know a lot of bands are now coming to South America for their tours and they have been telling me how great it is.

Your final words to Latin American Legions thatare hungry for Black Metal.
We have waited a very long time to return to South America. We are so psyched that we are finally going to be able to bring real Black Metal back to Brazil and also Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, so to all our Latin Legions, hell fucking yeah, we will return!!!

Thanks so much, see you here!
Thank you Leandro, stay wild and see you soon my friend!

Leandro Jorge
photos: Venom Brasil site (www.venombrasil.com.br)