Not a day goes by when we metalheads dig—literally, in dusty record shops, coating our fingers with that ever-present layer of grime, and figuratively, on streaming services online—for our next fix of a riff that makes our hearts race and our hair stand on end. But one thing metal rarely talks about (or digs for, as it were) is that the early greats of the genre like Judas Priest, Motörhead, Girlschool, and Black Sabbath knew their way around a good pop song structure, too.Fortunately, that concept is not lost on Houston, Texas-based Venomous Maximus. Their latest effort, No Warning, which was produced by Toxic Holocaust's Joel Grind, boasts dual-lead riffs that lay a foundation for a seriously headbangable time, yet give way to choruses that'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. To top it all off, vocalist Gregg Higgins' mournful voice sails over the melody with a classic goth quality, and when you toss in the two synth interludes, you've got a record that'd sit perfectly next to King Dude, Queen, and Judas Priest alike, yet still hits the classically evil nerve of modern occult metal.When asked about the release of No Warning, vocalist Gregg Higgins says, "This is the the band we wanted you to hear when we first invented Venomous Maximus in 2009. It's taken 35 years of fast living for me to tell the story on this record. We truthfully feel we've created a style all our own."Guitarist Christian Larson adds, "We put more into this record than anything we've ever done; really busted our asses. Joel Grind brought out the best in us and it shows. The riffs are heavier and the drums and bass are tighter than ever. We are very proud of the finished record."Order No Warning here, and smash that play button below, and prepare to be transfixed.
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