Originally released, or UNLEASHED as I’m sure Cronos (Conrad to his mates), would say, in 1990, Dancing In The Fire was the first solo album from the Venom frontman/bassist. There’s no black metal on display here, though. I would compare the material on Dancing In The Fire to ‘80s W.A.S.P. or Armoured Saint. The opening track Fantasia has a glam metal feel. Cronos did a glam metal album? Umm… yes, he did. He even tries to be melodic, or as melodic as Cronos could get. There are lots of chuggy riffs, pinch harmonics, widdly guitar solos, and god-awful lyrics. Terrorise even has Cronos attempting a (bad) Steven Tyler impersonation. The vocals are as flat as a pancake that has been run over by a steamroller. Must try harder, Conrad.

The title track starts with a vaguely melodic intro but quickly becomes hilarious with Cronos trying his hand at some Bon Jovi style whoa’s (or should that be woes?) It really is hilarious; it’s more Spinal Tap than even the Tap can manage themselves.

The only halfway decent track is Vampyr, which could have ended up as a Venom track. The production is much better than any Venom effort, but that doesn’t save this cringfest. Venom were so influential because they did something new, and people latched onto the image, lyrics and dark sound. Cronos should have stayed in his lane and gave the Venom fans more of what they wanted. They definitely didn’t ask for Dancing In The Fire.

Buy Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick