Not only did our minion Stewart Lucas manage to review fourteen bands at the Damnation Festival 2019 he also found the time to catch a few words with Ben Thomas from headliners Venom Prison. Here is their chat.

“I am a fan and I am really buzzing with the fact that you are headlining tonight, so what is it like for you as a band?”

It is pretty amazing considering that 3 years ago, I think it was 2016, we played here, I think it was the middle of the day and we were still blown away with the number of people that came out to see us. So to come back around 3 years later and being in this position to headline this festival, it is an honour. We were talking earlier us and the crew and were saying  it is pretty much one of our favourite festival to play. It is always super smoothly run, the band selection is always spot on. Just can’t say more than that, it is just great! I don’t know how it happened but hey!

“Also, what is really good about this festival, is that there is a lot of British bands here today, it seems that there is a lot of investing in bands from the UK instead of importing from the continent.”

Yes, as it should be. I mean there are so many great underground bands in the UK and it is really good to see that these hard working bands are getting the recognition they deserve. For so long, the US bands have come over and have completely been hyped up. Their shows sell out, I know it is  a novelty just for the fact that they have traveled over but you do sometimes wonder if the fans do sleep on their own British talents when there is so much around. Having said that, it doesn’t feel like that at the moment. It feels like a lot of Bristish bands are doing well and it is pretty cool to be part of that.

“What really excites me personally is the political side of it, the fact that there is bands like yourselves, Dawn Ray’d, Employed To Serve which are actually wearing their politics on their sleeves. I always worry where the next punk will be coming from and suddenly there is this emergence of  Metal being the voice of rebellion.”"

I know what you mean, it is definitely more pushed to the forefront today,  a lot more bands seem to be that way. It is weird because we all have been in sort of hardcore, punk and Metal bands before this band so it has always been a part of us and probably that is why it all clicked between us. I guess for Venom Prison, first and foremost our goal is to create music and art, however Larissa has always said she wants to write lyrics about things that are important to her and likewise, it is meaningful stuff to us,  it works hand in hand. We have always felt passionate about it. It seems convenient for a lot of bands to jump on an issue just to get that stamp of approval. I think people can smell if it doesn’t come from a sincere place.

“The thing that really attracted me since the beginning of the Death Metal scene when I was in my teens is that it always been about annoying people as oppose to making a real difference. There is something really interesting about what Venom Prison is doing. Actually how can we use Death metal as a force for change.”

Yes, it is weird because I was into Metal and then I got into the animal rights movement maybe 10-15 years ago and then someone told me that some Heavy metal bands would sing about animal liberation and thought “no fucking way”.  It was the coolest thing ever. It hooked me up with bands like I Am Dying, Prayer For Cleansing, Earth Crisis and I was like, Oh Ok, they are playing some fucking cool riffs but talk about shit I care about rather than some brain dead lyrics. You know what I mean?

“I know exactly what you mean.”

I don’t want to say names but you see what I mean.

“I do. I have grown up on that. The whole thing about Metal being about sorcery, what she is wearing or I have got a really fast car. I saw Dawn Ray’d earlier and they blew me away with their whole political convictions of actually, we are a movement but how do we use this to make the world better.”

It is catch 22 really because these are very radical times, especially with some of anarchists advocating in a public forum for illegal activities like direct action, I think your role has a band is to encourage it rather then say I am about to go and smash something up. It goes further than that. When you see a band singing about stuff that you connect with, things that you haven’t thought about.  Music is a movie, if you took the music out of a movie, it would be boring as hell, so if you are watching a band and their music is moving you and the message is something that resonate with you, it is going to be incredibly motivating. I think that is how our music and message inspire people to do things and act on things and be politically aware. I think that is how we use it.

“There is also something about being real which is really appealing about Venom Prison, a sort of this is us, there is no hidden agenda, there’s no graces. I saw you recently opening for Fit For An Autopsy at Rebellion and you were just here, in your clothes you wear every day, there is something really authentic about you.”

Thank you. Yes, as a band, there is no costume changes or anything like that as much as I would love to one day, it would be great fun.

“So where now, the album “Samsara” is out, it has done really well, you are headlining tonight, what’s next?”

Well, we are always writing music, we are always planning the next thing because you can’t slow down in this game, you have to keep on moving forward. Ash and myself are constantly writing, we have tons of ideas. I can’t really give too much away at the moment, but yes we are always writing, we are always planning on recording but we have no set timeframe. We also have some really cool announcements for next year’s about touring but I can’t give them away just yet. 

“But let’s cut to the chase, will you be doing a headlining tour next year?”

We will be doing an headlining tour at some point next year. We have as well a couple of really cool things to announce before we get to that with some opportunities which are just too good to pass on for us. But yeah, headlining  a European tour has been something we have been wanted to do for a long time. We have been thinking about friends we can bring on tour with us, our favourite bands, even some bands possibly from the US. It will be great because now we are in a position where we can build our own little dream festival to take around Europe.

“It must give a real push to be able to say “Look, we have headlined Damnation”, it must give you some kudos?”

I mean, for sure but we are always grinding, putting in the work. Yes, we are headlining a really prestigious festival today, tomorrow we are playing a charity show in a practice room in Cardiff to raise money for a charity that means a lot to us . So we are under no illusion that now we are going to have stuff handed on a plate because of previous achievements. I think that is how a lot of bands slow down possibly. They think that because they have put in the work before and they’ve had some achievements, they feel entitled to certain billings, certain tours. The work never really stops. There is always another sick album dropping by another great band. It is never really a competitive thing because music is art and art is subjective but we all pretty aware of the fact that we may have a bus tour once in a while but I slept on the floor last night.

“That goes back to what I said earlier,  about keeping you real. It’s really interesting, because there is this DIY attitude within hardcore which is almost punk, this do it yourself and bugger what anyone else think. Do you think there is a need to bring more of that because the Metal scene sometimes can be up its own arse to be honest?”

I think that probably is as long as the quality doesn’t decline. I think the concern with doing some stuff yourself is that yes if you can do it  to a good standard and you feel confident in your abilities to do it well, by any means do it yourself but there are certain things you need a bit of extra advice or help from someone else, I don’t see any harm at all.

“There is almost a cottage industry feel about what you do and the other bands I have mentioned earlier and it goes back to my beloved Boltthrower with the same thing, in the way they controlled everything and there is a real DIY feeling about the scene at the moment. We are going to keep control of our art, we are going to book our own gigs. Do you feel excited about this DIY attitude?”

Yes, I think he shows that people care about their music and their band, if someone is going to try using a band for their own benefit, I think they will find that it is like backing a dog in a corner which is going to be protective of what it has. I think a lot of bands feel that way and kind of look out for themselves and their friends.

“Well good luck tonight, I am looking forward to it.”

Thank you. We have something special planned tonight, a bit of surprise tonight so let’s hope it translate well.

“And we will be looking forward to these tours next year and new music at some point. Thank you!”

Interview by Stewart Lucas
Photography by Johann Wierzbicki