VENAL I.V.
VENAL I.V. •
R.I.P. CDR
Straight forward hardcore punk (that happens to be sXe) with dual fe//male
vocal pair-ups. The lyrics here are great, with one line in "peace
thru cannibalism" really sticking out: "you are what you eat
so eat what you are." It's really a fresh animal rights perspective
when you think about it...Besides the lyrics the songs stand strong on
their own right. Some of the end tracks are a little lackluster, but that's
just due to a fairly tinny live sound (just on the last tracks). A far
above average CDR release, that's for sure. (-Jay H.)-slug & lettuce
#71 spring 2002
VENAL I.V.
bring on the youth crew thrash attack, more straight forward than BEHEAD
THE PROPHET N. L. S. L. and no violin, but the energy and vocals are similar.
Straight edge for the punks, instead of a bunch of jocks in hoodies. -(Erin)-maximumrocknroll
#226 march 2002
VENAL I.V. - Denominations
CD
Seven new songs. A fucking awesome 2 piece hardcore punk band. Searing
and vocals rip through your mind. The songs are fast and short as hell
with social and political messages that catch you and then carry you right
to the next song. I loved their music. They seem to fall apart at a couple
of points, but they keep together, and never get old. This cd is well
worth buying. -(Zach)-profane existence #40 winter 2002
VENAL I.V. have a new release, half well-recorded studio stuff and half live recordings, that sound like, well, when you took a tape to the show and taped it standing by the PA. But now for the music, which though still about the thrash attack, seems more screamy...More and/or different vocalists? Male and female? I can't tell, but still super energetic, still really good. I also feel this one is more straightforward, but still, as we said before: straight edge for punks, not jocks in hoodies. -(Erin)-maximumrocknroll #229 June 2002
VENAL I.V. •
CD demo
You really can't judge a book by its cover. I didn't think this CD was
going to be very good, but it turned out to be a nice surprise. Venal
I.V. plays urgent hardcore in the vein of Reversal Of Man (sort of)- It
is fast, pointed, and heavy. Their lyrics are intelligent assaults on
government thugs, the FCC, scene labels, and religion. I liked their pissed
off tone and the enthusiastic message in their insert. -LO -heartattack
#36 november 2002
VENAL I.V. - A REVOLUTION...
CD-R
The 2nd CDR release I've come across from VENAL I.V (one was reviewed
a couple issues back). This new one offers up 7 songs in about 7 minutes
time. Now they seem to just have male vocals as opposed to fe//male paired,
but everything's still going strong and it works. So, what we've got here
is straight forward hardcore with a political focus and strong DIY feel.
Nice. (-JAY)-slug & lettuce #74 winter 2002
VENAL I.V. - Demo
Awesome: political hardcore from Montana... some fastcore influences,
some metallic, with lyrics about: the F.C.C., School of the Americas and
others. If this band was from the Bay Area or the East Coast they would
have had records out years ago... that's the beauty (and some would say
the scourge) of the Midwest... non-hyped great hardcore can still be found
there... done DIY because that's the only way to do it there... write
em and check it out. venaliv@beer.com -mosh of ass #9 spring 2003
VENAL I.V. CD
Fast, very fast at times, hardcore with male/female vocals. A lot of angst
and rage at racism, people getting fucked over, various other stupidity.
Six songs of 4 track quality recording and five live songs with the usual
microphone in a tunnel sound that 9 out of 10 live recordings of punk
bands end up like. Cool to see hardcore like this coming out of Montana,
but these folks are already gone. -short, fast + loud #9 spring 2003
VENAL I.V. play sore throat screaming, mid-tempo for our times, stripped down and bass-less engaging hardcore. And, as a testament to the power of punk rock, their song "State of Alert Vs. School of America" probably was the straw that broke the camel's back in getting the name changed to Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Good work, fellas! -(Erin)-maximumrocknroll #238 march 2003
Venal I.V. "Denominations"
CD
An awesome 2-piece political thrash band from Missoula Montana that sounds
fairly full for a 2-piece. I couldn't tell that they were to be compared
on par with bands like ACTIVE MINDS. They cover all the bases with just
guitars and drums. And the passion is there as the singer sounds like
he has blown out his voice in a high pitched screeched out manner. It
sounds like he is breathing fire. And the band does a great song about
the School of the Americas where they call on the hardcore powers that
be namely the famous frontman for the band with the same three letter
acronym (SOA). They also sing about pirate radio, scene unity, work, and
the brutality of the system. They have captured my imagination with this
one. - SP equalizingXdistort february 2003
Venal i.v. "Denominations"
I like the low-budget packaging- a cut up, inside-out cardboard box that
used to house a DiGiorno's pizza. Although, strangely, the box that I
got features a picture of a pizza with pepperoni and sausage on it and
these guys are vegan/vegetarian...weird. ...But to the point: Venal i.v.
is a screamy hardcore duo (both of whom are named Matt) with a few styles
of writing and 2 styles of singing. There's these sort of poetic lyrics
that are genuinely intriguing, but there's also lame lines about Henry
Rollins and the P.M.R.C. (have we taken a trip back in time to the mid
'8os??). Frankly, I was disappointed in the lyrical content- these guys
are more intelligent than their lyrics let on, but it just doesn't translate.
...Back to the vocals— on the one hand, there's screaming that sounds
like one of the two Matts is merely pissed, and on the other, there's
the kind of screaming that sounds like a prepubescent junior high student
being strangled.
Take into consideration the straight-forward song structures of the music
(I'm really fond of the two no-chorus-and-less-than-3O-seconds songs;
if only all of it had been that way) and add a funny sound clip and you've
got Venal i.v.'s "Denominations": Nice formula, doesn't live
up to its potential. -Kelly ell, END OF TRANSMISSION fanzine from billings,
mt
Amped-out and intelligent
ARTIST: Venal I.V
RECORDING: "R.I.P."
Well, here it is folks, more bottled up anger, bursting out of vocal chords
and guitar strings. I think it is beginning to grow on me. This time it
is Venal I.V. stretching the sound to its limits on their album "R.I.P."
Not only is listening to this music an effective way of relieving stress,
but these guys have some pretty good things to say. Venal I.V. is a drug-free,
sober, punk band, showing the world how to have fun and break stereotypes.
Vocals on "R.I.P." are stretched to a point that sounds painful, but that sound, matched with the words, is effective. The guitar, bass, and drums charge through the album like a herd of steer on a stampede. In spite of all of this amped-out noise, Venal I.V. has proven to be a group of intelligent, quality musicians. The guitar is played by an experienced hand, and it seems -these musicians know exactly what they want to say and how they want to say it. If you have ever felt the walls closing, in, this music will help you blow them away with a powerful, nondestructive force. And in the words of Venal I.V themselves, "You shouldn't have to be a certain age to enjoy fast music'" -Erica Parfit -Missoulian, Thursday, June 27, 2002
SOUNDCHECK
I.V. therapy
Getting thrashed by Missoula's buzz-free Venal I.V.
by Eric Lynn
Venal I.V. plays thrash music. If you've never heard it, imagine jackhammer
drums playing about five million beats a minute, deafening distorted guitar
and screamed vocals that sound like they could be sampled from Jurassic
Park. Some songs are as short as 16 seconds, sonic blasts that hit you
in the adrenal glands like a triple espresso shot.
But it's not caffeine that riles them up, nor is it pills, smack, booze
or smokes. You see, Venal I.V. began as, and remain, a straightedge band—adherents
to a substance-free offshoot of the punk movement. "We wanted to
give youth culture in Missoula something positive," says guitarist
Matt Svendsen, "An alternative to just going out and getting wasted."
Svendsen began Venal I.V. in November of 2000 with bassist Kate Keegan
and Matt Brehe, who at the time was the drummer of local band the Reptile
Dysfunction. The music they were playing then fell somewhere under the
broad label of punk rock, with elements of '80s hardcore in the same vein
of pioneer straight edge bands like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits.
In the guitar riffs one could also hear the influence of old '77 style
punk rock, bringing to mind bands like Vice Squad. The summer of 2001
was possibly the heyday of the Missoula straight edge hardcore scene,
led by Venal I.V. and centered around the all-ages Higgins Hall at the
Boys and Girls Club. Missoula youth turned out in droves for the shows,
and you saw black Xs on the hands of dozens of kids. There was an almost
palpable sensation of positive youthful energy in the air. It's easy to
look through rose-tinted lenses in reminiscing about that summer, but
the scene felt vibrant and somehow immortal without that cocky, exclusionary
attitude common to other cities' straight edge scenes.
But, as the dreariness of autumn arrived, youth enthusiasm waned and simultaneously
personal and musical conflicts within Venal I.V. escalated. In November
of 2001, a year after the band started, they broke up. Then, in February,
they reemerged as a two-piece, with Brehe on drums and Svendsen on guitar
and both of them screaming. The new incarnation of Venal I.V. broadened
its ideological horizons. "We felt we made our point (about straight
edge), and could focus on different, more political issues," Svendsen
says.
Both remaining members are anarchists with varying degrees of militancy.
In regard to moving away from a straight-edge emphasis, "There are
far more urgent matters at hand over an individual's choice to poison
their own body," Brehe says. "Centralized government, combined
with capitalism and political hierarchies, are what are at the root of
drug consumption in this country," he says. "People think corporations
are helping their economy," adds Svendsen, "But the truth is
they are exploiting their economy and sucking all the spirit from their
cultures."
Their most recent self-released CD, Denominations, exemplifies this new
social view. It has songs addressing the School of the Americas, corporate
pollution and government censorship, but doesn't have a single straightedge
track. The intense music gives urgency to the sense of frustration and
systemic rage of the lyrics. "If you're singing about a subject you
feel strongly about, wouldn't you want the sound to be a reflection of
your attitude toward it?" Svendsen asks. "I want something that's
going to break my head open and cram it with ideas."
This is the drive of Venal I.V.: to jar people a little and make them
think. However, they are not naive enough to believe that simply playing
in a band will bring about a revolution. "The music is a means of
revolution," Brehe says, "It is no different than any form of
propaganda. Yet music is never enough. Armchair activism is not acceptable
in the revolutionary community. Action is required." Brehe says he
supports Wild Rockies Earth First!, Critical Mass, the Buffalo Field Campaign
and "any group aiding in animal liberation." Svendsen is a father
and busy with that, but teaches his daughter noncorporate values and is
conscientious about what they consume. "I boycott Coke," he
says. "It tastes like the blood of Colombian union organizers."
Despite the strong ideological views, Svendsen says Venal I.V. isn't trying
to force their ideas. Since the decline of the Higgins Hall scene, most
of Venal I.V.'s shows have been at Jay's Upstairs. He says, "I have
my opinions about alcohol, but I don't push a hardliner attitude on anyone.
"When it comes down to it," he muses, "Whether you're drinking
or not, we're all at shows for the same reason: hearing music and venting
frustrations."
Venal I.V. puts the "rash" back in "thrash" Thursday,
Sept. 12 at Jay's Upstairs. 10 PM. Cover TBA.
Venal I.V.
Peace Through Cannibalism
Poisoned Candy Records
Peace Through Cannibalism compiles three full previous records by Venal
I.V., plus five live tracks and five remixes for a total of 47 minutes
and 47 seconds of blazingly fast local thrash. The CD is extremely tight
musically. The live tracks showcase the talent of the members, and prove
that it thrives outside the confines of a recording studio. They never
break the chainsaw tempo, even when it sounds as if their instruments
might spontaneously combust from prolonged friction.
If a karaoke bar in hell happened to offer any of the tracks on Peace
Through Cannibalism, the bouncing ball would have an epileptic seizure
across the top of the Tourette's-ridden lyrics. Since we know for sure
of no such karaoke bar, another mind-splitting option is to try and read
along with the lyrics provided in the jacket. In fact, reading the lyrics
may be the only way to digest the band's multi layered, in-your-face message.
Straight-edge lyrics scream social commentary and promote a D.I.Y. lifestyle.
Casual sex, the need for substances, popular culture, corporate America
and racism are a few of the subjects disputed by the three members—Matt
Svendsen, Kate Keegan and Matt Brehe—who take turns delivering the
vocals.
This alteration helps to break up the album, which comes dangerously close
to blending into one huge album-long rant. But versatility isn't necessarily
a virtue in this genre, and so it goes. Get ready to blow an eardrum,
pop a sweat gland and expand your mind. -(Vanessa Dunham)-Missoula Independent
Newspaper, march 11-march 18, 2004
Fans of live music
should check out the Anti-DiFrancos, Venal I.V. and Reptile Dysfunction
Friday, Sept. 28 at Higgins Hall, located at 617 S. Higgins. The bands
are offering up a physically and politically charged brand of punk that
serves as a call for a more conscientious world view of life. "The
Anti-DiFrancos and Venal I.V. have a really positive message regarding
the way people treat each other and themselves," said UM junior Jamie
Boschee. "If you have a sound mind and body, you can treat other
people with the passion and respect they deserve. It's amazing music,
a real opportunity for personal catharsis." Entrance to the all-ages
show costs $3 at the door. -9/28/01 -Annie P. Warren/Montana Kaimin