In this corner the reigning champion, hailing from Newcastle England, NWOBHM veterans and creators of the term “black metal” – VENOM and their 1985 classic clip of between-song stage banter. You know it, you love it, you can thank an unnamed Black Flag roadie for bequeathing us this treasure.
And in the other corner the challenger, from Buffalo, New York (oh, how I wanted to say “parts unknown”) Death/Gore Metal heavyweights Cannibal Corpse who once were mentioned by name by none other than Bob Dole as having ”violated human decency” and their recently unearthed left-hook of stage wordy-ness.
LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE! (Imagine that dude’s voice)
Here’s your scoring system – which is only a suggestion. Hell, do what you want.
1. Originality
2. Passion
3. Presentation
4. Pure Metal-ness
But keep in mind: Venom is classic, yes, and much longer and involved. But the Cannibal Corpse clip is more dangerous, perhaps craftier, and may cause more bodily injury. So it looks like we might have an unholy fair fight on our bloody hands. Put on your spikes, bullet-belts, load your devil horns and come out fighting.
VENOM (the Champ)
CANNIBAL CORPSE (The Challenger)