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Pioneering NWOBHM/thrash/black/speed/you-get-the-idea band Venom hits 15 in terms of full-length albums with Storm the Gates. As with the last few, only bassist/vocalist Cronos remains from the band's early days, the other gents playing in Venom, Inc. Unlike the previous album, 2015's From the Very Depths, which I found way too fucking serious, Cronos and crew have brought back some of the wild energy of the early Venom releases. Sure, this band inspired hoards of thrash and black metal bands but they always played with a nod and a wink that told you they were having fun and they weren't on a holy crusade. From the Very Depths had none of that charm but Storm the Gates is much more enjoyable from that perspective. Tracks like "Bring Out Your Dead" and "We the Loud" might not put the tongue as firmly in the cheek as "Teacher's Pet" but there's a mischievous spirit present. The riffs are simple, powerful and effective and the band seems content to thrash the beejeezus out of their instruments, something that made Welcome to Hell and Black Metal albums you could go back to again and again. There are a few clunkers, like the slow, ponderous "Destroyer" and the overwrought "Over My Dead Body" but then Storm the Gates wraps up with the killer title track and you start looking for the "repeat" button. Venom are back, hide the women.