gig in the cellar". Much like Welcome to Hell, Black Metal also maintains a very unpolished and underproduced sound due to the label's time constraints as well as Lant's desire to get the "heaviest sound I could get" on tape. Lyrically the band continues to explore Satanic themes ("To Hell and Back", "Leave Me in Hell", "Sacrifice", "Heaven's on Fire") and witchcraft ("Don't Burn the Witch"). Other themes include nightmare scenarios ("Buried Alive", "Raise the Dead"), horror mythology ("Countess Bathory") and adolescent sexual fantasies ("Teacher's Pet"). Artwork The album cover was designed by Cronos in black and white, originally done in Tipp-Ex, shows the face of a demon with a pentacle on its forehead. An inverted cross is on the left horn and the inscription 666 on the right horn. Above the head of the demon's face is the band's wordmark logo reading "Venom" and the album title at the bottom in gothic characters separated by the bottom of the demon's face with the word "BLACK" on the left and "METAL" on the right. On early copies of the album the title was written in black on black in relief, therefore only observable against the light, while the following prints have the title written in white characters. On the back of the cover there is also an apparent anti-piracy icon with the inscription: "Home Taping Is Killing Music … So Are Venom". Release and reception The album was released in Great Britain on 1 November 1982 on NEAT Records. Included with the first album prints was an insert with the lyrics of the songs in gothic characters and a mini-poster in black and white depicting the members of the group. "Mantas" is portrayed posing next to a motorcycle with a wall of Marshall amplifiers in the background; "Abaddon" is locked up behind the rusted steel bars of a secret-style cell in a medieval castle; and "Cronos", armed with a ritual dagger, is kept on a leash by a woman who is wearing a leather jacket but is naked from the waist down. The NEAT Records label on the second side of the original vinyl had color variations of silver, blue, green and red. The album was released to massive acclaim from the metal underground as well as garnering overwhelming praise from mainstream critics as well, and has since gone on to be recognised as one of the most influential metal