albums ever released. Sounds, much like in their 1981 review of Welcome to Hell, gave yet another perfect five-star review of Black Metal. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album a near perfect 4.5 out of 5 stars, and points to the title track, "Raise the Dead" and "Acid Queen" as "proto-thrashing classics", "Leave Me in Hell" as "surprisingly complex", "Teacher's Pet" as "unusually goofy" and "Bloodlust" and "Countess Bathory" as "absolute classics" stating that "Black Metal is right up there with its predecessor". Martin Popoff of Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal gave the album eight out of a possible 10 stars in his November 2005 review. Tour Jonathan "Jonny Z" Zazula, a small time importer from New York, concert promoter and co-founder of Megaforce Records, ordered several boxes of Welcome to Hell from Neat Records to sell at his record stall in a shopping mall. Soon after "Jonny Z" ordered more and asked Neat if Venom were interested in doing shows in the States. The band wasn't sure how they would get their pyros to put on a proper show to the States as well as trying to find an opening act, however, an importer friend of Lants showed him a bootlegged video of a new band from San Francisco where the guitarist was wearing a Venom shirt, Metallica. Venom played two shows at the Staten Island Paramount Theatre with Metallica opening for them on 22 and 24 April. On the second night, considerable damage was done to the venue when explosives and a fireball from the pyrotechnics created a four-foot hole in the stage and the fireball shot across the building coming to rest in the upper balcony. Lant had also dealt several blows to his own speakers, destroying his stacks. When the technician assessed the damage done, the total cost for repairs amounted to "666" dollars. After successful shows in the States Venom was already planning their return to America before they had even left. The band returned to Europe and was set to headline Aardschokdag, an annual Heavy metal festival held in the Netherlands, in June 1983. However, their equipment had been impounded by U.S. Customs in New York following their shows with Metallica in April. As a result, the band was forced to withdraw from the festival and also had to cancel their planned European tour. Venom was replaced by Accept, but still decided to