SONG: "Guantanamo"
ARTIST: Venerea
ALBUM: "One Louder"
YEAR: 2005
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Malmo, Sweden
YEARS ACTIVE: 1991 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
As the title suggests, this song is about Guantanamo Bay, the controversial prison where several people were placed after capture during the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. For every possible terrorist, or someone linked to terrorism, there are several prisoners there that are completely innocent, just a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This song is written from the perspective of one of these innocent men who is falsely imprisoned and has no ties to terrorism.
VENEREA DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1996 - Shake Your Swollen Booty (Gift Of Life Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
1997 - Both Ends Burning (Gift Of Life Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2000 - Losing Weight, Gaining Ground (Renate/Community Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2003 - Out In The Red (I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2005 - One Louder (Bad Taste Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2010 - Lean Back In Anger (Concrete Jungle Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2016 - Last Call For Adderal (Destiny/Dirty Six Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON VENEREA:
Venerea is a Swedish band that got it's start back in 1991, when the members were still in high school. Originally the band was called Venereal Disease but shortened the name to Venerea after a few years. Around 1994/1995, the band released a few EP's and in 1996, those EP's were packaged together in a full album called "Shake Your Swollen Booty". Their first proper full length release would be 1997's "Both Ends Burning". The 2000's kicked in with the band dropping the album "Losing Weight, Gaining Ground". Around this time, Venerea really began to hone in on their sound and their next four releases were all top notch, hardcore punk albums beginning with 2003's "Out In The Red", 2005's "One Louder", 2010's "Lean Back In Anger" and their last full length release, 2016's "Last Call For Adderal". This is yet another band I found out about through what seems to be the now defunct website DyingScene.com. This was such an incredible website and I owe them many thanks for turning me on to many a punk band, Venerea included. The first time I heard Venerea was the song "Calling Card" from the "One Louder" album. I was hooked right off the bat. "Calling Card" is a sick song and my personal favorite from Venerea to this day. Venerea's early records are so so. You can tell they were just really young and the songs reflect that. As we got into the 2000's, I feel that Venerea really found their sound. These guys are a hardcore punk band who tend to get political in some of their songs as well, as they do in this week's song of the week, "Guantanamo". Think like a Strike Anywhere type of vibe. Rumor has it that these guys are working on something but who knows what's going on with this Covid shit fucking everything up!
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
Zero Down
98 Mute
PMX
Asado
Hit The Switch
TEN VENEREA SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Calling Card
2. Mark Of Cain
3. The Real Ewe
4. Throwing Bricks
5. Under Siege
6. Headfoot
7. Rise With The Tide
8. Back To The Start
9. Beanstalk
10. Son Of A Beach
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