First Installment Wins: Welcome to Hell and Black Metal were their first two releases, as well as their most popular and well-liked.
Harsher in Hindsight: There have been a wave of scandals involving female teachers having sex with teenage male students. Making the song "Teacher's Pet" ahead of its time.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: After At War With Satan, Possessed (which was composed of songs that were written before AWWS) was criticized for sounding the same as the first two albums. The bad production on it didn't help either.
Narm: The poor recording quality of their music and their bad lyrics often makes it hard to listen to their music without laughing.
Narm Charm: However, they DID go on to become one of Metal's most influential bands, so people still obviously like them.
Nightmare Fuel: The lyrics to "Buried Alive" from Black Metal are pretty much guaranteed to give nightmares to anybody who is claustrophobic.
Vindicated by History: When they were released, Welcome to Hell and Black Metal were widely panned by the music press and other musicians as juvenile and sloppy. It was only later with the rise of First- and Second-Wave Black Metal (and, to a lesser degree, crust punk) that they got recognition.
That said, nearly all Scandinavian Black Metal bands from Bathory to Burzum completely deny any influence from Venom on their music, in Burzums case, rather disparagingly. It is rather evident when you compare the sound of say early Bathory and Venom, that the former were doing something highly original, while the latter simply aped Motörhead. That said, Venoms influence on the image and attitude of Black Metal is undeniable.
At War With Satan got a rather mixed reception at the time for the title track's ridiculous length (just a few seconds shy of 20 minutes) and rather cheesy concept (a Heaven-and-Hell battle where Hell wins), and the Overshadowed by Controversy status it got in the UK which led to the album being banned from HMV didn't help either. Nowadays, it's often seen as one of their best albums.
"): Elizabeth Báthory is a sadistic countess seeking to stop her body from aging. Inviting the area's virgins to her castle, she has them let their guard down by throwing constant lavish parties. However, every night, she kills one of them to bathe in their blood.