Von was allegedly formed in 1987 by Goat, Snake, and Venien (who left the band in 1990, before VON was chosen as the band name). The role and involvement of Venien in the early days of Von has been unclear, as no proof that this member was active in the band during that period exists. In late 1990 or early 1991, Kill joined the band as bassist and the trio recorded their
Satanic Blood demo. During 1991, Von played a couple of live gigs and recorded another demo,
Blood Angel, which was never released on its own. The band disbanded in 1992, shortly after the release of
Satanic Blood. The band's members also recorded a
gothic rock demo under the name Sixx. The early days of Von are largely undocumented, and Venien's membership during 1987–1990 has been a matter of contention among fans. It is also unclear if the band even existed before 1990, as no proof exists. Many people believe the band was formed in late 1990 or early 1991 with the line-up of Goat (guitars, vocals), Kill (bass) and Snake (drums). Many people consider this line-up to be the only true line-up of Von and disregard the band's post-2010 material. Venien has been accused of trying to cover up facts of Von's past on various archiving and encyclopedic websites, in an attempt to further solidifying his professed involvement in Von's original formation. In 2003,
Nuclear War Now! Productions released
Satanic Blood Angel, a double CD/triple LP
compilation featuring the band's demos on one CD and a recording of a live show on another. Besides the original
Satanic Blood demo, this was the only other official Von release prior to 2010. In 2009, Nuclear War Now! Productions released the Sixx recording on an LP entitled
Sister Devil. The band reformed with a new line-up for a one-off show on June 6, 2010, at the Armageddon Fest in London, England.
Watain and
The Devil's Blood opened for the band, marking the first time Von had played live in 20 years. Snake, the drummer, was replaced by Blood as a session drummer, and bassist Kill was replaced by Venien; this was the first time Venien had actively played with the band. The band was also joined by a second guitarist: J. Giblet. Goat was the only member left in the band from the original line-up of Goat, Kill, and Snake. To commemorate the show, the new line-up of the band put out a brand new 7-inch single with re-recorded versions of "Satanic Blood" and "Veadtuck", and a new song titled "Blood Von", a reworked version of the "Von" track from the "Satanic Blood" demo cassette. The 7-inch was released on VMG Records with a limit of 500 copies. After the London show, the last member of the original line-up, Goat, and new drummer Blood left the band to focus on Goat's solo-project, called Von Goat. Goat's departure left Von in the hands of Venien, who hired a slew of session musicians to start writing and rehearsing new and reworked material for two full-length records. Most of said members were with the band for only very short periods of time. On October 31, 2012, Von, with yet another new lineup headed by Venien, released their debut studio album titled
Satanic Blood. On March 22, 2013, a second full-length album, titled
Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves, was released on CD and as a download. == Musical style and legacy ==