Venomin James was formed in late 2005 with Tomasz Scull, Erin Corcoran, and Joe Fortunato beginning to write songs while actively searching for a drummer and vocalist to complete the lineup.
Early in 2006, vocalist Jim Meador was added to the lineup, and the band began playing Cleveland area shows with Abate filling in on drums.
The album garnered the band some attention among the underground doom, metal, and stoner rock scenes,[1][2][3][4][5] as well as radio play from local KROQ-FM affiliate 92.3.
In the fall of 2008 local Parma, Ohio businessman and club owner, Phil Lara, promised financial backing for tour support and the recording and release of Crowe Valley Blues.
[15] Following the death of Koston, the band again recruited Brandon Abate to drum for a few live shows to support the release of Crowe Valley Blues.
Throughout the end of 2010, and into 2011, the band played a series of shows with Matthews to support Crowe Valley Blues, and in preparation of their appearance at the 2011 Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany.
Through this process, the band determined that the audio fidelity of the multitracked drums would allow for the last recorded performances of former drummer Jared Koston to be used in the creation of the new album.
The album features collaborations with several notable Cleveland-area musicians, including James Bulloch of Ringworm, Damien Perry of Red Giant and The Great Iron Snake, and Gary Kane of Forged In Flame.
The album was finally released on July 14, 2017 via the band's own label on a single disc with bonus tracks, as well as being distributed through most major online music services.
Several former members began writing and rehearsing as a new project entitled "Crow Valley" during the COVID pandemic lockdown, featuring a similar downtuned doom metal style.
In November 2023, the band stated on social media that plans are underway to remix and re-release both "Left Hand Man" and "Unholy Mountain", with some mixing work already completed.