The classic Venom lineup of guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, drummer Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, and bassist and vocalist Conrad "Cronos" Lant ain't getting back together anytime soon.
When asked by Metal Hammer about a potential reunion of the trio to get out and play some Black Metal classics, Cronos made his opinion very clear by calling his former bandmates "doddery old fuckers." Cronos also mentioned that he feels they'd put on a "sub-par performance" and that the current Venom lineup is doing very well. So basically, don't hold your breath.
"Less than zero. I owe them nothing, and they've got nothing I want," he said. "We still get fans saying, 'The Venom Legions want the old line-up back together!' We tried in the 90s and it wasn't well received. The last thing I want to do is get onstage with those other two doddery old fuckers and put on a sub-par performance. I'm getting better album sales now, so why the fuck would I want to go back to that? I just want Venom to be great."
Mantas left the band in 2002 and would eventually form Venom Inc. with Abaddon, who would leave the group in 2018. Cronos is still in Venom today and is the only remaining member of the Black Metal lineup.
Toward the end of the interview, Cronos also gave an interesting answer on how he wants to be remembered. "As somebody who took chances as an artist and a musician," he said. "Somebody who broke the fucking mould. I want people in the future to think, 'That band Venom was crazy! And look at the influence on all the stuff that came after them.' That's where I see my place, as part of the whole big picture."
Given Venom's influence on modern metal and how many times Black Metal alone has been name dropped over the years, I think it's safe to assume that Cronos and the band aren't going to have a problem being remembered.
