Venom

Newcastle, 1978

Venom formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978 from members of Guillotine, Oberon and Dwarfstar, taking the name in 1979. Under stage names, Conrad Lant was Cronos on vocals and bass, Jeff Dunn was Mantas on guitar and Anthony Bray was Abaddon on drums; this trio was the classic line-up from 1981 to 1986. Their debut Welcome to Hell (1981) was made, Cronos told Louder, in three days, and Black Metal (1982) in six days of recording and one of mixing, though Wikipedia says seven. Both came out on the local label Neat Records, with Combat issuing them in the US. Cronos left in 1987 to form his own band while Bray kept the name with Tony Dolan, and the classic line-up reunited in 1995. Later albums include Cast in Stone (1997), Resurrection (2000), Metal Black (2006), Hell (2008), Fallen Angels (2011), From the Very Depths (2015) and Storm the Gates (2018).

They played their American debut at the Paramount Theatre on Staten Island on April 22 and 24, 1983, with Metallica opening, and the pyrotechnics damaged the venue. Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, Kerry King and Tom Araya have cited them, and Phil Anselmo has their logo tattooed. Kreator, Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Possessed and Voivod owe them. A Wikipedia entry reporting that Cronos has died rests on a single source, so we leave it out.