There’s a big reunion trend in rock and metal right now. But, even though they wrote “Stand Up (And Be Counted),” you can’t count on Venom’s classic members Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon getting together. Instead, the two have reignited a long-standing feud by exchanging fresh insults in the media.

This is quite the old-school windup – no Twitter beef, snarky Instagram comments, or Facebook call-outs, just answering interview questions as feuds used to.

Cronos and Mantas’s statements about reunion and performance

Cronos told Metal Hammer in December that the chances of a reunion were “less than zero.”

In his view, the mid-1990s reunion was poorly received, and he said he owed them nothing, and they had nothing I wanted from them. Then, as Cronos continued, he shot at Venom Inc., his former bandmate’s rival group. He said he did not want to perform with those other two doddery old fuckers and put on a subpar performance.

The frontman concluded, “I just want Venom to be great.”.

Since 2007, Cronos (bass and vocals, real name Conrad Lant) has owned the Venom name with Rage (guitar, real name John Stuart Dixon) and Dante (drums, real name Daniel Jon Needham) flanking him.

Venom Inc. was formed in 2015 by classic Venom members Mantas (guitar, real name Jeff Dunn) and Abaddon (drums, real name Antony Bray) alongside Demolition Man (bass and vocals, real name Tony Dolan). From 1989 to 1992, Demolition Man replaced Cronos in Venom and contributed to Prime Evil, Temples of Ice, and Waste Lands.

Feud between Venom and Venom Inc.

Abaddon left Venom Inc.’s lineup in 2018 and has since been replaced by War Machine (real name Jeramie Kling, also of The Absence, Inhuman Condition, and more). This year, in October, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist Abaddon with cancer treatment and other expenses — donate here.

As Mantas tells Heavy Culture, he flips the script on Cronos and accuses his Venom band of delivering “subpar performances.”

“Venom Inc. are the people asked to do the anniversary shows. And we’ve done it. Because you know why? Because this fucking shit show of three originals can’t get their fucking act together to get together on a stage and give the fans that. And [Cronos is] turning around now and saying, ‘Oh, I’m not getting on stage with those doddery old fuckers to give a subpar performance.’ So I’ll tell you what: watch the videos of your own band if you want to see a subpar performance. This pisses me off to the hilt,”

Mantas fires back in the video seen further down the page.

Mantas’s plan for a live event with former Venom members

He is working on organizing a live event where every former Venom member can participate to some extent. “Mikey Hickey, Jim Clare, fucking Abaddon, Cronos, Mantas, Tony Dolan, Al Barnes, fucking Dante, Stu — whatever his name is — they should all be on one stage together playing their era of Venom, followed by some classic songs from the original lineup at the end of the night.”

According to him, “I put that out. Who contacted me? Fucking nobody. Because none of them have the balls to do it.”

Some of Cronos’ other assertions are refuted by Mantas, such as who called the Dynamo Festival promoter to book Venom in 1996 (Cronos says it was himself, Mantas says it was manager Eric Cook and Abaddon). In addition, he insists that Cronos was not responsible for putting together the reunion period.

Mantas remembers Cronos initially turned up at a band meeting about a reunion to say he didn’t want to participate, only to be coerced by Abaddon, who urged Cronos to “fuck off.” Later that night, Cronos changed his mind.

To see Cronos and Mantas perform those classic songs live, fans will have to continue to see Venom and Venom Inc.

History of Venom

Venom is a British heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1979. The band’s original lineup consisted of vocalist and bassist Conrad “Cronos” Lant, guitarist Jeffrey “Mantas” Dunn, and drummer Anthony “Abaddon” Bray.

Black Sabbath and other pioneers of the heavy metal genre heavily influenced venom’s early music. Still, the band developed a darker, faster, and more aggressive sound than their peers. As a result, they were one of the first bands to play what would later be known as thrash metal. In addition, they were among the first to incorporate punk and extreme metal elements into their music.

Venom’s lyrics often focused on themes of Satanism, anti-Christianity, and horror. The band’s image was characterized by its dark, demonic stage presence and controversial album covers. Despite being primarily shunned by the mainstream music industry, Venom gained a devoted following among metal fans. It influenced a generation of later metal bands.

Over the years, Venom has gone through numerous lineup changes, with Cronos remaining the only constant member. The band has released 15 studio albums, the most recent of which was “Storm the Gates” in 2018. Venom continues to tour and perform live to this day. They remain a significant influence on the heavy metal genre.