VENOM Frontman, Bassist and Creative Force Behind Some of Extreme Metal's Most Influential Records Has Passed Away
By Metal Devastation Radio
October 1, 2026
Heavy metal has lost one of its most important and unmistakable figures.
Conrad “Cronos” Lant, the legendary vocalist and bassist of VENOM, has passed away.
VENOM announced the news today in a statement to the band's Legions around the world, describing the loss as one felt deeply throughout the VENOM family. Cronos' son, Nathan, also shared a message thanking fans for the support they had given his father throughout the years.
“He has laid down his soul, and his music will live on. The legend of Cronos will never die.”
For generations of metal musicians and fans, those words carry enormous weight.
Because the music Cronos helped create is not going anywhere.
THE SOUND THAT CHANGED THE DIRECTION OF METAL
VENOM formed in Newcastle, England, in 1978 and eventually settled into the classic lineup of Conrad “Cronos” Lant on vocals and bass, Jeff “Mantas” Dunn on guitar and Tony “Abaddon” Bray on drums.
Together, they created a sound that pushed heavy metal toward something faster, harsher and more extreme.
Their 1981 debut album, Welcome to Hell, immediately established VENOM as something very different from the polished hard rock and heavy metal dominating much of the era.
Then came Black Metal in 1982.
The album's title would eventually become the name of an entire genre.
VENOM's music became a major influence on the development of black metal, while the band's aggressive approach also helped pave the way for the rise of thrash and later extreme metal. AllMusic describes VENOM's influence on the subsequent thrash scene and notes that Black Metal ultimately lent its name to the genre.
That is an extraordinary legacy for any band.
And Cronos was at the center of it.
WELCOME TO HELL
VENOM's first four studio albums with the classic trio remain central to the band's history:
Welcome to Hell — 1981
Black Metal — 1982
At War With Satan — 1984
Possessed — 1985
Those records helped establish the foundation for the band's reputation and influence.
The music was raw and aggressive. The production was abrasive. The imagery was deliberately dark and provocative. VENOM didn't sound like a band interested in smoothing off the rough edges.
That approach resonated with musicians who were looking for something heavier.
Cronos' bass and unmistakable vocals became a defining part of that sound.
His voice wasn't designed to be pretty.
It was designed to be heard.
And decades later, it still is.
A NAME THAT BECAME A GENRE
There are few moments in music history where a band's album title becomes the name of an entire musical movement.
Black Metal was one of those moments.
The influence of VENOM's early work spread throughout the underground metal world, particularly among musicians who would go on to develop the first waves of black metal and other forms of extreme metal.
Cronos himself later discussed the impact of VENOM on the emerging Norwegian black metal scene, including bands such as Mayhem and Burzum, and reflected on how hearing that music helped him reconsider what VENOM represented.
The influence wasn't limited to black metal.
VENOM's music became an important part of the lineage leading into thrash metal as well. Metal bands that followed took elements of VENOM's speed, aggression and attitude and pushed them in their own directions.
Metallica, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Mayhem and Behemoth are among the bands and artists that have been associated with VENOM's influence.
That chain of influence continues to this day.
CRONOS KEPT THE FIRE BURNING
VENOM's history was complicated.
There were lineup changes, periods of separation and different incarnations of the band over the decades. But Cronos remained the central figure in the version of VENOM that continued recording and performing into the modern era.
In 2026, VENOM released Into Oblivion, the band's sixteenth studio album.
Cronos remained heavily involved in the record, handling vocals and bass while also receiving songwriting and arrangement credits. Official album information also credits him as producer and composer on tracks from the record.
The album arrived more than four decades after Welcome to Hell.
That alone says something about the endurance of the music.
While entire musical movements rose and fell around him, Cronos continued making VENOM records.
As recently as August 2026, Louder published a feature interview with Cronos discussing his life, music and the release of Into Oblivion.
Now, only weeks later, that interview becomes part of his final chapter.
MORE THAN A VOICE
Cronos' contribution to VENOM went beyond performing.
He was involved in the band's songwriting and creative direction, and his work extended into the visual identity surrounding VENOM as well.
The band's imagery became just as recognizable as its music, helping establish the dark aesthetic that would become deeply associated with extreme metal.
On Into Oblivion, Cronos is officially credited with bass, vocals, songwriting, lyrics and arrangements.
That creative involvement stretched across decades.
He wasn't simply the person standing behind the microphone.
He was one of the people who helped define what VENOM was.
THE LEGACY OF CRONOS
It is difficult to measure the influence of a musician solely through record sales, chart positions or awards.
Sometimes the better measurement is what happens afterward.
How many bands formed because somebody heard Black Metal?
How many guitarists picked up an instrument after discovering Welcome to Hell?
How many musicians decided they wanted to make something heavier, darker and more extreme?
That's where Cronos' legacy becomes enormous.
VENOM helped show musicians that heavy metal didn't have to remain within established boundaries.
It could become something uglier.
Something faster.
Something more extreme.
Something completely its own.
The generations that followed took that idea and ran with it.
Black metal.
Thrash metal.
Death metal.
Extreme metal in countless forms.
The music evolved, but the fingerprints of VENOM remained.
And at the center of those early recordings was Cronos.
THE LEGION CARRIES ON
In its announcement, VENOM thanked the Legions who supported the band through the decades.
Those fans are an important part of the story.
They bought the records.
They went to the shows.
They wore the shirts.
They passed the music to their friends.
They formed bands.
They introduced another generation to VENOM.
That's how heavy metal survives.
Not because the musicians live forever, but because the music keeps getting passed down.
A kid discovers Black Metal decades after its release.
That kid starts a band.
Someone hears that band.
They start another band.
The chain continues.
And somewhere in that chain, there will always be VENOM.
There will always be Cronos.
THANK YOU, CRONOS
There are musicians who make great records.
There are musicians who influence their peers.
And then there are musicians whose work becomes part of the foundation upon which an entire generation of music is built.
Cronos belongs in that conversation.
He helped create the sound and identity of VENOM during one of the most important periods in heavy metal history.
He helped produce records that would influence black metal, thrash and extreme metal for decades.
And he continued carrying that legacy forward until the very end of his career.
The man is gone.
The music isn't.
The records aren't.
The influence isn't.
And the Legions aren't going anywhere.
Metal Devastation Radio extends our deepest condolences to Nathan, Hel, Cronos' family, friends, bandmates, and the VENOM Legions around the world.
Thank you, Conrad.
Thank you, Cronos.
Thank you for the music.
Thank you for the noise.
Thank you for helping make heavy metal what it is today.
REST IN PEACE, CONRAD “CRONOS” LANT.
THE LEGEND LIVES ON.
ESSENTIAL VENOM LISTENING
Welcome to Hell — 1981
Black Metal — 1982
At War With Satan — 1984
Possessed — 1985
Calm Before the Storm — 1987
Cast in Stone — 1997
Resurrection — 2000
Metal Black — 2006
Hell — 2008
Fallen Angels — 2011
From the Very Depths — 2015
Storm the Gates — 2018
Into Oblivion — 2026
REST IN PEACE, CRONOS.
HAIL VENOM.
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