NEWCASTLE — Conrad Lant, also known by the stage name Cronos, has died at the age of 63. Venom announced the death on social media, stating that no cause was provided for the musician who served as the frontman, bassist, and vocalist for the heavy metal band. Lant once said he wanted to be the devil, contrasting with Ozzy Osbourne's satanic themes. He described his approach as embodying a raw, unfiltered element he felt was disappearing from metal, criticizing bands he saw as overly theatrical. He said he wanted to restore what he viewed as metal's essential rawness and danger.

A statement from Venom described Lant's role in the group's history. For more than four decades, Conrad’s voice, bass and vision were at the heart of Venom," the band said. "He created something that changed heavy music for ever. Venom never followed the rules. They forged their own path. And Conrad was there at the centre of it all – uncompromising, fearless and unmistakable. Nathan Lant, the son of Conrad Lant, issued a statement thanking fans for their support.

He knows his father appreciated the support, Nathan said. "He has laid down his soul, and his music will live on. The legend of Cronos will never die."

Lant was born in Chelsea, London, and moved with his family to Newcastle at the age of seven. One of his brothers was a drummer who joined the band Prefab Sprout, while another brother drummed for Venom during the band's 21st-century period. Venom began as a band named Guillotine, which Lant joined at age 16.

He initially played guitar for the group before switching to bass and becoming the vocalist after the previous frontman left. The lineup solidified around Lant, guitarist Jeff Dunn, also known as Mantas, and drummer Tony Bray, also known as Abaddon.

Venom formed in 1979. Lant took over as vocalist following Clive Archer’s exit in 1980. The band released its debut album, Welcome to Hell, in 1981.

That album featured the single In League with Satan, which included reversed speech about the devil. Venom was one of the first bands to use such techniques in their music. Thrash bands such as Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax cited Venom as an influence. Scott Ian of Anthrax commented on the impact of the debut record. "It was so, so evil," Ian said. "This was a new kind of insanity." Megadeth also championed the band's influence.

Venom released five albums during the 1980s, including Black Metal in 1982. The album gave its name to the black metal subgenre, even though its musical style did not fully align with the later Scandinavian movement. Scene historians Michael J Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind wrote in their book Lords of Chaos that the album "carved in stone some of the essential features" of the genre.

Lant co-produced the record and described the process as "pure mayhem from start to finish." He noted that production involved unconventional methods such as cutting steel plates with a chainsaw and using a makeshift coffin filled with earth. The album served as a foundational influence on the Norwegian black metal scene, with bands like Mayhem covering Venom's song Witching Hour in 1987. Mayhem led that scene, and other groups such as Obituary, Cradle of Filth, and Dimmu Borgir have covered Venom's music.

Venom went on hiatus in 1988. He pursued a solo career as Cronos in the early 1990s, releasing two albums. During that decade, he trained as a fitness instructor and worked in computer engineering and graphic design for companies including K-Class Systems and Globalfibre.tv.

The band reformed and released seven additional LPs, with the most recent being Storm the Gates in 2018. Venom had a shorter hiatus in the early 2000s while he recovered from a climbing injury. He collaborated with Dave Grohl for Grohl’s metal supergroup Probot in 2004. He also collaborated with the bands Warfare and Cradle of Filth. Venom released 12 albums with him, including Into Oblivion in 2026, which marked his final recorded output with the band. He performed as part of Venom up until his death.

The Beastie Boys gave Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore a tape of his onstage banter from a 1986 gig in Trenton, New Jersey. Moore pressed the tape onto a 7-inch single dubbed Venom – Live. His speech was later sampled at the end of the Beastie Boys’ Check Your Head track Mark on the Bus.

Mike D of the Beastie Boys spoke about the band in 1995. Venom [expletive] rocked, Mike D said. "They had the speeches, the routines, the metal! Venom were an early crossover band. I used to listen to this hardcore radio show in New York, and they used to mix stuff like Venom in amongst the Black Flag and Minor Threat. We thought Venom were excellent. But then they came to New York to do some gigs, and we found out that they weren’t joking at all!"

Why It Matters

His work with Venom established a template for extreme metal that extended beyond the United Kingdom. The band emerged during the tail end of the first wave of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, a movement that brought groups like Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Motörhead to the forefront. While those acts achieved mainstream success, Venom cultivated a darker aesthetic that influenced subsequent generations of musicians. The 1982 album Black Metal provided the name for an entire subgenre, cementing the band's place in music history despite stylistic differences with later iterations of the sound.

The reach of Venom's influence crossed genre boundaries, affecting thrash, hardcore, and alternative rock acts. Bands such as Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax cited the group as a key influence, while the Beastie Boys integrated his vocals into their own recordings. This crossover appeal demonstrated the band's impact on the broader landscape of heavy music. His final recorded output with the band arrived in 2026, ensuring his presence in the discography remained current until the end of his life.

Timeline

Venom formed in 1979. He took over as vocalist for Venom following Clive Archer’s exit in 1980. Venom released their debut album, Welcome to Hell, in 1981. Black Metal was released in 1982. Venom went on hiatus in 1988.

Mike D of the Beastie Boys said in 1995: "Venom fucking rocked. Venom were an early crossover band. We thought V. He collaborated with Dave Grohl for Grohl’s metal supergroup Probot in 2004."

What's New

Thurston Moore pressed the tape of his banter onto a 7-inch single dubbed "Venom – Live." His band Venom was one of the first to use reversed speech in their music, as seen in the single 'In League with Satan' from their 1981 album Welcome to Hell. Venom's 1981 album Welcome to Hell was a foundational influence on the Norwegian black metal scene, with bands like Mayhem covering Venom's song 'Witching Hour' in 1987.

Mike D of the Beastie Boys said in 1995: "Venom [expletive] rocked. Venom were an early crossover band. We thought V. He performed as Venom up until his death. Venom formed in 1979. Black Metal was released in 1982."