Conrad "Cronos" Lant, the bassist, vocalist and founding force of VENOM, has died at the age of 63. The band confirmed his passing on October 1 in a statement shared on its official channels. No cause of death has been disclosed.
"It is with profound sadness and broken hearts that we share the news that Conrad 'Cronos' Lant has passed away," the band wrote. "For more than four decades, Conrad's voice, bass and vision were at the heart of VENOM." The statement went on to describe a band that "never followed the rules" and forged its own path, with Cronos "at the center of it all — uncompromising, fearless and unmistakable."
His son Nathan added a message to the fans: "I want to thank all of the Legions for all of the support you have given my dad over the years. I know he really appreciated you all. He has laid down his soul, and his music will live on. The legend of Cronos will never die."
The words echo the lead single from Into Oblivion, the album VENOM released in May via Noise/BMG — the band's first new record since 2018's Storm The Gates, and now Cronos' last.
Born in London on January 15, 1963, and raised in Newcastle, Lant joined the outfit that would become VENOM in 1979, first on guitar before switching to bass and then taking over vocals in 1980. Alongside guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and drummer Tony "Abaddon" Bray, he formed the trio that rewrote the rules of heavy music. He also drew the band's goat-headed logo and much of its early artwork, and his job at Neat Records helped get VENOM's first release out the door.
What followed was a run of records that every extreme metal band since owes something to: Welcome To Hell (1981), Black Metal (1982) — whose title gave an entire genre its name — At War With Satan (1984) and Possessed (1985). The raw, filthy, deliberately blasphemous sound out of Newcastle fed directly into thrash, death and black metal, from METALLICA and SLAYER to BATHORY, MAYHEM and countless others who covered VENOM songs on their way up.
Cronos left the band after 1987's Calm Before The Storm and pursued his own band, CRONOS, before rejoining Mantas and Abaddon for the 1995 reunion that produced Cast In Stone (1997). After the classic lineup splintered again, he kept VENOM going on his own terms through Resurrection, Metal Black, Hell, Fallen Angels, From The Very Depths and Storm The Gates. Since 2009 he led the band with guitarist Rage (Stuart Dixon) and drummer Danté (Danny Needham), the longest-running lineup in VENOM's turbulent history.
We reviewed Metal Black back in 2006, and we covered Into Oblivion when it came out this spring. Few musicians can say they named a genre. Cronos did.
Rest in peace, Cronos. Lay down your soul.