Conrad “Cronos” Lant, the bassist, vocalist, and visionary force behind British heavy metal pioneers Venom, has died at the age of 63. His death on October 1, 2026, was confirmed by his bandmates, though no official cause was disclosed, leaving the global extreme metal community in mourning for a true foundational architect.
Conrad Lant Forms Venom in Newcastle
Born in Kensington, London, in 1963 and moving to Newcastle at age eight, Conrad Lant helped co-found Venom in 1978. The outfit began life under the moniker Guillotine before settling on its permanent identity as a trio featuring Lant alongside guitarist Jeffrey “Mantas” Dunn and drummer Tony “Abaddon” Bray.
Lant initially joined the lineup as a rhythm guitarist at just 16 years old. When the band’s original bassist departed just one week before a scheduled performance, Lant stepped in on bass, eventually taking over lead vocal duties in 1980 after the exit of previous frontman Clive Archer.
Lant’s brothers were also musicians, one being a drummer who joined Prefab Sprout and another who drummed for Venom during the band’s 21st-century period.
In 1981, they released their debut album, Welcome to Hell. Driven by blisteringly fast tempos and explicitly blasphemous, Satanic imagery, the record sounded like nothing else in contemporary music. UK music magazine Sounds hailed it as possibly the heaviest record ever allowed in the shops for public consumption
according to retrospective accounts.
Venom Defines Black Metal
Venom’s sophomore release, Black Metal, arrived in November 1982, having been recorded in six days and receiving a five-star review in Sounds from future Classic Rock editor Geoff Barton, and permanently christened an entire subgenre. Featuring raw production, demonic cover art, and anti-religious lyrical themes, the album carved in stone some of the essential features of the black metal genre.
The classic lineup of Dunn, Lant, and Bray recorded four defining studio LPs during the 1980s: Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War With Satan in 1984, and Possessed in 1985, alongside the 1986 live album Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
Venom went on hiatus in 1988, prompting Lant to ponder a career change in forestry before launching a solo career as Cronos, putting out two early 1990s albums.
He rejoined Venom in 1995, stepping up as the frontman for the reunited original lineup on 1997’s Cast In Stone, which marked the group’s first album in 12 years. In 1999, Lant survived an internal coup after Bray failed in a bid to fire him.
Lant later commented that he was the guy who put the group together, noting that it was his artwork, his ideas, his songs, and his vision, and he was not going to be pushed out of something he created. He later collaborated with other notable admirers, including appearances with Warfare, Cradle of Filth, and Dave Grohl’s metal side project Probot.
Metal Community Mourns Lant
News of Lant’s passing prompted immediate grief and retrospection from prominent figures across the heavy metal world. Beastie Boys member Mike D said in 1995 that Venom fucking rocked, noting they had the speeches, the routines, and the metal, and recalling how he used to listen to a hardcore radio show in New York that mixed stuff like Venom in amongst Black Flag and Minor Threat.
It is with profound sadness and broken hearts that we share the news that Conrad ‘Cronos’ Lant has passed away. For more than four decades, Conrad’s voice, bass and vision were at the heart of VENOM. From the first dark rumblings of ‘Welcome to Hell,’ through ‘Black Metal,’ ‘At War With Satan,’ ‘Possessed’ and beyond, he created something that changed heavy music forever.
Venom bandmates, via social media announcement
The Final Chapter and Legacy of Cronos
Lant ensured Venom remained active well into his later years, ultimately performing on 12 Venom albums. In May 2026, the band released their 16th studio album, Into Oblivion, via Noise/BMG, marking their first new material since 2018’s Storm The Gates LP.
The group had maintained an active touring schedule, performing their final live concert on July 19, 2026, in Cremona, Italy, with a lineup featuring Lant alongside guitarist Stuart “Rage” Dixon and drummer Danny “Dante” Needham.
Before Cronos passed away, the Venom moniker was utilized for live performances by three distinct factions: the Cronos-led iteration, a separate reunion featuring founding co-members Jeff “MantasDunn and Antony
Abaddon” Bray to mark the 45th anniversary of Welcome To Hell across 2026 festival dates, and Venom Inc., spearheaded by former Venom bassist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan, who played on Prime Evil (1989), Temples Of Ice (1991), and The Waste Lands (1992).
Lant’s son, Nathan, issued a personal statement expressing gratitude to the band’s dedicated fanbase, known as the Legions. I want to thank all of the Legions for all of the support you have given my dad over the years,
Nathan wrote. 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.
Venom released its debut album Welcome to Hell in 1981.