Former VENOM members Jeff “Mantas” Dunn (guitar) and Antony “Abaddon” Bray (drums) reunited for a special performance on Sunday, November 30, at Shinjuku Antiknock, one of Tokyo’s most iconic music venues.
The duo delivered a powerful set of three VENOM classics, joined by some of Japan’s leading black metal musicians: Masaki “Gezol” Tachi of SABBAT handled bass and vocals, Mirai Kawashima of SIGH contributed vocals, Shinji “Samm” Tachi of METALUCIFER played drums, and Noboru “Jero” Sakuma of ABIGAIL added guitar. Fans were also treated to opening sets from SURVIVE and HELL FREEZES OVER.
This reunion comes ahead of Mantas and Abaddon’s plans to celebrate the 45th anniversary of VENOM‘s groundbreaking 1981 debut album, Welcome To Hell, with performances at major festivals in 2026, including Germany’s Keep It True and Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting.
Fan-filmed video footage of “Welcome to Hell” performance can be seen below.
During a recent conversation with MetalKaoz, Mantas confirmed that VENOM bassist/vocalist Conrad “Cronos” Lant had been approached about joining the celebration.
“I’ll tell you right now that for 2026, the 45th anniversary of Welcome To Hell, Cronos has been invited,” he said. “He was invited by me. He was invited by the lawyers in the [recent] court case [involving Cronos and Abaddon]. His answer was, ‘It’s not worth my time.’ That was his answer.”
According to Mantas, the idea of performing alongside Cronos again isn’t something he’s eager to revisit. He compared the band’s turbulent internal relationships to returning to a deeply unhealthy situation.
“What I say to people is this. Fair enough, everybody wants to see their favorite members back together. We know that. ‘And, oh, yeah, just travel separate. Just go in separate hotels.’ We’ve done all that,” he said. “Think of the most toxic relationship you’ve ever been involved in, how it made you feel. At your age now, invite it back into your life.”
The comments arrive in the shadow of Cronos’s 2024 lawsuit against Abaddon and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd, where he alleged that unauthorized VENOM merchandise — featuring his copyrighted designs — was being sold with Bray’s approval. Both factions were issuing official merchandise containing disputed artwork, leading to a complex legal clash.
Reflecting on VENOM’s formative era, Mantas emphasized how the band originally operated as a tight-knit trio without worrying about credits or ownership.
“We were three young guys in a band, happy to be in a band and jamming. And that was it,” he said. “And to us, at that particular point, it didn’t matter who wrote the songs or who did the drawings or whatever. It was one for all and all for one. And that’s why everything went the three ways for the first two albums. But then, when you get a bit wise at the business and everything like that, it’s, like, you think, ‘Wow. I wrote all that stuff and everybody else is still getting a share.’ I don’t mind that. That’s the songs. That is the songs. And at the end of the day, you put those songs out into the world and you are giving them to the people.
“Now, it doesn’t matter what your logo looks like,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter how good your album cover is. It doesn’t matter what your image is, how much leather you are wearing or what guitar you are playing, if someone puts that album on and doesn’t like the songs, you are done. A band isn’t about logos and t-shirts and stuff like that — it’s about music. Why do you wear the t-shirt of a band? Because you like their music. It’s as simple as that.
He also acknowledged Cronos’s lyrical contributions: “Now, I’m not saying that Cronos didn’t write anything. He wrote some phenomenal lyrics, and I’ve said this. The lyrics to ‘Manitou’, I think they are stunning. The lyrics to ‘Nightmare’ — amazing. We came up with some great songs together in the later stages, where we just bounced the ideas, and some of it just happened. We didn’t have to look for it. And ‘Welcome To Hell’ is my first attempt at writing songs. I hadn’t written anything before that — not a thing.”
When asked about recording new material with Abaddon — potentially under the VENOM name — Mantas was hesitant.
“Now, I’m not saying that Cronos didn’t write anything,” Mantas said. “He wrote some phenomenal lyrics, and I’ve said this. The lyrics to ‘Manitou’, I think they are stunning. The lyrics to ‘Nightmare’ — amazing. We came up with some great songs together in the later stages, where we just bounced the ideas, and some of it just happened. We didn’t have to look for it. And ‘Welcome To Hell’ is my first attempt at writing songs. I hadn’t written anything before that — not a thing.”
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