In a recent interview with Drew Stone of The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!, founding VENOM guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn discussed his upcoming reunion with former VENOM drummer Antony “Abaddon” Bray. The two are set to share the stage for a special performance on November 30 at Tokyo’s iconic Shinjuku Antiknock venue.
When asked how the show came together, Mantas explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “What happened with that was in 2023, I got invited to Japan to do a couple of shows, and one of them was just a VENOM night. The other one was a different thing altogether. But the VENOM night was with Japanese black metal musicians, and they all played the VENOM songs with me on stage. And it was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And it was a tiny little club, but it was packed — absolutely packed — and it went down really well. And I stayed on in Japan for a few days after the show. And I went out with the organizers for a meal, and they said, ‘Oh, we’d really like to do what we would call VENOM JAPAN, this lineup, and do maybe a tour.’ I mean, a tour of Japan is probably gonna be two [shows] in Tokyo, one [show] in Osaka and Nagoya, something like that. So you’re not gonna be out there for months on end. So I was, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’d love to.’ So it was planned for 2024, and then, obviously, I had the second heart attack in 2024. So that sort of put the block on f**king everything. And then what happened was they got back in touch this year via a friend of mine who I’ve known for a long time in Japan. And it was, like, ‘Well, they really wanna do it. So how are you feeling? Are you up to the traveling and doing this?’ I was, like, ‘Well, I still need to be getting checked out and stuff like that, but let’s have a think about it.’ So I had a think about it. I had all the checks done and stuff. And then I had a meeting with them.”
Seemingly alluding to the ongoing legal dispute involving VENOM frontman Conrad “Cronos” Lant—who filed a lawsuit in June 2024 against Antony Bray and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd. for allegedly selling merchandise featuring Lant’s copyrighted VENOM designs, with Bray reportedly authorizing the use through a licensing deal—Mantas went on to say: “In the meantime, I got a phone call from a mutual friend of mine and Abaddon‘s. ‘Can you speak to Abaddon? There’s something going on.’ I was, like, ‘What the f**k? And then he said there was this thing, which was probably gonna go legal and stuff. Now, I hadn’t spoke to Abaddon since 2017. So I was, like, ‘Well, I don’t really wanna get involved in this.’ And I kind of knew what it was gonna be about, because I had seen something, and I looked at it. I cannot really say too much about it, but I had seen something. And I looked at this thing and I went, ‘That’s gonna kick off. There’s gonna be f**king problems there.’ But it didn’t involve me. It didn’t involve me at all. So I was thinking, ‘Hey, get on with it, boys. Go and kick each other’s f**king shins in the playground.’ So anyway, this mutual friend was, like, ‘Look, can you talk to him?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Okay.’ So [Abaddon and I] talked, and basically I was asked to be a witness in the court. Then I spoke to the lawyer who was handling the case. Then it went to barristers. And this wasn’t some little small claims court or anything like that. This was Royal High Court in London. There’s a few people, there’s a few individuals that will be going, ‘Ah, this was all planned,’ and stuff like that. No, it f**king wasn’t. None of this has been planned at all. Everything’s just dropped in, and I went, ‘What?’ But like I say, I spoke to the lawyer. And it was when I heard the other side’s claims that I was just, like, ‘What?’ It was outrageous. It was outrageous. So I was asked to make a statement, so I made a first statement. Then a statement came back from the other side. I read that. I was, like, ‘Wow.’ So I was asked to make a second statement, and [they told me], ‘Look, if it goes that far, you will have to appear in court.’ So I was, like, ‘Brilliant. Excellent.’ But, like I say, I was just gonna be a witness. And all I was doing was going in there and telling the truth as I know it as the founder member of the band. And that was it. That was my job. Just to go in there and just say, ‘Right. No, that didn’t happen. This happened,’ blah, blah, blah. I had to raise the hand with the card and the whole nine yards. So I agreed to do it. So they flew me in. I wasn’t even in London for 24 hours. They flew me in. I spent the night in an Airbnb with everybody. We talked about the case the following morning. We went and did the case. I left straight after the case. That was it. I was back [at my home] in Portugal at, like, 11 o’clock the following night. Now in between all that, then another friend had called: ‘What are you doing?’ I was, like, ‘Nothing.’ ‘What you doing musically?’ I was, like, ‘Well, not a great deal. I’m just releasing some music and recording and stuff like that.’ ‘Okay. I’ve got a crazy idea.'”
“Now, before we went to the court, the actual lawyers had been talking about this,” Mantas continued. “It was put out there. And basically, all I said was, ‘Look, I am willing to talk, but that’s it. That’s as far as it goes. I’ll talk about it. And if it’s at all possible, then maybe. It’s still not a ‘definitely’.’ Long story short, there was a refusal, not worth the time… So, then speaking to the Japanese, and I agreed to do the show, which is gonna be in November. And I thought, because there is something now, right now in the stages of getting planned for next year, which I cannot say f**k all about… But speaking of the Japanese, I said to them, ‘How would you feel if Abaddon was to come?’ And boom, it was, like, ‘Yeah, yeah. Oh, that would be great. Could you get him? Could you get him?’ It was, like, ‘Well, yeah.’ And so he’s gonna come over to Japan. I’m doing the main set with the Japanese musicians, and then he’s gonna come on for three songs in the encore. And that’s it. And obviously, with the court case and all this kind of stuff, then we’ve had a few conversations and it is just, like, ‘Yeah, come on.’ Everybody else just does what the f**k they want with the VENOM name. I’m the f**king founder member. I’ve never done anything with it. And this band has missed every anniversary opportunity that it’s had, and it deserves to be celebrated at some point. So that’s basically what I’m planning.”
Later in the interview, Mantas made it clear that a reunion of the classic VENOM lineup is completely off the table.
“It’s not gonna be the original lineup,” he said. “And I’ve seen loads of things since [the Japanese show was announced, where], it’s, like, ‘Oh, get Cronos, get Cronos, get Cronos.’ I’ve got to say this. It’s, like, think of the most toxic relationship you’ve ever had and just invite it back into your life. Honestly, guys, it’s not that easy. And what I’ve seen a couple of weeks ago, I just went, ‘Oh, I can’t do that again. No.’ I mean, f**king hell, I’m 64 years old, I’ve had two f**king heart attacks. The first one killed me for five minutes. It’s, like, I don’t need that stress in my life anymore.”
The show will see Dunn and Bray performing classic VENOM tracks alongside some of Japan’s top black metal musicians: Masaki “Gezol” Tachi from SABBAT on bass and vocals, Mirai Kawashima of SIGH on vocals, Shinji “Samm” Tachi from METALUCIFER on drums, and Noboru “Jero” Sakuma from ABIGAIL on guitar. Supporting acts for the night include SURVIVE and HELL FREEZES OVER.
Dunn and Bray previously joined forces in VENOM INC., a band formed nearly ten years ago alongside former VENOM bassist and vocalist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan. However, last December, Dunn announced his departure from VENOM INC., citing health concerns after suffering two heart attacks—the first in 2018 that required double bypass surgery—and other personal reasons.
Abaddon was a core member of VENOM‘s classic lineup from 1978 to 1992. He rejoined the band in 1995 for a four-year stint before co-founding VENOM INC. with Dunn and Dolan. VENOM INC. launched their debut album, Avé, in August 2017. The following year, Jeramie Kling of THE ABSENCE filled in for Bray on a European tour, allowing Abaddon to be with his newborn daughter.
It’s important to note that VENOM INC. is distinct from the current lineup of VENOM, led by original vocalist Conrad “Cronos” Lant. Cronos’ version of VENOM continues to tour and release albums, featuring Rage (Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (Danny Needham) on drums.
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