OpEd

Metal Luminaries Worldwide Celebrate the Legacy of Cronos

Conrad Lant, best known by his pseudonym “Cronos,” died one week ago today. He was 63 years old. He was and will forever remain a metal god. The iconic frontman helmed the pioneering extreme metal unit Venom who was born from humble beginnings in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They provided the foundation for so much musical extremity that continues to blossom to this day. My own entry point to Venom was Power 30/Power Hour, the Canadian equivalent of Headbanger’s Ball. And my better half was introduced to the musical dark side when she was seven years old via her brother who invited her into their home’s attic where he showed off the black carpet upon which he painted a pentagram in white that was illuminated by candlelight, a perfect backdrop for the sounds of Venom’s “Welcome To Hell.” Many of us have similar profound and pivotal stories, including the following extreme metal luminaries, underground musicians and industry folks. Metal maniacs who have been a part of Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Emperor, Death, Obituary, Portal, Blasphemy, Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Immolation, Incantation, Soilent Green, Eyehategod, Angelcorpse, Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Brujeria, Order From Chaos, Ares Kingdom, Internal Bleeding, Pig Destroyer, Demonic Christ, Deiphago, Testament and more contributed to this extensive tribute. The devilish hand of Venom and Cronos has reached across the globe and their influence upon extreme music cannot ever be overstated. Rest In Power, Cronos.

Barney Greenway (Napalm Death, Benediction, Extreme Noise Terror)

Cronos was the caveman-in-chief. Even though that early Venom image was undeniably schlocky, that didn't make Cronos any less mean when he beat the shit out of his bass. He was a menacing frontman that showed it was entirely possible to be an even greater band when you just hit stuff and made noise without caring much about finesse. Again, you might argue he paved the way with Mantas and Abaddon - and along with bands like Motörhead, Discharge, GBH...I could go on - for bands to sound utterly chaotic, not need to apologize to anyone for that and simply be a great band. You cannot argue with anything up to and including “At War with Satan” and “Manitou,” which all sit highly in the annals of extremity in my book.

Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel, Malefic Throne, Warfather, Arise From Worms,Ceremony, Internecine)

For me, Venom, but especially Cronos, sparked an undeniable realization that music is about feeling and vibe. No need to be Yngvie. Be Cronos! This guy was called a dick by more people than you can imagine and it made him smile! And he just might smack the head off you, too. I am certain that these days that is seen as a negative, but I still love everything about it! As over the top as Venom was for the time, it was the perfect time for Venom. Cronos made me want to be a bassist and vocalist and there are many photos of me repping Venom by wearing their shirts on stage. Thank you, Cronos.

Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun (Emperor, Blood Tsunami, Djevel, Blood Tsunami, Aborym, Scum and the “all star” Bathory tribute band Blood Fire Death)

Everyone thought that the titan god Cronos would seemingly live forever but unfortunately he passed onto the other side way too early. Both me and the metal world were left in shock when we heard the news just a few days ago. For me, and most other metalheads of my generation, Cronos opened up a new world at a very young age. It is fair to say that he and Venom had an enormous impact on me in my formative years.

Nick Barker (Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Brujeria, Ancient, Lock Up, Testament, Venom Inc.)

Cronos and Venoms’ influence on all forms of extreme metal is indelible.
Without them, extreme metal would be very different today. R.I.P. Cronos.

Ian Christe (host of Bloody Roots on Sirius XM Radio, heavy metal historian, journalist, publisher and author of Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal)

Heavy metal was barely 10 years old when Venom pitchforked its blasphemous branch. Soon came Hellhammer, Slayer, and Bathory, and the rest is history. In the beginning, Cronos was like some wet, scrawny damned thing that crawled up from beneath a neglected English grave. His rallying cry was "drinking the vomit of the priests," and "making love to the dying whore." How insane was that? The success of Venom's campaign of musical desecration is a testament to their endless charisma. When Cronos was the ringmaster, Venom was the most fun anyone will ever have listening to metal.

The Curator (Portal)

I consider Cronos an integral pillar in the world of heavy metal music, whom pioneered a path for us fellow inspired metal enthusiasts to follow, and continue building/contributing with our interpretations in the world of metal music.

Mika Luttinen (Impaled Nazarene)
Hearing “Witching Hour” changed my life! Venom was THE origin of all extreme metal. Period.

Marco Banco (Witches Hammer, Blasphemy, Tyrants Blood, Thor)

Venom is one of those bands whose records changed the trajectory and whole complexion of music—for myself and the kids in my city that were into heavy metal. It also created a cool rift, splitting it into various groups.
The people that were into the more traditional stuff, and then the guys like me who were always looking for something new, something heavier, something faster and harder. A sound more extreme. Venom was that band.

Music is generational solidarity. Both first two albums—“Welcome to Hell,” but especially “Black Metal”—galvanized us into that union. They were the first truly extreme metal band and it forced me into creating something within that framework of their style.

Extremely important band for me. When MuchMusic and MTV came out and I saw the video for “Bloodlust,” it was the best thing I had ever seen at that time. They are the catalyst for everything we have in extreme metal today. V.E.N.O.. Fucking M.

Abyss, Twisted Baptizer (Beherit)

Cronos was really a big influence. I still remember when I first saw video from Nightmare 1985. What the hell was it that I just saw on television? I was 13 years old at that time, and after that, I had to force my parents to buy Venom´s album. In my opinion they were the first "black metal" band, and the rest is history.

Brian Patton (Soilent Green, Eyehategod)

When I first heard Venom at 14, Cronos’ voice actually scared me. (haha) I thought it was the ugliest and meanest. Period. They were my favorite band, the ultimate musical taboo. None more raw. They will always be remembered as the bringers of ‘Black Metal.’

Frank Rini (Internal Bleeding, heavy metal journalist)

The passing of any metal legend is always a rough one and Cronos was an interesting character in the world of metal. My brother and I would listen to the metal radio station on LINY weekly and would set the boombox to record songs with a blank cassette when we heard a good song. “Black Metal” had just come out in 1982. I had seen the first album “Welcome to Hell” in stores and knew about the new one but was scared. (lol) I was super young. The station played a new song, “Countess Bathory,” and we pressed record and I was hooked. Heavy, catchy, evil and foreboding is what this song meant to me from the jump. I then started buying the Venom albums on cassette. I believe they were on the same record label, Neat, as one of my early faves, Raven, also from England.

This was the band that spawned black Metal. With their satanic and anti-religious lyrics and imagery they were the most evil metal band at that early juncture. Now they had the galloping speedy songs, influenced by NWOBHM which is a genre they also helped create. Venom’s impact has been tremendous, and the first four albums are amazing. They would have been much bigger if they truly toured more, but it was never really in the cards for them.

Bands like Bathory, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal, etc. bastardized the Venom sounds and black metal was fully realized.

Cronos’ signature vocals, lyrics and undercurrent bass heaviness were such a driving force in the Venom sound. The newest Venom album, this year’s “Into Oblivion,” this year, is my favorite album for 2026 thus far. Cronos went back to their early eighties sound and delivered a true sounding classic Venom album that, for me, is the true fifth Venom album all these decades later.

Cronos, thank you for your music, for your impact in creating black metal and influencing countless bands worldwide. RIP, metal brother- I hope you’ve been welcomed into hell!

Alasdair Dawson (Earache Records - US label manager)

Venom were one of the pioneers of underground metal. Them, Bathory and the blackened thrash bands of Germany were all hugely influential in both the early days of the death and black metal scenes. Cronos was a huge personality and his larger-than-life persona made such an impact on so many of us. The first time I dealt directly with him was when Massacre did a cover of Venom’s "Warhead" and he couldn't have been more kind or gracious, a true gentleman. Thank you for the music, Cronos. Legends never die!

James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Testament, Cancer, Disincarnate)

Cronos came to my attention like he did with everyone else of my generation, through Venom. I was a high school-aged teenager in Frankfurt, Germany, when they first entered my awareness via the very early metal publications of the time, which were still printed on newsprint back then, and in German. I would skip school and go into the downtown Frankfurt area to shop at every little German record store that carried heavy metal that I could find. It was during this time, as the albums were being released on Neat records, that I discovered and purchased all three of the early Venom records as they rolled out from ’81 to ’84. For me, as with just about every other metalhead at the time, these albums became some of the most important touchstones among the other early landmark artists and albums that provide the connective tissue between old-school heavy metal and later, more extreme forms.

It's impossible to overestimate the impact of those early Venom albums on later extreme music genres, and this is true in spite of the fact that—viewed through the lens of decades—their music of that time has more in common with Motörhead than it does Morbid Angel.

Dana Duffey(Demonic Christ, Mythic)

Cronos was an absolute legend. When I heard Venom for the first time, wow. What an impact it had on me. Not only the music, but the Satanic imagery, lyrics and the stage gear was incredible! Cronos was a great showman, always entertaining. Cronos and Venom are staples in heavy metal that will be a part of music history literally forever and whatever the argument, in my opinion they are the very first beginning of black metal. With Cronos as the band’s frontman, he was an example and influence to so many musicians and his memory will live on.

Kyle Powell (Engorge, Mortician, Acidwinter)

Cronos' music. Wow. Discovering Venom back in 1983 as a kid from Orange, New Jersey, I can't even begin to describe the emotions that ran through my body when I heard the intro to "Black Metal.”

It embodied the very essence of aggressive metal and was the pinnacle of the NWOBHM, and being a kid from the suburbs that had never heard of such a thing, it blew my mind! All us kids wanted to form bands and sound like either Venom, Celtic Frost or The Misfits. He is and was the godfather of what we call black metal, no offense to Bathory.

Cronos and Venom are the epitome of what all extreme music is derived from. Without them, we honestly wouldn't have anything remotely forming until around 1985. His and their legacy is cemented into the annals of metal history right alongside Black Sabbath. No Engorge, no Darkthrone, no Autopsy, no Mortician, no VON...no nothing. Respect that.

John McEntee (Incantation, Revenant, Tribe of Pazuzu)

Cronos’ music was incredibly important to me. Let's face it, they were the band that opened the door to pushing the limits of metal in a truly dark, satanic way—which is common knowledge at this point. It must have been '84 or early '85. I remember going to the Elmwood Park flea market with my classmate Ben to visit a record stand run by a guy named Joe. We went almost every weekend looking for new metal releases. One day, Joe said, “He got some cool new records in from a band called Venom, and he thought they'd be right up our alley.”

He pulled out picture discs of "Welcome to Hell" and "At War with Satan." I remember looking at those albums and thinking, “WTF? This is the real deal." It was genuine satanic metal, and Joe was right—I was all about it. I bought both on the spot. I stared at those picture discs for what seemed like hours, just soaking it all in. It was way more extreme than anything I had ever purchased.

Once I put them on, the excitement hit me. It was so over the top. It was raw. It was evil as fuck. I felt like I was dabbling in something forbidden—like I was crossing a line. Hearing those lyrics and the backward messages on "In League with Satan" was just the coolest thing in the world for a 14-year-old kid. My entire musical life changed after that. My focus got more obscure, and I started my journey into more extreme metal styles.

To this day, my favorite Venom album is "At War with Satan." It sounds so evil and instantly brings me back to 1984, before there were rules in extreme metal. Throughout my music career, they've been a massive source of inspiration. They got it right at exactly the right time and changed the extreme metal world for the better. Even if you don't like Venom, you have to respect the band that moved the needle further than anyone else back then. I was and always will be a proud Venom fan. Because of them, I entered the seven gates of hell!

Simply put: speed metal, death metal, power metal, thrash metal, and of course, black metal—they all owe a massive debt to Venom. Talk to almost any band doing provocative stuff in the eighties, and they were Venom fans. Even people who hate Venom are listening to music today that is inspired by them. Without Venom, extreme music just wouldn't be the same. They are the Black Sabbath of the extreme metal world. Personally, I thank Cronos, Abaddon, and Mantis for everything they gave us and the metal world.

Vincent Crowley (Acheron, Nocturnus, Infidel Reich, Wolfen Society, Incantation)

Cronos (Conrad Lant) was the roaring voice and thundering bass behind the mighty Venom—one of the original gods of the underground who helped drag metal into a far more extreme, aggressive, gritty, and sinister direction. Venom took the foundations laid by Black Sabbath and Motorhead, twisted them into something uniquely their own, and unleashed what could only be described as Satan on steroids.

They were pioneers. And Cronos was the kind of frontman who demanded your attention. The voice. The attitude. The image. Those completely over-the-top live shows. Venom didn't just push boundaries, they obliterated them.

Cronos inspired countless members of the Venom Legions to pick up instruments, form bands, and take the music, imagery, and lyrics even further into the extreme. Those early Venom albums lit the fuse for so many incredible bands that followed.

I'll never forget the first time I heard Venom. It was in my car on a cassette player. A friend had picked up one of their albums and dubbed it onto tape for me. I put it in and was utterly blown away. It sounded like hell had been unleashed. The music was metal, but it had the raw aggression of punk. And those fucking lyrics!

This wasn't the supposed backward masking of Led Zeppelin or the sinister wordplay of Dio. This was straight in your fucking face—songs about Satan, death, and sex. Pure, uncensored blasphemy. I fucking loved it. Black Sabbath made me want to play an instrument. Venom made me want to create a band.

So I can sincerely say that VENOM—and Cronos—were a major inspiration for me to eventually put ACHERON together. A world without Cronos in it just seems completely wrong. I've spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours of my life listening to the music he created. That music became part of who I am, and I'll continue listening to it until it's my time to go. Rest in power, Cronos.

Kam Lee (Massacre, Death, Mantas, Denial Fiend, Benediction, Bone Gnawer)

Of course Venom is essentially the DNA framework to what is both black and death metal. Without Venom there would have not been the band Mantas (1984) which means there would not be Death. So Venom and Cronos played a very important role in creating the foundation to what is the core of underground music.

There will be a lot of people saying all kinds of inspirational words, but the truth is it will all point to one specific time and that was when the first two Venom albums came out. “Welcome To Hell” and “Black Metal” were such important pin-points in time and in metal. Those two key albums influenced a young generation of Gen X musicians that would go forth to create one of music’s most integrative and influential styles of heavy music the world has ever known. From metal to punk, to thrash to hardcore, black to death, to grindcore to slam. It essentially all carries the Venom DNA in its building blocks.

Neill Jameson (Krieg, Twilight, Weltmacht, Nachtmystium, Kult ov Azazel, Judas Iscariot)

Venom is a perfect representation of the more belligerent aggression that both punk and metal were created upon. It’s certainly not for moments of quiet reflection but for times when the animalistic spirit that kept in check in most people needs to be let out in the most feral manner possible. Venom are, obviously, a part of the three most important bands in the development of extreme metal (with Bathory and Hellhammer/Celtic Frost). But Cronos, unlike those other frontmen, really managed to bring out violence with tongue firmly planted in cheek. For me his music meant what all greats do: Create whatever you want and fuck anyone who has something to say about it.

He stands up there with Lemmy and Ozzy in terms of defining genres, doing so with an enormous personality. He’s taken a few generations of what, without his presence, would have turned into productive and well behaved citizens and turned them into degenerate pieces of shit and, thankfully, he’ll keep doing so for a long time from the grave.

Terry Eleftheriou (Wargrinder, Perdition Temple)

Cronos, along with a few other frontmen, was the main reason Wargrinder exists today. The raw energy, zero fucks given attitude, legendary playing style and voice will be with me forever. Raise the dead, legend! Born in 1963, died never! I’m in pain, dude. I worshipped that man.

Hydra73 (Ritual Genocide, Terroreactor, Triumph)

Venom is black metal. Black metal is Venom. The true birth of black metal.

Jan Kruitwagen (Hammerheart Records - Promotions Manager, Sammath and Kaeck)

Cronos’ impact here was huge back in the day and still. The sound and raw energy had a huge influence on my life and how I write music. It feels like a part of my metal youth died. I live and breathe for metal.

Tom Stevens (Nokturnel, Incantation, Morpheus Descends, Ripping Corpse)

First of all, the internet killed the underground with access to everything. When major label rock bands started becoming more metal, Venom appeared for me and killed them all. Their shitty, raw production and especially Satanic imagery was enough to turn a lot of people off, but then the reality hits when Venom made it to the States. When I had my band Savage Death in the mid eighties we didn’t have cars or CDs. The real deal record stores would carry a band like Venom and they opened doors that were never closed since. People who hated them insisted they were shit, but they absolutely ruled. Unmistakably identified in seconds of any song and the vocals of the greatest maniac to ever stand behind a mic. I was not old enough to get into studio 54 for the infamous Ultimate Revenge, but of course I got in. Almost everyone did. Their music was worth fighting for, the lyrics were perfect and the sound was like getting hit in the face with a brick. I saw them a few times back in the day and years later at Milwaukee Metalfest. The next generation who learned their history through books and documentary bullshit are clueless but of course think they know what’s the real deal. To call answering machines at clubs that advanced notice of a band like Venom coming to the states was epic and monumental in it’s entirety from the minute you heard about it ’til the last song of the show. There will never be another Venom, there will never be another Cronos. The greatest punch in your face the music world will ever know.

Alex Bouks (Immolation, Incantation, Goreaphobia, Shadows, Master)

Cronos and Venom opened up a world of music of brutality and darkness that as young kid in the early eighties I did not know was possible. I was already into the heavy rock of the seventies and Priest, Maiden and Motorhead, but Cronos and Venom took things to a much higher and extreme level than I had dreamed of. The songs were perfect and the energy was at the highest level. He was the ultimate extreme metal frontman! He was a complete original and there will never be another Cronos!

Telal Xul (Antt, Whoregod, Formidable Hate Machine)

Really integral for every extreme metal musicians to understand the root of all things evil. If Motörhead bought speed to metal, then Venom added the evil factor! And they introduced the term “black metal” so nobody should look for any further explanation!

Personally, they created a lot of impact upon me when I started learning extreme music along with Bathory. At one point, I had to look back and learn my basics and this is when they came into my life. The first two albums are integral for any extreme metal musician regardless of genre. If they deny that, then they should leave playing music and concentrate on babysitting or fishing.

X. Xoitaan (Antt, Whoregod)

Cronos represents a time when heavy metal began to sound truly dangerous and completely unrestrained. When I first found “Welcome to Hell” and “Black Metal” in the 2000s, I was coming from a very heavy and thrash metal background. I was chasing heavier and faster records, but Venom opened a completely different door for me. At that time, I was chasing bands with technicality or precision. Naturally the rawness of Venom made the music difficult for me to understand. But I guess that was the whole point. This music felt very primitive and hostile, like it had been freshly pulled out of hellfire by Satan's minions and thrown right at you. Looking back, I think that was the moment when I signed a pact with the devil.

Before Venom, heaviness generally still existed within certain boundaries. After Venom, you could embrace ugliness, noise, Satan, raw production, punk aggression and sheer violence and make that the aesthetic. Once that door opened, musicians and maniacs just kept pushing through it. Black, death metal, thrash metal, everything derived from here.

And I guess that is what you call a legacy—not just the music, but the door he helped kick open for others to follow.

Joe Necro (Necro Blade, Morbosidad, Blaspherian)

I'm 44 years old now. His music came to me when Venom was already on top of the metal world. Genres of metal music had already been labeled because of bands like Venmo. Black metal! I think no one will argue that Venom are the pioneers, the gods, if you will, of black metal.

His music to me is, the energy that we all as metal heads can agree on. It's unique, it’s freedom, it's dark and a glow of light that we all can express ourselves through— music that no other band can make us feel. Cronos is a god that never forced worship upon him. But we worshipped him willingly!
He's made a huge impact in metal. There would be no Metallica, Slayer, Sodom, Destruction, Megadeth, all those thrash or speed bands without Venom. Then, of course, Mayhem, Burzum and so forth with the black metal Norwegian scene without Venom.

Eliseo Lara (Venereal Baptism, Sacrocurse, Unholier, Necro Blade, Trenchant)

I always though of Venom as the first link in the chain for blasphemous music. Bands such as Mötorhead and Priest had the savage attitude and the aggressive playing style, but it was all about social rebellion and living on the fringes of society and outsider insanity. Same with Maiden in a more fictitious manner. Venom was the first to truly break open the gates of hell!

Julio Desecrator (Necro Blade)

He was one of one. With commanding and unmistakable presence, Venom set the blueprint of what extreme metal was to become soon after. NO WIMP SHIT!

Just looking at the cover of “Welcome to Hell” as a teenager sparked a feeling of morbid curiosity before listening to the music.

John Jarvis (Nest, Scour, Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, China Girl, Fulgora, All Will Fall)

I’ll never forget the first time hearing Venom. I had a metal band when I was in high school, and an older kid asked me if I heard them before, and I had not. He talked them up for months before he finally brought a cassette for me to hear. I was actually afraid to hear it because he said how satanic they were! I was shocked at how raw the recording was, and it inspired me to make basement cassette recordings of us.

Bill Venner (Disma, Incantation)

Cronos is the face of extreme metal like Tony Iommi is for heavy metal. His image and persona created black metal and death metal. His vocals took it to the next level and inspired the punk attitude in metal. The first four Venom albums are the pillars of my generation of underground nastiness.
The rawness is what I was drawn to. One of the earliest bands I got into from an older kid I met in high school. He looked liked Cronos and wore an old Venom shirt that was old looking for ’85. He said Venom will bring forth the end of the world one day. We are in league with Satan!

Francisco Pulido (Host of the Jamming Out All Bad Ass podcast, E.T.D., Hypo Christians, Cemetarian, Thy Feeble Saviour, Morbosidad)

Cronos and Venom are everything I love about underground music: Loud, fast, noisy, aggressive and extreme! They did what they wanted to do and didn't care what anyone thought about them. Eternal thanks to the barbaric guardian to the seven gates of hell!

Cronos along with Abaddon and Mantas created extreme underground metal music. Nobody was doing what they were doing and not only did they influence and inspire metal bands but also punk and all forms of extreme music. They didn't just create a genre. They created a movement that is still going to this day. Only a few can say that. Cronos and VENOM forever!

Freddy Terrorizer (Terrorist)

Huge inspiration from bass tone to heaviness and speed of the music. Venom will always live on as the inventors of black metal. "Through the power of hellfire we will gather our strengths, with the blood of mere mortals our thirst will be quenched.” RIP Cronos.

Adam Scott (Cardiac Arrest)

Cronos and the rest of the mighty Venom. What's there to be said that hasn't been said? While I got into the heavier side of metal, I can truly say I did my research as time passed and was set straight in my teenage years.
I think it's safe to say any fan or band in the extreme metal realm owes a debt of gratitude whether it be death, black, thrash. Venom's DNA has been smeared all over in some cases. Image-wise, and in ways the sound as well. As metal continues and new bands come around, never forget who the first was!

Lou Spencer (Manticore, Embalmer, Engorge, Krieg)

I’m a sloppy chaotic bass player who sings. Of course Venom is a major influence on me. Venom was one of the first bands I heard back in the eighties. I was blown away to find a band that sang about the things I was into and blown away by the pure chaos of it all. Pure, simple raw energy channelled into the bass. Magic!

There are very few metal bands that do not have some sort of Venom influence, and if they don't, I'm definitely not interested in hearing them.

Dan “Tyrantor” Lawson (Usurper, Cumchrist)

It's blatantly obvious that Usurper was heavily influenced by Venom and Celtic Frost. But even Tom Warrior himself said that early Hellhammer was trying to get the same feel as heard on “Welcome to Hell.” Usurper founder Rick Scythe has noted many times in interviews how the passion for metal, the leather and spikes, the ass-kicker attitude, the who gives a shit what you think raw production, all done in the same mold as Venom.

Cronos was the living embodiment of metal. Look at any picture of Cronos. Every single one is metal as fuck. Rest in peace, and thank you for everything.

V.I (Kapala)

Without Venom there would be no real black metal at present. They will always be an invitation to more blasphemous and unapologetic music which was not afraid to be evil, raw and heretical in all ways. Goatheads, chains, leather, high boots, physical prowess all culminate to form an ultimate black metal aesthetic which is still the ultimate aesthetic for black metal even now in the weak, limp-necked times we live in. That's 100 percent pure fucking testosterone. Venom led by example by being the kind of band who pump your veins full of adrenaline, rage and aggression. Hellish shrieks over raw fucking aggression. Unmatched and glorious, and truly a portal to hell! We raise our swords to a true master of death and darkness! Praise hail Cronos! Rest in Chaos!

Vikram Bhat (Gruesome Malady)

Venom's music to me was very similar to Motorhead's, a tight, hard uppercut in the face of mainstream hard rock/metal music. An abrasive, harsh grinding machine which melded raw metal energy and dark foreboding imagery that hardly anyone else did back then. Venom broke all the rules, winning over a legion of dedicated fans and a million underground extreme bands who found inspiration in Cronos and Venom.
Venom have their own infernal place in metal hell and Cronos sits on his smoldering throne of bones commanding his legion into eternal war!
\m/

Herr Warcrimer (Infernal War, Voidhanger)

Venom and Cronos mean a lot to me. Venom wasn't the first band that got me into the evil side of metal as I had been into Slayer, Sodom and early Samael before I heard “Black Metal.” Well, in the nineties in Poland, sometimes you read about some bands, knew their status and were aware of their influence, but you didn't have instant access to their music. But when I finally heard their early stuff, it was instant love and Venom became one of my all time favorites and influences. I'm 44 now and one of my favorite kind of parties is staying at home, watching their eighties live footage while sipping rakija or bourbon and telling my wife for the 666th time, “Look how crazy, mean and amazing they were.” The very same footage that I used to watch in very bad quality on VHS. Timeless.

Cronos' and early Venom's influence on black and death metal is huge and obvious, but I think it's still underrated in some way. I have an impression that many people see them as a legendary band but are not fully aware of how against the current but also forward-thinking at the same time they really were while recording “At War with Satan.” By the way, I consider “Cast in Stone” one of the best re-unions in metal.

David Herrera (Imprecation, Bahimiron, Wülfskol, Morbus 666)

The music of Venom had a significant impact on my introduction to underground music. I was 15 years old (1985) when I was given a couple of dubbed cassette tapes from a friend who just moved to Texas from California. He asked me what I was listening to and I told him Priest, Sabbath and Maiden. He said that was not extreme enough and I thought he was nuts. No way anything could be more extreme than those bands at that time. One tape had “Bonded By Blood,” “Kill ’em All” and “We Have Arrived,” and the other tape had Venom’s “Black Metal”, “Welcome to Hell” and the EP version of “Morbid Tales” on it. He said the Exodus one was his favorite because the Venom one was too Satanic for his preference but still thought it was good. I automatically put the Venom one in when I got home and it ignited my soul. It was a total lightning rod to my senses. I couldn’t wait to hear more stuff like this. The way Cronos delivered his vocals was exciting and new, unlike anything I’ve heard before. Of course I gravitated toward the lyrics as well, even if they were a bit campy on certain songs. The impact they had on extreme music is immense. They were larger than life and carried themselves as such.

Joe Conrad (Bestial Whore)

Venom had a raw, high energy attack. His distorted bass influenced me to seek the same kind of sound. They are the godfathers of extreme metal. I first heard them in ’85 shortly after getting into Metallica, Slayer, Exodus. Their satanic imagery led to me getting into other bands like Bathory, Celtic Frost, Sodom, etc.

Tessa Strange (Tricounty Terror)

I first heard Venom in 1987, and it completely changed the course of music for me. Venom was my introduction to extreme music, and “Black Metal” remains one of my favorite albums to this day.

Cronos was more than an influential musician—he was one of the architects of extreme metal. Venom pushed heavy music beyond the boundaries that existed at the time. They made it faster, darker, dirtier and more dangerous, and in doing so gave an entire generation of musicians permission to take it even further. You can hear their DNA throughout thrash, death metal and black metal.

What I love most about Cronos and Venom is that they never seemed interested in making metal respectable. The rawness, aggression and attitude were the point. They helped create a musical language that countless bands would build upon for decades.

Nearly forty years after I first discovered them, I can still put on “Black Metal” and feel the same energy that drew me into extreme music in the first place. Very few artists can say they helped change the direction of an entire genre. Cronos did. His influence is permanent.

Lord Necron (Host of The Witching Hour podcast, Pious Levus, Hod, Thornspawn, Krieg)

Cronos was the first wild man of extreme metal. He talked the talk and walked the walk. Venom made metal what it was ultimately leading to: Fast, heavy, evil and no fucks given. None of this would have happened if they didn't start the fire. Forever in gratitude and thankful for this.

Paul L. Arnold (At War)

For me the impact Cronos made was monumental in the early days. We were still finding our way as a band and the music we were listening to was considered extreme by the measures of the day. However, when we first heard Venom and the way Cronos was singing, it turned a light switch. The raw rudeness and fear it invoked in us sent us in the direction we ended up going. It can’t be expressed enough how much Venom and for me in particular Cronos' style moved me into the direction we went. It is so obvious the impact Venom made on so many bands of our era. Their music was and remains a driving force in extreme metal. Godspeed Cronos.

Shawn Helsel (At War)

“Black Metal” was so impactful that it completely and permanently changed my musical trajectory. Cronos and Venom loudly and boldly opened the floodgates and led the way for multiple new sub-genres of metal, forever altering the landscape of extreme metal music. It all began with Venom. They were the original seed.

Der Wolf Dir Anbetung (Sivad)

Cronos should be remembered as the master of provocative raw sound, raw energy, unapologetic lyrics, the inception of true dark, satanic imagery, and his music the true gateway into extreme metal.

Voltaire 666 (Deiphago)

Cronos’ music with Venom is the absolute epitome of everything extreme metal and black metal should be. Deiphago would not exist without Venom. Hell, we started by playing Venom covers. Deiphago was formed in 1989, so our roots go straight back to the source—not to the generic second-wave formula endlessly copied by bands since the late nineties. Venom’s music, image and attitude are what real black metal is.

Historical impact? Everything. Venom didn’t merely influence black metal—they named it, embodied it and gave it the filth, danger and attitude that everyone else inherited. Without Venom, Bathory and black metal as we know it would not exist. Every thrash, death and black metal band that followed carries something from Venom, whether they admit it or not.

Kids nowadays think black metal begins and ends with the Norwegian sound. That only proves how little they understand. Black metal has never had one definitive sound. It is not a musical formula—it is extremity, evil and absolute freedom from limitations.

Venom is black metal. Black metal is Venom!

Winchis Muerte (Raped God 666)

To me, not only as a loyal fan of Venom’s music but also as a performer and heavy metal enthusiast, Cronos represents the figure who ushered in something he likely never even set out to create: Black metal. This would evidently go on to become one of the most iconic genres.

As far as I am concerned, this music has always been heavy metal; the various offshoots and influences—such as those he introduced—have helped it grow into something ever-greater, built on solid foundations and a dark spirit. He represents a musical influence that transcends any single person or band.

Chuck Keller (Ares Kingdom, Order From Chaos, Vulpecula)

Cronos was exactly the right face for a band whose entire existence was predicated on being an exploding brick that destroys every town it's thrown into. Over-the-top in every sense, his unapologetic brash style and serene confidence were the tip of Venom's beautifully poisoned spear. To those of us playing extreme metal in the eighties, he was so much larger than life that it was easy to forget he was also a mortal being. In a sense, he was Manitou.

Chivo (Obeisance)

Venom means power, the origin of the music I love: Black, thrash, death, speed metal. Cronos and Venom encapsulated all of that. Other bands took what Cronos and Venom did, but Venom were first! Whether numb nuts admit it or not, you can see Cronos' and Venom’s influence on most all of extreme music. As a man once said, and I'm paraphrasing, “Black metal, thrash metal, death metal, speed metal…Venom invented it all!"

In my band, Cronos and Venom influenced our approach to composing, lyrics, and attitude definitely. Some people don't like my stage banter. Well, I learned from the best! Cronos and Venom! So, you don't like it? Go change your tampon, grab your purse and go be scared somewhere else, wimp! Die hard!

Gene Palubicki (Perdition Temple, Angelcorpse, Malefic Throne, Kerasphorus, Omegavortex, Hexorcist, Anal Blast)

In the heavy metal era of music, Cronos brought us the regal growl of the devil. And through Venom brought us the beginning of music steered toward wildness, loudness, and as much mayhem as possible. There is no doubt of the Lord Vampire Supreme's place as one of the founding titans of the extreme metal genre.

Aldo Guerra (Trenchant, Abyss Of Perdition, Morbosidad, Mortuary, Necro Blade, Sacrocurse, Obeisance)

Venom is more than just a band. It’s my philosophy, my way of life and I really mean it when they label us “Legions,” because we are many and we are devoted to this band. Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon taught me to break the mold, to follow your own path, and never give a damn what detractors think. The passing of Cronos has left a profound impact on me, a feeling of sadness of seeing one of my heroes leave this world. It is a huge loss and we as legions must carry his legacy. Hail Cronos!

Richie Tice (Speedwolf, Axeslasher, Havok)

Cronos' music is raw aggression and power, to take something so simple and make it into something so huge! To conquer. No fear. His impact s seen across all genres: black metal, power metal, thrash metal, death metal. The way bands present themselves: bold, huge, tough. Legion of iron steel!

Nick Sagias (Tribe of Pazuzu, Soulstorm, Pestilence, Malhavoc, Monster Voodoo Machine)

One of the things about Cronos I liked, besides the fact he played bass and sang, was how he delivered his vocals with conviction and a trademark heavy snarl that punctuated certain words with an evil inflection.

N. Bhairava (Nexul, Hellvetron)

While I had already cut my teeth on death metal and grindcore in my early teens, Cronos' music was some of the earliest truly extreme material I had ever heard that resonated with me. Although I will die on the hill stating that Bathory was the first real “black metal” band, Cronos was the first one to shout it and make you feel it in yer fuckin' bones. When Quorthon was In Conspiracy with Satan, Venom was already In League. When Quorthon was there to Raise the Dead, Venom already had. When Quorthon welcomed us to his Sacrifice, our blood served Venom's purpose.

Venom and Cronos took what Motorhead and Lemmy crafted and cranked it past 11. This became the blueprint for others to expand on, be it Bathory, Sodom, Hellhammer, Sabbat, et al. His impact carries on in bands like Watain, Midnight, Nifelheim/Hellbutcher.

Though I never had the pleasure to see Venom live, I had the honor to open for M:Pire of Evil in the earliest days of NXL. Hearing "Warhead" and "Black Metal" live brought back the magic of hearing Venom for the first time. I can't say whether Cronos lived like an angel or died like a devil, but his legacy can be aptly summarized as such: "I'm here tomorrow and I'm gone today." Physically gone, eternally here with music faster than sound, metal his purpose in life.

LAY DOWN YER FUCKIN' SOULS TO THE GODS ROCK 'N' ROLL.