Venom Founder Conrad 'Cronos' Lant Dies at 63
Venom founder, singer, and bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant, whose confrontational sound helped shape black and thrash metal, has died at 63.
Conrad "Cronos" Lant, the founding vocalist and bassist of influential British metal band Venom, died Thursday, Oct. 1. He was 63.
Venom announced Lant's death through the band’s official social media accounts. A cause of death was not disclosed.
"For more than four decades, Conrad's voice, bass and vision were at the heart of Venom," the band wrote, remembering him as "uncompromising, fearless and unmistakable."
Born in London in 1963 and raised in Newcastle, Lant joined the group that would become Venom while still a teenager. He initially played guitar before moving to bass and assuming lead-vocal duties in 1980. Alongside guitarist Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn and drummer Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, Cronos formed the classic lineup responsible for some of extreme metal's most important early recordings.
Venom released their debut album, Welcome to Hell, in 1981, followed one year later by Black Metal. The latter record gave an emerging subgenre its name, while the band's abrasive production, breakneck pace and occult imagery influenced generations of musicians across black metal, thrash, and death metal. Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax were among the bands that drew inspiration from Venom's raw and confrontational approach.
The classic lineup continued with At War with Satan in 1984 and Possessed in 1985. Lant later left Venom and launched the solo project Cronos, releasing two albums during the early 1990s before returning to Venom in 1995. He remained the band's central figure through numerous lineup changes and continued recording and touring with guitarist Rage and drummer Danté.
Outside Venom, Lant contributed vocals and bass to "Centuries of Sin" for Dave Grohl's Probot project in 2004. Venom remained active through the summer of 2026 and released its 16th studio album, Into Oblivion, earlier this year.
Lant's son, Nathan, thanked Venom's devoted fanbase, known as the Legions, for supporting his father throughout his career.
"He has laid down his soul, and his music will live on," Nathan wrote. "The legend of Cronos will never die."
