Venom

Venom were an English heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on black metal, thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the first wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.

Venom released sixteen studio albums and went through a series of hiatuses and line-up changes throughout their 48-year run. Original guitarist Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn first left Venom in 1986, and vocalist/bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant left two years later to start a solo career, leaving the band with no remaining original members. Drummer Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (who joined in 1979) continued the band with Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan as their vocalist and bassist until their hiatus in 1992. The "classic" line-up of Mantas, Cronos and Abaddon reunited in 1995, recording one album before the latter's dismissal in 1999. Abaddon was replaced by Anthony "Antton" Lant, and after the release of their tenth studio album Resurrection (2000), Venom entered a two-year hiatus. Cronos reformed the band without Mantas in 2004 and remained the only constant member until his death in 2026, resulting in the band's third breakup. Former members of the band formed their own versions of Venom at different times, most notably Venom Inc., which reunited Mantas, Abaddon, and Dolan.