VENOM Explains Lack Of U.S. Shows: Getting Visas Is 'Really Expensive' And 'So Difficult'

In a new interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series, VENOM guitarist Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) was asked if there are any plans for the pioneering British black metal band to tour the U.S. in support of its latest studio album, "Into Oblivion", which arrived on May 1 via Noise/BMG. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were talking about that. The problem that we've got with the States, and it's getting a little worse, is we need to get visas and stuff like that. And they're really expensive. I think it works out between seven and nine grand. And that's just for the three members of the band. Obviously what's happening in the world, fuel prices are going up and stuff like that. And then even with the visas, you're not guaranteed to get in. I mean, I know, I think CRADLE [OF FILTH] had to delay their tour, and there's been a few bands from Europe that have just not been able to… I know there was a festival, and I think about the 20 bands couldn't make it over 'cause they just can't get the visas. The red tape to try and get over, it's just… And it's all about rock and roll. We just wanna come over and put a rock and roll show on and have a good time with fans and new people who [get] into the music and just express love over with music. And it's made to be so difficult. Like, 'Oh, you want to work here?' I say, 'No, we just wanna come over and play music. It's not work.' And it's just so difficult."

He continued: "I think it used to be easier for the American bands to come over [to Europe]. And I think even those [European tours] — I think FORBIDDEN's just canceled a European tour, and know ANTHRAX canceled it. And one of the major problems is America's so fucking big that you need a tour bus. And you're looking at — it used to be a thousand dollars a day for a tour bus, which is a lot of money, [and now] you'll not get a tour bus for that price. That's why I think a lot of the underground bands, they're the ones out going and touring, 'cause they'll jump in a little fricking RV and they'll just go over and just bash, bash, bash, bash, bash. And I think that's great because they're sort of keeping the heavy metal legacy still alive, while the sort of bigger bands can't get over there. But if we get an invite — we're like vampires; we need to be invited. We can't come over your threshold without an invitation."

He added: "I mean, we keep getting offers and stuff like that, and then once you talk about visas and stuff like that, promoters go, 'Oh, oh.' And we're not gonna risk going over on a tourist visa. But we spoke to BMG, and there is ways around that with yearly working visas and stuff like that and make it more feasible. But it's just a shame, because British bands love… I mean, during the '70s and all that, '60s and '70s, the British invasion, you used to just come across. Every week you had a British band. This week it's LED ZEPPELIN, HUMBLE PIE, [DEEP] PURPLE's coming over. And that just hasn't happened. And it's upsetting as well, because we see VENOM as a global band. We're not just a British band who plays for British people or British band that just plays for European people. We've got Canada, South America, places like that. I just wish it was 30 years ago, and then we wouldn't be having this conversation, 'cause we'd be on a world tour.

"It started getting expensive about 10 [years ago]," Rage explained. "I remember last time we got the visas, and you're sitting in the American embassy in London for half a day. You don't just go in and say, 'What do you want?' You go, 'Can I have a visa?' You do, like, three interviews, and you've gotta get through every one of those interviews or you get refused. And then you hand your passport over, you pay your money, and then you've gotta wait for that to come back with your visa in. So it's not just a turn up and get a stamp in your visa. It's a long, old process, and it started to get probably harder about 10 years ago."

"Into Oblivion" is VENOM's sixteenth studio album and features the long-standing lineup of Conrad "Cronos" Lant on bass/vocals, Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums,. It marks VENOM's first new recordings since 2018's "Storm The Gates" LP.

"Into Oblivion" consists of thirteen songs that are signature VENOM: heavy, evil and catchy. There's a combination of the band's classic 1980s sound adjacent to a more modern, progressive approach but without losing any of their fire and brimstone of old.

The album has been in the works for some years now, but a number of factors held back its completion until now; the COVID pandemic, recording setbacks and the hunger to nail it to perfection, but in the words of Cronos: "This album has really pushed the boundaries, but if you want to make a killer album, you pay for it in blood, sweat and tears."

There are now three different bands using variations of the VENOM name for their live shows. In addition to the new collaboration between Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, VENOM's iconic co-founders — who recently announced that they will celebrate the 45th anniversary of VENOM's classic debut album, 1981's "Welcome To Hell", at various festivals in 2026, including Germany's Keep It True — there is the Cronos-fronted version of VENOM, in which he is the sole remaining member from the band's classic era, and there is VENOM INC., which is led by Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan, who was a member of VENOM between 1989 and 1992, appearing on the albums "Prime Evil" (1989),"Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

In June 2024, Cronos filed a lawsuit against Abaddon and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd in which he accused the distributor of selling merchandise with Lant's copyrighted VENOM designs and Bray of approving the infringement through a licensing agreement. The dispute revolved around the fact that both parties were licensing and selling official VENOM merchandise featuring the contested designs.

According to Law360.com, Lant testified in court last year that he joined VENOM in late 1979 and came up with the Satanic-themed designs used in the band's logo and album covers, which included goat heads, pentagrams and inverted crosses. Bray filed a counterclaim for infringement against Lant and Lant's distributor, Razmataz.com Ltd., arguing that Bray was the real author of the works. Because Lant was able to produce numerous sketches which demonstrated his design process and Bray was unable to do the same, Bray was deemed the owner of the original logo, while Lant was found to be the creator and copyright owner of all but one of the other artistic works in dispute.

VENOM's classic lineup trio of Dunn, Lant and Bray recorded four studio LPs, "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985),and live album, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (1986). Often cited by bands such as METALLICA, BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation.

Photo credit: Necrohorns