VENOM Frontman Says New Songs Are 'Tremendous'

John Doran of The Quietus recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Conrad "Cronos" Lant of British black metal pioneers VENOM. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Quietus: I need to ask you about that incident from when you were first on tour with SLAYER all those years ago that happened between Tom Araya who needed a piss and yourself. [The hammered American bassist apparently took a leak on Cronos's head before the enraged VENOM man knocked him out.]

Cronos: I was talking to Kerry [King] and the boys on the bus because they couldn't afford a hotel. So Tom came on to the bus drunk out of his mind telling everyone about the size of his dick before saying something about having a piss. When I turned round and looked there were a couple of drips of piss on my hair so I stood up and put my forehead on the bridge of his nose and knocked the fucker out. And it ended there. Kerry and all the SLAYER guys were all like, "Hey we're really sorry man but he's really drunk." The next morning we shook hands on it and now we just laugh about it. Because where I come from, in Newcastle, you don't piss on people.

The Quietus: When's the new album likely to surface?

Cronos: The new album should be out by the summer of [2010], mate. The new tracks are tremendous. Basically, if you think of the way [former VENOM drummer] Antton [Antony Lant, who is also Cronos' brother] was playing, especially on the last album "Hell", he is a nu-metal drummer and comes from that kind of background. He's hung 'round VENOM most of his life and it was just good to introduce him to the whole VENOM concept of playing like the way [original VENOM drummer] Abaddon used to play. Basically Abaddon came from a rock background and then basically developed a black metal, speed metal, thrash metal style. The nu-metal drumming is very different and it was a steep learning curve for him. At the end of the day he's got his own style and he wants to be known for what he's done and not be in my shadow, which is totally understandable. Some of the guys we had coming to the rehearsals were not ex-CRADLE OF FILTH but they were still, "I've been in this band, I've been in that band," but they were all far too young, you know. We were looking for someone in their thirties upwards who understood rock music.

The Quietus: How do the songs compare to those off "Hell"?

Cronos: I would say more like those off "Metal Black". More like our earlier stuff. "Hell" was getting a bit too much like session tracks. Too . . . polished. And polish isn't a good word for VENOM songs. VENOM songs need to be off the cuff, loose, a little bit thrash. Once you start polishing songs up a bit much you end up going in the wrong direction. There's a spontaneity about VENOM songs that I've always loved. When we're coming up with new VENOM songs there's one thing that I always try and keep in mind: "Is that kid in his bedroom on his knees playing air guitar and going 'Yeah! Get in!'" You know? I'm not interested in Joe Satriani sitting there and discussing whether it's technically correct or not! That's the last thing on my mind.

The Quietus: Now that you're a grandfather of extreme metal and black metal and thrash metal and all that good stuff that's spread all over the world, how do you feel when you look at this kind of metal now? What do you like and dislike about the current scene?

Cronos: I love seeing new bands coming out with fresh ideas and the enthusiasm in their faces and in their music and the whole brashness of it all. What I hate is same-y bands and all these bands that have come out over the last six years who are all going for the same sound and the same look. I would always say to people that being different and taking a risk is a lonely place at first because people don't get or understand you. They're not brave enough to commit to you. It's a strange and lonely place to be but what do you want on your gravestone — that you were a sheep and part of the flock or that you stood on your own. People are losing that sense of adventure. Where are today's icons? Where are today's Ozzys? Today's Alice Coopers?

Read the entire interview from The Quietus.

Fan-filmed video footage of VENOM's December 12, 2009 concert at São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil can be viewed below (courtesy of "AlFranquim"). More clips are available at this location.