VENOM Isn't Concerned About LAMB OF GOD 'Into Oblivion' Album Title Coincidence; 'So F***ing What?'

In a new interview with Overdrive.ie 's Oran O'Beirne, VENOM guitarist Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) and drummer Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) were asked what their initial reaction was when they learned that the band's latest album, "Into Oblivion", which came out on May 1, would have the same title as LAMB OF GOD's most recent effort, which was released on March 13. Rage said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think there was a bit, like, we were messaging, and then, I'll not say who it was, one of us went, 'So fucking what?' [Laughs]" Danté chimed in: "The record label weren't too concerned. So it wasn't, like, 'Shit, we need a quick change of plan.' It was, like, 'Nah, nah.'" Rage added: "We wrote the song [the 'Into Oblivion' title track] five years ago. Fuck that. We were there first." Danté said: "They've [LAMB OF GOD] done three fucking albums since we wrote that fucker, so we were at least touring then."

"Into Oblivion" is VENOM's sixteenth studio album and features the long-standing lineup of Conrad "Cronos" Lant on bass/vocals, Rage on guitar and Danté on drums, and 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."

"Into Oblivion" track listing:

01. Into Oblivion
02. Lay Down Your Soul
03. Nevermore
04. Man & Beast
05. Death The Leveller
06. As Above So Below
07. Kicked Outta Hell
08. Legend
09. Live Loud
10. Metal Bloody Metal
11. Dogs Of War
12. Deathwitch
13. Unholy Mother

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