Watch: Founding VENOM Members MANTAS And ABADDON Joined By Special Guests To Celebrate 45th Anniversary Of 'Welcome To Hell' At 2026 KEEP IT TRUE Festival

Tom Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. Tom Warrior; CELTIC FROST, HELLHAMMER), Thomas "Angelripper" Such (SODOM), Schmier (DESTRUCTION), Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek (VADER), Attila Csihar (MAYHEM), Andy Brings (SODOM), Dan Lilker (NUCLEAR ASSAULT) and Blake "Bulldözer" Arendell (a.k.a. Blake Arenvurst; INTERCEPTOR) are among the guest musicians who joined Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, iconic co-founders of the pioneering black metal band VENOM, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of VENOM's classic debut album, 1981's "Welcome To Hell", at the 2026 edition of the Keep It True festival on April 24, 2026 at Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. Professionally filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the show was as follows:

(Blake "Bulldözer" Arendell on vocals, unless otherwise noted)

01. Witching Hour (VENOM song)
02. Die Hard (VENOM song)
03. Live Like An Angel (Die Like A Devil) (VENOM song) (Jeff Mantas on vocals)
04. Welcome To Hell (VENOM song) (Tom Gabriel Warrior on vocals)
05. Schizo (VENOM song)
06. Poison (VENOM song)
07. Genocide (VENOM song) (Piotr Wiwczarek on vocals)
08. The Seven Gates Of Hell (VENOM song)
09. Buried Alive (VENOM song)
10. Don't Burn The Witch (VENOM song)
11. Angel Dust (VENOM song) (Tom Angelripper on vocals and bass, Andy Brings on guitar)
12. One Thousand Days In Sodom (VENOM song) (Tom Angelripper on vocals and bass, Andy Brings on guitar)
13. Black Metal (VENOM song) (Schmier on vocals)
14. Warhead (VENOM song)
15. The Chanting Of The Priests (VENOM song)
16. In Nomine Satanas (VENOM song) (Dan Lilker on bass)
17. Sons Of Satan (VENOM song) (Dan Lilker on bass)

Encore:

18. Bloodlust (VENOM song) (Attila Csihar on vocals)
19. Countess Bathory (VENOM song) (Diva Satanica on vocals)
20. In League With Satan (VENOM song) (every guest musician on stage)

When the event was first announced last September, Mantas commented: "I still vividly recall walking into Neat Records in 1981 to record another set of demos when David Wood, the owner, asked us if we had enough material for an album. We, of course, said 'yes' and we were given three days to record our first album, 'Welcome To Hell'. That, my friends, was 45 years ago, and now we are here at the Keep It True festival to celebrate 45 years of 'Welcome To Hell', a groundbreaking album in heavy metal that I am so proud of. This is gonna be an amazing night my friends with so many very special guests. Come celebrate with us. April 24 2026, see you all there. Maximum respect."

Last October, Mantas and Abaddon spoke to Canada's The Metal Voice about the fact that there are now three different bands using variations of the VENOM band name. In addition to their new collaboration, there is the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, in which Cronos is the sole remaining member from the band's classic era, and there is VENOM INC., which is led by bassist/vocalist 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). Mantas said in part: "I'm just gonna speak the truth, the absolute truth. I'm the founder member [of VENOM]. If there's a co-founder, it's Abaddon. Cronos was the last one to join. Everyone knows that. I wrote all the early material, blah, blah, blah. And at this very moment in time, the way I look at it is there isn't a VENOM out there. There's bands out there who are playing VENOM material. And that's the honest way that I look at it."

Regarding why he and Abaddon chose to reteam for these shows right now, Mantas said: "Myself and Abaddon, we said, 'Look, why don't we just do something to celebrate this fucking band?' And that's all we're doing. It's a celebration of 'Welcome To Hell', 45 years of that album. And this stupid fucking band has missed every major anniversary in its history. We've never celebrated an anniversary of this band. So I spoke to the guys at Keep It True, Oliver Weinsheimer in particular, the owner of the festival. And I said, 'Right, here's an idea. Why don't we get some special guests, people who have been influenced by the band? All that kind of thing.' And he said, 'Great. Let's do it.' So that's how it all came about. And now we're getting offers from other places to do the same thing. So, yeah, if nobody else will do it, we're gonna go out and celebrate this band."

Asked what band name he and Abaddon will perform under, Mantas said: "As far as I'm concerned, there's no fucking name to it. There's Abaddon's VENOM logo, which is his. And underneath it, it says, 'Mantas and Abaddon.' And then special guests. And that's what we're doing."

Elaborating on the reasons he and Abaddon have chosen to play the VENOM music together again, Mantas said: "I know it's not gonna be the PANTERA thing, and I know it's not a fucking KISS reunion or anything like that, but this band has had, for whatever reason, and it still amazes me to this day, but this band has had so much influence on the metal scene from day one, especially when that album ['Welcome To Hell'] came out. And then [VENOM's second album] 'Black Metal' — black metal, as a genre, is still alive and kicking today. Extreme metal is around, people say, because of us."

On the topic of the response from VENOM fans to the announcement of the Keep It True concert, as well as the November 30, 2025 appearance by Dunn and Bray at Shinjuku Antiknock, a legendary music venue in Tokyo, Japan, alongside some of Japan's finest black metal players, Mantas said: "Every comment I've seen so far, 90 percent has been really, really positive. Like, 'Great. Go for it, guys,' all this kind of stuff. Then you get the one, 'Oh, no Cronos, no VENOM.' It's, like, okay, listen to me right now. You can you imagine the most toxic relationship and the most stressful relationship you've ever had in your fucking life, and now go back and invite it back in. And that's what we tried to do.

"If everybody knew the real reason I left in 1986, you wouldn't even fucking look at that guy again. All these people who say that about Cronos and stuff like that, yes, he was a part of the band. I appreciate that. He didn't write all the fucking early material. He didn't found the band. He was the last person to join.

"If you were having problems with your wife and you put it on the fucking Internet, I would never go, 'Oh, yeah, well, I know what's going on,' because you don't — you don't know the personalities of the people involved in it," Mantas explained. "All you see from the outside is a band. I mean, I love KISS. I love JUDAS PRIEST. Now there's fucking problems with K.K. [Downing] and all the rest of fucking PRIEST. There's problems with Ace [Frehley] and fucking Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] and Peter [Criss], but we don't know what's really gone on. And it's, like, yeah, I tell you what, get back in your mom's basement. Eat your fucking microwave meal and play your video games. This is ridiculous to comment on people's careers. And that's the way I feel about it. And all I'm saying is that myself and Abaddon, as the two original members of VENOM, we're gonna go out and we're gonna celebrate this band and its music. And that's it. Nothing more, nothing less."

Abaddon also offered his opinion on the VENOM name issue, saying: "My take on that is very straightforward. If you've got three bands using the word VENOM to sell the music… Originally, VENOM were a three-piece. Unless you've got two members of that three-piece, you can't call it VENOM because it's Cronos and some other blokes, or it's Dolan and some other blokes. If you've got me and Jeff, you've got two-thirds of the original fucking band. That's as straightforward as you can get."

In August, Mantas and Abaddon reached out to their loyal fans — the "Legions" — for support in a legal battle against Cronos. Since 2023, Mantas and Abaddon have fought to resolve two critical issues: securing recognition for their contributions to VENOM's legendary artwork and claiming their rightful share of merchandise profits from albums they co-wrote and performed, including "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985). Now in their 60s, Mantas and Abaddon seek a fair resolution to ensure their families benefit from VENOM's enduring legacy, which helped define the black metal genre. "We're simply asking for what is rightfully ours," they said in a joint statement. "After decades of avoidable conflict, we want peace and closure."

Despite efforts to resolve the dispute amicably, the duo has been forced to pursue legal action, incurring significant personal and financial costs.

The legal battle intensified in June 2024, with Cronos suing Abaddon and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd, accusing 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.

The duo is calling on fans worldwide to help fund their legal fight. "If every fan bought us a pint, we could see this through," they said.

Contributions can be made at this location.

According to Law360.com, Lant testified in court 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.Nearly a decade ago, Dunn formed VENOM INC. with Bray and Dolan.

In December 2024, approximately eight months after suffering his second heart attack, Dunn announced that he was leaving VENOM INC., explaining in a statement that his "health and wellbeing are of paramount importance to myself and my family," but adding that "there are also more personal issues which have influenced my decision."

Dunn suffered his first heart attack in May 2018 and underwent a double bypass surgery.

Mantas sat out VENOM INC.'s fall 2023 U.S. tour after revealing that his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. He was replaced on the trek by Mike Hickey, known for his work with VENOM, CARCASS, CATHEDRAL and CRONOS.

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Lant-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

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. VENOM is still fronted by Cronos and headlines festivals all over the globe and continues to release new music while Dunn and Dolan had joined forces in the similarly named VENOM INC.

Abaddon was part of VENOM's classic lineup from 1978 to 1992. He then returned to the band in 1995 and stayed with them for four years before joining VENOM INC. alongside Dunn and Dolan. VENOM INC. released its debut album, "Avé", in August 2017. A year later, VENOM INC. revealed that it was recruiting Jeramie Kling of the Tampa-based melodic death metal band THE ABSENCE to fill in for Bray on a European tour while Abaddon stayed home to spend time with his newborn daughter.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released the aforementioned three albums as VENOM: "Prime Evil", "Temples Of Ice" and "The Waste Lands".

In September 2022, Bray revealed that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.