(TheBRHM.com) In late-September 2026, the metal world lost a legend in black metal pioneer Conrad “Cronos” Lant, the co-founder and long-time lead singer and bass player for Venom. The power trio debuted as one of the speedier bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and were a pioneering act in thrash and black metal.
That’s all known and a pretty 101 synopsis of a band with close to 50 years in rock and metal. Venom was one of the bands I really went into when I dove into metal along with Judas Priest and Motorhead. Venom’s filthy, hellfire-dipped approach to speed metal really appealed to me because of the energy and imagery.
Now, these weren’t the most colorful or elaborate depictions of evil, Hell, and so on but the band made the journey full and fast-paced. We’re going to look at five Cronos-led and written songs that I recommend for anyone not familiar with Cronos or Venom.
Heaven’s on Fire (1982, Black Metal)
Black Metal is an album with several bangers and strong tracks with a particularly powerful B-side. One of those powerful tracks is “Heaven’s on Fire”, a pretty speedy song that has a bounce to it courtesy of the drums and bass.
Mantas definitely does his thing as he often did during his time in Venom but the tandem of Cronos and Abaddon really rode on this track. It’s one of those Venom songs that isn’t one of their fastest but it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
That’s s trait of the songs on this list, by the way.
Burstin’ Out (1982, various comp releases)
Another tune with speed and bounce but it’s faster than “Heaven’s on Fire” regardless of the version. I first heard this track as a bonus on Sanctuary Records’ reissue of Black Metal. Personally, I prefer the 12” version to the 60+ minute version and that’s down to the vocals having something of an echo and distance in the 60+ version. The 12” version sounds more volume-leveled to the rest of Black Metal.
Almost as if it could’ve been a track on the main album and not a bonus.
Black Xmas (1987, Calm Before the Storm)
“Black Xmas” is a track I discovered on a compilation for Cronos’ self-titled solo project. It originally appeared on Calm Before the Storm and I while I wouldn’t say it was one of the band’s best tunes, it is a favorite of mine for being a bit of a detour from the usual fast and nasty approach of Venom. The song was still up tempo but was more heavy than fast.
It’s one of those song that if I heard that a Venom song was the track for a horror movie scene, “Black Xmas” would come to mind along with “Countess Bathory”.
Dancing in the Fire (1990, Dancing in the Fire)
These songs are picked heavily on Cronos’ performance in them and “Dancing in the Fire”, the titular track from Cronos’ self-titled act, was great because it was another detour. The Cronos project was a detour from Venom to a degree. You still had the trademark speed from Venom but Cronos went heavier on some tracks and allowed the tempo to slow down a bit.
“Dancing in the Fire” is a good example of that formula. It rocks, there’s a good amount of speed where it doesn’t sound totally like a Cronos-era Venom tune, and you get to hear Cronos do something different with his voice. I would’ve loved more songs in this vein when he returned to Venom but the band was in full-on thrash mode in the early 1990s.
Countess Bathory (1982, Black Metal)
One of the slower tracks on Black Metal, it leaned more into the heaviness that Venom was capable of and is one of my favorite songs to watch live performances of. It’s up there with their live performances of “Bloodlust” from The 7th Date of Hell (1984) and “Witching Hour” from the Live EP (1983).
As a matter of fact, the performance in question is from the 7th Date of Hell release. Cronos’ storytelling and tempo of the song actually introduced me to the Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a figured I hadn’t hear of prior to 2006. So, Venom could educate occasionally.
What are some of your favorite Cronos or Venom tracks? Share them in the comments!
Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.