In 2015 Venom Inc, which consisted of the Venom line-up from 1989 to 1992: Jeff (Mantas) Dunn as guitarist, Tony (Demolition Man) Dolan as singer and bassist and Anthony (Abaddon) Bray as drummer was born. Venom Inc became a band on April 2015, when the band Mpire of Evil (with former Venom members Jeffrey Dunn and Tony Dolan) played at Keep It True festival in Germany. At the gig, Dunn and Dolan invited drummer Anthony “Abaddon” Bray, another former Venom member, to play a few old Venom songs at the festival, although Dunn and Bray had not spoken to each other for around 20 years. This spontaneous action led to the formation of Venom Inc. Venom Inc released two stellar albums, 2017’s Ave and There’s Only Black in 2022 and toured the world relentlessly putting themselves on the map as being more Venom that Cronos’ Venom is. I know, big words but it’s my blog so whatever and besides, it’s true.
On December 2nd, 2024, legendary Venom Inc guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn announced via his social media that he would be leaving VENOM INC. Dunn has suffered two heart attacks in recent years, first in 2018 then again earlier this year. He acknowledges these issues in a statement announcing his exit, but also mentions unexplained “personal issues” impacting his decision. The guitarist will not perform at any of the band’s previously announced concerts. In an Instagram post, Mantas stated:
“After I suffered the second heart attack the outpouring of love and concern from you guys via a multitude of messages and calls has been overwhelming and a simple thank you seems so insignificant. So my friends it is now time to address the situation. I wish to inform you all that I will not be returning to Venom Inc. Obviously my health and wellbeing are of paramount importance to myself and my family, however, there are also more personal issues which have influenced my decision.”
Longtime friend/bandmate Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan weighed in on Dunn’s announcement that he was not planning to return to the band. In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, Dolan said:
“I know that yesterday was quite shocking — he made this statement, and everybody’s picked up on that — but it may not be forever. He may feel, in a year’s time, he feels great and wants to do it again. He will produce music in his studio because that’s what he does. And that’s his therapy and that’s great. And his social media he was doing, that was his therapy. So that was all good. When he stopped doing that, I thought maybe that’s not the best thing to do. And as much as, in my heart, I would like him to still be doing the tour and the shows, even through the whole season, we did Indonesia, we did all of South America, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Romania, Poland — I mean, we did huge shows, half a million people in Poland, 18,000 in Indonesia; I mean, it’s huge shows; every night in South America, I think it was three to six thousand people. So we did these incredible things and I wanted him to be there. But you have to feel good about it. And he didn’t feel good about it. So he had to sit it out and I had to accept that.”
Venom Inc which now has 72 Legions guitarist Curran Murphy and former M:Pire of Evil drummer Marc “JXN” Jackson will be hitting American shores once again for their Beyond the Black Tour which will have the band once again supporting the 2022 release There’s Only Black. Venom Inc will be joined by Indiana’s Salem’s Childe for the entire tour.
Trust me when I say, “GO SEE VENOM INC!” It is truly one of the best live performances you will ever see as a metal fan and upon that hill, I would die.
VENOM INC BEYOND THE BLACK NORTH AMERICAN TOUR:
January
08 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC
09 – West Holywood, CA @ Whisky A GoGo
10 – Brentwood, CA @ Brentwood Emporium
11 – Fresno, CA @ Full Circle
12 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
14 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater
16 – McHenry, IL @ The Vixen
17 – Chesterfield, MI @ Diesel Concert Lounge
18 – Columbus, OH @ The King Of Clubs
19 – Cleveland, OH @ No Class
20 – West Chicago, IL @ WC Social Club
22 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
23 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Meadows
24 – Waterbury, CT @ Elite 23
25 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz
26 – Newark, DE @ Halftime Sports Bar
28 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
30 – West Palm Beach, FL @ The Banyan Live
31 – Mount Dora, FL @ Mt Dora Music Hall
February
01 – Tampa, FL @ Brass Mug
04 – Knoxville, TN @ Open Chord
06 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Midtown
07 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
08 – Corpus Christi, TX @ House Of Rock
10 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister
11 – Glendale, AZ @ The 44
12 – Las Vegas, NV @ Usual Place
14 – Roseville, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
15 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Libertine Brewing
16 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
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