Thanks to the amazing work of Stowarzyszenie Muzyki Extremalnej "Aaaaaaarrghh!" on October 10, 2015, VENOM INC came to the city of Szczecin. I was overjoyed. The genuine members of VENOM came to my home town! Supporting bands were great too: VADER, DIVINE CHAOS, RAPED CHRIST and OFFENCE. All the bands played plenty of great music, but it wasn’t until Demolition Man, Abaddon, Mantas entered the stage and the first seconds of Prime Evil resounded, that the audience went wild. The interview you`re about to read was done myself and my buddy Igor Górewicz (CASUS BELLI), right after the show was over. VENOM INC invited us over to their coach bus, where, as soon as we got on it, we were offered beers and Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan gave us his guitar picks. We felt really comfortable and chatted pleasantly with the guys who`ve been forming our music taste since we were young. Although the tour manager gave us only 20 minutes to talk, the band themselves gave us an extra 20 minutes. In result, you can read the whole interview in following two issues of Oldschool Metal Maniac Magazine.

We start with a basic question, why VENOM INC?

Mantas: It wasn’t even us that named the band VENOM INC. It was fans, it was promoters. When this thing first came together, it was supposed to be a one-off show for Keep It True Festival. And he booked EMPIRE OF EVIL which is mine and Tony’s other band. He mentioned the idea of getting Abaddon along to play a few VENOM songs, so we spoke about it. We, me and Abdon must have not had spoken to each other since 1988. We haven’t seen each other. So, I suppose there was a little trepidation there on both parts, but we agreed to do it. We had no rehearsals. We just turned up to the festival and played a bunch of songs. By the time we finished the set, there were messages from all over the place, and particularly our agent who was saying there were offers coming from China, Japan and South America. It actually snowballed from there, so we thought: right, does this have a life behind it? We all agreed: yeah. Because of what’s going on with the VENOM`s name now, we thought, yeah let’s do it. We searched long and hard for a name. We came with Iron and Steel. Created the logo, sent the logo out, and then promoters and fans, right across the board, they just said, yeah it`s VENOM really, because, you know, it has two founding members of the band. So Abaddon drew the original VENOM logo, so we decided to use that. We thought well, ok, then. It`s VENOM INCORPORATED. It sort of incorporates everything else we do: EMPIRE OF EVIL, Abaddon’s projects, Tony`s projects, DRILL, and ATOMCRAFT. It’s everything together really. But that’s the name that stuck and that’s how it came about. So, here we are, VENOM INC. It is as simple as that.

I saw EMPIRE OF EVIL in Cracow. The gig was awesome. Have you guys finished with the band?

Mantas: No, it’s not finished, no. The new EMPIRE OF EVIL album is actually already recorded. We just need Tony’s bass and vocals. And it is all done. So, hopefully on January 10^th we`ll get the bass and vocals finished off. But the new album is completely finished. All written, recorded, ready to go. So, no, EMPIRE OF EVIL will continue, but the thing is we are so busy with VENOM INC at the moment; this thing just exploded. It’s got its own momentum to it. I mean, directly from here we go and headline at the Malta Doom Festival. After these two finish we`ve got another 8 shows on this tour which is 28 in total. After the Malta Doom we have about 10 days off. And then we go straight to North America. We don’t finish in South America until December the 20^th. So, none of us we`ll stay home for Christmas, really. It’s just going and going. And we`re already booked for Headline Festival in Germany - Metal Assault Festival, January 31. And in February, we`re back to Asia, which is Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia - just everywhere. Also, they`re talking about taking us to Australia and New Zealand as well. So it’s going to be a busy time. It’s just a matter of time. It’s finding the time to record, really. As soon as the album is ready then we`ll be looking at touring again. Don’t know whether it`s going to be Europe or America first, we don’t know. But we have to find the time to do the album. Maybe after Asia or Australia, then we`ll find time to record. It just turned into a touring machine. Which is touring, touring, touring.

When it comes to VENOM`s history, who was responsible for band`s satanic image at its early stage?

Abaddon: We all were. That was something that we all were interested in when we were very young. It is like, you know, when you grow you like this kind of things, you like these dark images, you like these threatening, like, movies and all this kind of stuff. You read books, you read different tracks, and you read things by Crowley and La Vey. And, you know, it`s, we just happen to come from England where people read the same stuff. When we were just interested in this. When we started the first few albums, there was a strong imagery around, you know, the album covers and sleeves and this kind of things. And some of the lyrics as well. But there was other stuff covered as well. VENOM were never about just about satanic imagery, there was also a lot of other stuff in that. But it was something we were all interested in. It is the same we were all interested in different names for ourselves within the band. it ws never like Tony, Jeffery and Conrad. It was about picking imagery, picking stage show, picking theatricals, videos all this kind of things, it was all about being part of that whole thing, that whole crazy, crazy thing. And everybody who says to me: you know when I was 17 or 16, I picked up Welcome to Hell. I was scared, I was frightened about this cover, and I was frightened about this cover about what was in it. And my parents were frightened. But it worked. Whatever we tried to create, it must have worked as everybody talks about it, and everybody remembers it right now.

Did you really believe in what you were saying back then?

Abaddon: Yeah, at the time we did, we believed in the power of self, in the power of how strong we were. And that’s Satanism really. It’s how strong you are as an individual. It’s about self-belief and it’s about promoting yourself and above all, above everything. That’s what the band were into. It’s kind of how we, VENOM snowballed along. How we ever became together. We just believed strongly in ourselves.

How big percentage is self-confidence? This satanic spiritualism…

Abaddon: We never wanted be a like a church of VENOM. Our gigs were just gigs, just heavy metal gigs. We didn’t want to create new followers who would follow us, who would leave Catholicism and become Satanists, just because it was a VENOM show. We won’t promote ourselves as some new church of VENOM. We were never about that.

We are VENOM fans for thirty years as we said before. I would risk to say i would not be myself wouldn’t have met VENOM music when was ten. In England , you were a show, music and some kind of subculture, in Poland, however, you were a fucking cult.

Abaddon: I understand. Do you understand that in Italy and in Spain, and in Brazil and in all of these very strong religious countries, people like you, people of your age were trying to find something else, different toward your parents. Every generation does this. You want to be crazy, you want to be loud, you want to be tattooed, and you want to be pierced. You want to have scarification. Every generations wants something, and is looking for something to kick back against their parents. Alright. So when VENOM comes along with the cover like Welcome to Hell with those lyrics on the back, and with all these tee shirts and all these big stage shows and flames in the background. All kids go: Fucking yeah, that’s it. In all these big religious countries people do it and get it more.

Mantas: What we actually did, we actually said, whether it was through the music, or through the attitude or whatever. We said it is ok to be yourself, you know, be an individual. That`s why the whole black metal thing came around. We alienated ourselves from everybody. We didn’t want to be a part of the mainstream. That was as simple as that.

Abaddon: People still can’t find an answer to the question if VENOM was part of the scene, or VENOM was not part of the scene. It’s a circle that goes around. That’s the question fans ask all the time. Some people say yes, some say no.

Fucking VENOM is VENOM! Hhhahahaha...

Abaddon: Yes, yes!

Demolition Man: Somewhere in time we were born, that’s a lyric in itself, you got to remember that, somewhere in time we were born, sons of Satan. You have to remember that. That’s an exposition of just happening. I am very much like that. The theology of Satanism about individualism. Be good to everybody but if they`re not good to you, you don’t be good back. There is no shame in that. You should not be good to everybody. You don’t need to repent anybody. People do bad to you, do bad back to them. That’s just human nature, isn’t it? But what I said in interviews before, is that VENOM did that nobody did. Everybody was standing against the wall, and VENOM punched a hole through. And everybody followed them through. So they created the hole in the wall that allowed everybody to go through. You went through, you went through, I went through and all the other bands went through. SLAYER went through. METALLICA went through. Everybody joined through. Everybody can go up to the wall and it was oppressive. But they smashed right through it. That’s why it meant so much to us. And we are still today you just find out you for them is still inside you. Because sometimes you lose it. And you think where is it, where is it? And you don’t have it anymore. It is still there. That’s what we want to do with this, what we are doing with VENOM INC. or doing with the shows. It is still there.

ACT II

It’s what I said to one of the guys in the crowd. He is a car engineer. He was a big venom fan and metal fan back in the 80s/90s, as a kid, but he lost it. Because life takes over. But I see him here tonight, twenty years later. And a bunch of guys like him. They were not involved in metal scene for 20 years, but they have come tonight. You are fucking true.

Demolition Man: The only reason that you think it isn’t there is because you don’t have to let it go again. The man who is in the front of you: again, well shit, it’s still here, it’s still here. And that’s our intention to take this to everywhere of the world to go: you still have this moment inside you. You still have this freedom, you still have what you were at the moment. You`re still that person.

As a 8 or 9 year old boy, I got and still have your poster from the Possessed photo session. It was the picture which I found the most satanic issue. Are you still satanic? What it meant to people back in the 80s you don’t fucking understand.

Abaddon: Yeah, we were very aware. The boy is my son. When we set up the photograph session we were aware that it was going to be controversial using kids in heavy metal. Album cover would be controversial. But we thought we could try it.

I mean the back picture,with the horse. Three of youwith wepons.

Abaddon : That was outside the place where we recorded the album. We shot the photograph outside. It was not going to be a poster, but it was always going to be the back of the album. That’s what it was for really. We were tempted to make another dark VENOM image. That’s same what it was the one on the hill with the skulls and this kind of thing. That was just another one to make you look at it and think: fuck, it`s VENOM again. They’re crazy. It’s dark and strong.

Once I bought glasses to look like Abaddon.

Abaddon: Cool.

I looked like Cobra, Sylvester Stallone, Cobra, hahaha. Abaddon are you going to record and release a solo album? How about the line-up?

Abaddon: The new one? No, the previous one was about myself and??? Basically we put it all together. Two of us. The guy called Trever Sool. But this one I am working on with guys who`re in the band, the guitarist and the bassist. It’s going to still have this kind of regimental sound. People call it industrial, I don’t really think it is industrial. I think it’s just another way of looking on hard music, it’s very hard, and it’s very driving. It’s very based around rhythms. The guitars don’t tend to play a lot of solos. They`re very rhythmic. It’s just a case of making thing very direct. Very direct line. But this album has a lot of more guitars, solos and has got two different singers. It’s very different. It was something I was working on, when this came up, and we just had to put on a back burner. We still happens, the guys are still there, and we still enjoy doing it. So how it goes.

Tony, you played in ATOMCRAFT. Did you think about reactivating the band, at least for one gig?

Demolition Man: Every now and again, people ask for a concert. But the actual band with the last line-up we had it is impossible to try to put together. so there is only me really who`s any interest in doing it, really. And I can use other musicians to do it. But I think, I don’t accept offers to do shows; I have done so. But only because I can’t give everybody the lineup they want to see, it is impossible. So do people want to see ATOMCRAFT show, or people want to listen to music or what to see me there with some good musicians? When people ask me if I got time, I just go yeah, coz I just like playing and don’t give a shit what it is. Like Tony and Jeffrey have real musical projects. I have been three quarters through a new album several times. And then I started rewriting. So, there is an album I have been writing; if we ever get time to breathe than I would like to finish a new ATOMCRAFT album. And then would like to do some shows because then it doesn’t matter who`s playing in it. Would be nice at some point, maybe yeah. What we should do is to do a tour, where we open for ourselves, we are the support bands, then we are the next support bands and we close the show. So just three of us doing the whole show, playing in four bands. Yes, it would be nice.

I would like to ask about the vocalist. It’s a fragile question, I know. Any feelings about that?

Demolition Man: Conrad decided he didn’t want to carry on after Calm before the Storm in VENOM, so he left. And Abaddon wanted to continue. And he talked to me, he talked to Jeff. Jeff came back. Because we always worked well together. Abaddon talked to me: you know, would you be interested in working with him, with him? Playing VENOM. I was like: fuck yeah. You know I didn’t consider I was like stepping into somebody`s big shoes. It is like, to you it`s Cronos, to me it’s Conrad. It’s just Conrad. It’s like you two. Wow it`s Cronos wow, wow. I`ve known him enough. It’s just him. To me it’s like that. So to me when you’re asking, you`re asking from your perspective. From my perspective well, I don’t have the same perspective. For me it was fuck yeah, let’s do it. That’s how it sort of happened. There was no preconceptions, just do it. We did the album. And Cronos thought we were going to suck, because he wasn’t there. Everybody thought it wasn’t going to be a VENOM album, because Cronos is not there. And the album did really well. That was a really good album. Everybody was surprised. Until we decided not to. But that was again, because everybody of us, sonically and musically, of what we were doing in business, just was too busy. We decided to do what we wanted to do. So it wasn’t like: you`re a cunt and you`re a cunt, fuck that and fuck that. That’s a natural stop. Let’s just carry on. Now, we realized that was a natural pause, not a stop, just a pause. We didn’t reinvent our thing. We come back together and we do it again. And this time it feels like we`re 16, like it is 1981, we feel so fresh. And the response from the people was so real: it’s like wow! We`re not trying to control it. It’s not contrived. We`re not doing that for money. We didn’t have any backdrops tonight. A few weeks ago somebody said you don’t have any backdrops. Did you not know who we were? Well, I know who it was, so why do you need a backdrop? I need a tattoo with my name Tony on my forehead. Why? What we need is black the lights out. You and me an them. That’s all we need. We just need the music. If it touches your soul that’s what you ever need. Bones, pyros, backdrop and lights - it’s all created. But if the music doesn’t touch your soul, it’s pointless.

Did you get it tonight?

Demolition Man: From this audience, absolutely, yes. It was magic. Every night was magic, especially in Poland. The feedback from the audience is huge, if we don’t get feedback we cannot do it. Because you try to throw fish against a wall and see what`s on the other side.

I fucking freaked out.

That was great. You inspire us, when we make eye contact it tells me to try harder because we made this contact. You know, when you catch their eyes, it is like you`re catching people. And you know you`re looking into each other. That’s what music is all about. Everybody can go to the concert and buy a ticket and say it was lovely.

That’s fucking spirit

Without the spirit there is nothing. And that’s what we want. That spirit.

We could continue all night long, but you should go to bed. Tony, you were one of the first vocalist in a metal band, with short hair. Any problems because of that? In ATOMCRAFT you had long hair.

Demolition Man: Never. Never. Part of the reason is exactly that: it’s like non-conformist. When you shouldn’t have shaved your head in a heavy metal band, I shaved my head. How much more rebellious can you be, to be the most rebellious band on the planet? Shave your head when you`re not supposed to. Who gives a fuck? And again it’s amounting. If you`re standing on the stage and thinking: they haven’t got a pretty backdrop, they haven’t got any pyros, they`ve not got this and that, he`s got his head shaved, he’s wearing glasses, he’s doing this. Than well we’re doing it wrong. Well, because what should happen is: you should go and bang! That’s all what need to be happening. You`re in the moment, you`re out and it`s finished. And you`re – fucking hell, I feel alive that’s what it’s about. It’s not about hair and all this bullshit. Not about limousine, and that’s nice, or hotels, and that’s nice. Big shows are nice. Full audience, it’s nice. But if you go on stage and the audience isn’t full if there is 5000 people and it’s got only 100 people, do you not go on stage? Because there is only 100 people? Fuck it. That was 5000 thousand. No, when we play the same for 20 like we play for 20000 as on Wacken... you get exactly the same we have. Everything we have. Everything we have to give, you get. That’s what we are, who we are. Real genuine. It’s about your spirit and your spirit.

Mantas, you used to wear kimono. Did you use to deal with karate? You still do?

Mantas: Excuse me, I am losing my voice. Basically, I`ve trained in the martial arts since I was ten years old. My voice is gone. Drink some water! Fucking hell, this is gone. The three main arts are: aikido, taekwondo and free style kickboxing. And martial arts in 19 years. I was a chief instructor there. Fuck, this is gone. I have always had an affinity with Japan. I have always been interested in the place, and its history and culture and everything about it. The martial arts have always been a huge part of my life. Always. Fucking hell, I am going to leave after the interview now. But, yeah, I still train now. I hold three black belts, aikido, taekwondo and free style kickboxing. I was the chief instructor there and chief examiner in north east of England. And I only gave up the gym in 2009. I had a gym for 19 years. I gave it up because snapped my Achilles tendon, which is a really bad injury. Now I live in Portugal with a son, so I can train. I do my own training. I don’t train as serious as I used to. When I look at my life there are two things that I really love: martial arts and music. These`ve been huge part of my life... They shaped me, you know. I suppose they disciplined me and gave me that drive and that focus. Because in the music industry you get the door slammed in your face so many times. I think for the music industry, really it is 10 percent talent and 90 per cent determination and perseverance. And what this is here: perseverance, determination, commitment and no fear. That what I live by. That’s what I like to think I live by. Everything that I do I like to think I commit myself 150 per cent. If not more. Whether it is music or the martial arts. And as I said I have been very lucky with both. They gave me a great life. Both of them. And I am not happy… I think I’ll fuck off to bed.

Are you guys going to re-release Prime Evil or Temples of Ice with Tony?

Abaddon: It is in the disagreement at the moment. Because the label that we did it for, sold all their back catalog to Sanctuary and Sanctuary then released the Cronos VENOM albums. And he, Cronos is trying to change history. He is trying to say these albums Prime Evil or Temples of Ice, he is trying to bury them, stop them from being re-released. I have tried to ask: can I buy them back to release them. The old management have asked. Tony Dullen has asked. All the time there is a block on those albums. And it’s only by Cronos. He doesn’t want them released. He doesn’t want them to be part of the VENOM history. But they are. He wasn’t in a band for ten years. 10 years of no Cronos in band. He is not VENOM.

Future plans and how did you like the Polish audience?

Abaddon: Brilliant, absolutely fucking amazing. As you know I think, we`ve been all over Europe, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium. It’s been fantastic but Polish audience are old-school. They`re just old-school. And we`re old-school VENOM. They totally get it. They`re Receptive to the other bands we had we us. It worked well, and the Polish audience is amazing, totally fucking amazing. Thank you for that.

Thank you guys.

Interview conducted by Ireneusz Woszczyk & Igor Górewicz:

Concert shots by Ireneusz Woszczyk

Transcribed by Paweł Wojtowicz