There are no words, only a hollow, black rage at the news. Conrad “Cronos” Lant is dead at 63.

If you listen to anything faster, heavier, darker or more hostile than traditional heavy metal, you owe this man a debt you can never fucking repay.

When Venom spat Welcome to Hell into the world in 1981, followed by Black Metal in 1982, they didn’t just push boundaries; they obliterated them. They didn’t care about pristine production, high-art bullshit or polite musicianship. They gave us raw, unadulterated, roaring noise, drenched in filth, Satanism and pure venomous intent.

They helped lay the blueprint for thrash, death metal and black metal. Without Cronos strapped to that bass, roaring into the microphone like a demon dragging itself out of the pit, the history of extreme metal would look very fucking different.

He was the perfect frontman, arrogant, indestructible, larger than life and utterly uncompromising. Venom was a middle finger to the polished metal establishment and a rallying cry for every degenerate who wanted their music fast, dark and dangerous.

To hear that he’s gone, so suddenly after playing stages as recently as this summer, is a goddamn gut punch.

The man may be gone, but the noise he created will echo until the end of the world. Raise a glass, blast Black Metal until your speakers bleed, and scream it to the sky.

Rest in noise, Cronos.

The Legions will never forget.