Original Venom drummer Anthony “Abaddon” Bray is gearing up for a massive celebration of the band’s legacy in 2026. In a new interview with “Almarok,” the musician revealed detailed plans to reunite with fellow founding member Jeff “Mantas” Dunn to honor the 45th anniversary of their seminal debut, Welcome To Hell.
However, this will not be a traditional reunion tour. Instead, Abaddon describes the upcoming run as a series of exclusive festival appearances designed to feel like a “big party” for the heavy metal community. Confirmed stops already include Germany’s Keep It True festival and Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting.
“2026, we’re going to Keep It True [festival], myself and Mantas, with guest musicians,” Abaddon explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “Since we’ve announced that… we’ve had a lot of people come in and agencies and promoters come in and say, ‘Will you do this in Belgium?’ ‘Will you do this in France?’ ‘Will you do this in Australia?’ So, yeah, that’s what we’re doing.”
The drummer clarified that the project will rely heavily on a rotating cast of high-profile guest stars rather than a fixed lineup.
“It’ll always be myself and Mantas with a guest vocal[ist]-bassist, and with other guests — whoever’s available… We’re working with Tom [Angelripper] from Sodom. We’ll be working with Mille [Petrozza from Kreator], Schmier [from Destruction], Tom Warrior [of Celtic Frost] — all these people are gonna come up and do some Venom songs with us. Basically, it’s not like a band; it’s like a big party.”
While the 2026 dates will focus on Welcome To Hell, Abaddon noted that the celebrations will continue in subsequent years to mark the 45th anniversaries of Black Metal and At War With Satan.
During the interview, Abaddon also offered a controversial take on the band’s discography. When asked to name the album he is most proud of, he bypassed the classic trio of records featuring frontman Conrad “Cronos” Lant and instead selected 1989’s Prime Evil, which featured Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan on vocals and bass.
“My favorite album — I’ve always said this — my favorite album will always be Prime Evil,” Abaddon stated. “I really like Prime Evil, and I liked it because at that time I had a recording studio and I had my equipment set up, and that was the best album that I played on because I had as much time as I needed.”
He credited the smooth production process and his relationship with engineer Kevin Ridley for his preference, noting that he “didn’t struggle with anything” during the sessions.
This renewed collaboration between Abaddon and Mantas follows a period of complex legal and personal history within the Venom camp. The original trio—Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon—has not performed together in decades. Cronos currently continues to tour and record under the official Venom name, a right he secured following legal disputes over the trademark years ago. Meanwhile, Mantas and Dolan formed Venom Inc. in 2015, a project Abaddon was initially part of before departing in 2018 due to personal conflicts and management issues.
Recently, however, bridges appear to have been mended between the drummer and guitarist. On November 30, Mantas and Abaddon reunited on stage at the Shinjuku Antiknock in Tokyo, Japan. The duo performed three Venom classics backed by members of Japanese metal bands Sabbat, Sigh, Metalucifer, and Abigail, setting the stage for the larger celebrations planned for 2026.
