Fan-filmed footage of Venom taking the stage on June 5 at the 2026 Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden, has surfaced online, capturing the black metal pioneers delivering a blistering set of classics and live debuts.
The festival appearance closely follows the release of Venom‘s sixteenth studio album, Into Oblivion, which arrived on May 1 via Noise and BMG. The record marks the band’s first collection of new material since 2018’s Storm The Gates and features the established trio of bassist and vocalist Conrad “Cronos” Lant, guitarist Stuart Dixon, and drummer Danny Needham.
Described as a blend of their signature heavy, evil 1980s sound with a modern, progressive edge, the thirteen-track Into Oblivion faced a lengthy development process. Recording setbacks and the global pandemic delayed the release, but the group remained dedicated to perfecting the music.
Currently, the live circuit features three separate iterations of the Venom legacy. In addition to Lant‘s current lineup, founding members Jeff “Mantas” Dunn and Anthony “Abaddon” Bray recently reunited to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the 1981 debut Welcome To Hell at various 2026 European festivals, including Germany’s Keep It True. Meanwhile, Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan continues to lead Venom Inc., honoring the era from 1989 to 1992 when he fronted the group and recorded Prime Evil, Temples Of Ice, and The Waste Lands.
The shared legacy has recently been the subject of legal disputes. In June 2024, Conrad “Cronos” Lant filed a lawsuit against Anthony “Abaddon” Bray and Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd, alleging copyright infringement over the merchandising of iconic Satanic designs, including goat heads, pentagrams, and inverted crosses. While Bray countersued for ownership, the court ultimately ruled that Lant proved his role as the creator of all but one of the disputed artworks by providing original design sketches, though Bray was granted ownership of the original band logo.
The classic original trio of Dunn, Lant, and Bray produced the genre-defining studio albums Welcome To Hell, Black Metal, At War With Satan, and Possessed, as well as the 1986 live album Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Their catalog cemented their status as massive influences on heavy metal giants like Metallica, Behemoth, Celtic Frost, and Mayhem.
During their explosive Sweden Rock Festival appearance, Venom treated the crowd to four live debuts from Into Oblivion alongside their historic anthems.
Venom 2026 Sweden Rock Festival Setlist (via Setlist.fm):
- “Lay Down Your Soul” (Live debut)
- “Welcome To Hell“
- “Bloodlust“
- “In Nomine Satanas“
- “One Thousand Days In Sodom“
- “Long Haired Punks“
- “Buried Alive“
- “Into Oblivion” (Live debut)
- “As Above So Below” (Live debut)
- “Kicked Outta Hell” (Live debut)
- “Countess Bathory“
- “Warhead“
- “Black Metal“
Into Oblivion tracklist:
- “Into Oblivion”
- “Lay Down Your Soul”
- “Nevermore”
- “Man & Beast”
- “Death The Leveller”
- “As Above So Below”
- “Kicked Outta Hell”
- “Legend”
- “Live Loud”
- “Metal Bloody Metal”
- “Dogs Of War”
- “Deathwitch”
- “Unholy Mother”
