The history of Venom Inc. goes back to April 2015, when the band Mpire of Evil (with former Venom members Jeffrey Dunn and Tony Dolan) played at Keep It True [de] festival in Germany.[1] 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,[1] although Dunn and Bray had not spoken to each other for around 20 years. This spontaneous action led to the formation of Venom Inc., which consisted of the Venom line-up from 1989 to 1992: Dunn as guitarist, Dolan as singer and bassist and Bray as drummer.
The group's debut album, Avé, was released in August 2017 by Nuclear Blast.[2] "Dein Fleisch" and "Ave Satanas" were released as singles. In the same year, the band performed at MetalDays,[3] among others. At the end of April 2018, Dunn suffered a heart attack, which resulted in a brief cardiac arrest. He underwent double bypass surgery and has since recovered.[4] The band later revealed that Bray did not actually play drums on Avé and that they used a drum machine instead.[5][6]
Bray took a break from band activities in early 2018 due to the birth of his daughter.[7] However, in September 2018, he announced that he would not be returning to the band. During his break, he had learned that he had been fired and Jeramie Kling would now be the band's new drummer.[8]
The band released their second studio album, There's Only Black, in September 2022.[9] In November 2023, Kling parted ways with the band due to "logstical reasons".[10] He was replaced by Marc "JXN" Jackson in April 2024, previously of associated act Mpire of Evil.[11]
In a 2017 Rock Hard interview, Tony Dolan stated that Venom Inc. was more than just a cover band, and that they want to experiment and surprise with songs like "Dein Fleisch".[12] In the same issue, Thomas Kupfer reviewed Avé, stating that the album is not for "music snobs", but offers "rowdy noise orgies".[13] Stephan Möller from Metal.de also reviewed the album and stated that it can be categorised somewhere between the first wave of black metal as well as speed metal and thrash metal. This brought the term "black 'n' roll" and a Motörhead comparison to his mind. Compared to the Venom albums Black Metal and Welcome to Hell, Venom Inc. sounds a little "rockier" and more like Motörhead. The music also has a more modern feel. Avé is "mature and probably the cleanest album that this constellation of musicians has ever recorded".[2]
