Cronos (band)

Cronos
Origin	Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Heavy metal, thrash metal
Years active	1988–1996
Labels	Neat Metal
Associated acts	Venom, Cathedral, Acid Reign
Past members	Conrad "Cronos" Lant Mike Hickey James Clare Chris Patterson Ian McCormack Mark Ramsey Wharton

Cronos were a United Kingdom-based heavy metal band formed in 1988 by Venom front man Conrad "Cronos" Lant.

Conrad "Cronos" Lant's eponymous band formed after disappointing sales of Venom's Calm Before the Storm album led him to quit Venom. He took with him the two guitarists, Mike Hickey and James Clare, that Venom had hired to replace founding guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn upon his departure in 1986. The three ex-Venom members added drummer Chris Patterson to complete Cronos' initial lineup, releasing Dancing in the Fire in 1990, followed by 1991's Rock n' Roll Disease.

Clare and Patterson both left in the years following, with the latter briefly replaced by drummer Ian McCormack and later by ex-Cathedral and Acid Reign drummer Mark Ramsey Wharton. A third album, Triumvirate, was recorded but never released. Instead, the band released the confusingly-titled Venom in 1995, which collected songs from the first two records, material from Triumvirate, as well as re-recorded Venom material performed by the current Cronos lineup. In 1995, the 'classic' Venom lineup reformed, canceling the release of Triumvirate and sending Cronos (the group) into permanent hiatus. Hickey then embarked on a brief stint touring with the English death metal band Carcass.

Lant has been active with Venom ever since. Hickey also rejoined Venom in 2005, but departed again two years later. Cronos' 2006 Hell to the Unknown double-CD repackages the Venom album with further rarities, demos, and previously released material.

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