Founding Venom guitarist, Jeff ‘Mantas’ Dunn, announced he’s leaving Venom Inc. for good.
“Greetings my friends, the last few months have been incredibly difficult on every level and to cap it all only a few days ago one of my most beloved cats, Spooky, passed away in front of me after a short but very aggressive illness,” the musician wrote on Facebook.
He continued, “I was with him every step of the way. After I suffered the second heart attack the outpouring of love and concern from you guys via a multitude of messages and calls has been overwhelming and a simple thank you seems so insignificant. So my friends it is now time to address the situation.”
“I wish to inform you all that I will not be returning to Venom Inc. Obviously my health and wellbeing are of paramount importance to myself and my family, however, there are also more personal issues which have influenced my decision,” Dunn added in his message.
The rocker further shared, “To be absolutely clear, I will not be appearing at any advertised shows. On a far more positive note, there is new music and a return to social activity on its way. As I have said so many times, music is my therapy, my release, and my connection with all of you who have supported me over the years, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”
“So here’s to Cats and Heavy Metal. I will see you all soon my friends, Much love and respect, Jeff,” Jeff concluded the post.
In May, Dunn revealed he had another heart attack. The guitarist, who lives with his wife in Portugal, had a heart attack before and had double bypass surgery in May 2018.
Mantas missed Venom Inc.’s fall 2023 U.S. tour after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Mike Hickey filled in for him on the tour. Venom Inc. is different from the version of Venom led by Conrad ‘Cronos’ Lant, who continues to tour and release music with Rage on guitar and Danté on drums.
