Venom Inc. is no longer down a man, having officially announced a replacement for Jeff “Mantas” Dunn who stepped back from the band earlier this month. The replacement shouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone, however, as it’s former Nevermore and Annihilator guitarist Curran Murphy, who made his live debut with Venom Inc. back in May.
The news broke in a recently posted interview with Murphy for Laughingmonkeymusic (that was transcribed by Blabbermouth) in which he said:
“Officially, with Mantas saying that he’s taking a step back or stepping out, [VENOM INC. bassist/vocalist] Tony [‘Demolition Man’ Dolan] has offered me the position to play guitar for VENOM INC. And I have gleefully accepted.
“This last year has been awesome, all the shows traveling the world with Tony and [drummer Marc] Jackson, and playing these shows and working my ass off to play the stuff right, to play it as close to the record or, in some instances, to play it as close as how Mantas would play it live, to pay that respect,” he continued. “And Tony has asked me to join the band. So I’m absolutely overwhelmed and thrilled to announce that I am the lead guitar player for VENOM INC. It’s wonderful.”
This, of course, leaves Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan as the only former Venom member left in the spin-off group Venom Inc., and Dolan isn’t even an original member of Venom. Meanwhile, the original Venom is still together and also has only one original member. So, um, I guess do with that what you will.