CRONOS, born Conrad Thomas Lant, needs no introduction to those versed in the dark arts. As the hulking, snarling frontman of VENOM, Cronos, alongside Abaddon and Mantas, paved the way musically, aesthetically and lyrically for extreme music, be that the demonic hordes of Black Metal that followed, or plain ole Thrash Metal.
Following the mind – boggling satanic trifecta of 1981’s Welcome to Hell, 1982’s Black Metal and 1984’s At War With Satan, as well as 1985’s Possessed, saying that cracks had started to form within VENOM would be an understatement. In 1986, Mantas left the band, pursuing his namesake heavy metal / AOR project. Consequently, VENOM’s next album, 1987’s Calm Before The Storm needed someone to fill the guitar slot. Said slot was filled two – fold, with the addition of guitarists Jim Clare and Mike “Mykus” Hickey.
Remember those cracks I mentioned? In 1988, it was Cronos’ turn to leave the band and in doing so, he took both Clare and Hickey with him. Upon exiting VENOM, Cronos decided to start his own band, aptly named… CRONOS. The addition of drummer Chris Patterson completed the newly – born project’s lineup.
All of this brings us up to date in regards to this here review’s point of interest; Dancing In The Fire, CRONOS’ maiden discographic voyage. For the first time since being released by NEAT Records back in 1990, CRONOS – Dancing In The Fire is being reissued on CD, by Cherry Red Records. The reissue, which naturally includes CRONOS’ five – and – a – half minute cover of At War With Satan (a CD – only bonus track during the record’s original release), is accompanied by a booklet adorned with a brand new interview by guitarist Jim Clare as well as plenty of rare CRONOS – era photos from his personal collection.
Circling back to Cronos’ last album with VENOM (at least at that point), Calm Before The Storm marked an attempt by the band to shift their sound, from the unhinged hellscape that it was, to a more mainstream approach. Admittedly, the end result wound up somewhat confused, with one foot on the VENOM of old and the other on the more traditional metal sounding experimentations and new lyrical themes.
Dancing In The Fire is Cronos unshackled by the expectations brought on by the VENOM banner, and the result of his now unhindered experimentations with a different sound. The album is very much a product of its time, which the production reflects; clean, but not overly polished. A fundamental difference one instantly notices, is that on this record Cronos actually sings. And not the type of snarling, unhinging “singing” he does with VENOM either; here he actually hits notes! He does a rather good job at it as well, while maintaining his personal character.
This change is in tune with the sound of the album, which generally moves in a mixture of traditional 80s heavy / power and thrash. Fantasia, Terrorize, Speedball and Painkiller are all around up – tempo catchy, headbanging tracks. Same goes for Hell To The Uknown, which for me carries some of the best riffs here. The straight up evil and sleazy Old Enough To Bleed, one of the record’s harshest compositions, definitely feels like a VENOM callback, as does Vampyr.
The album also offers the first looks at Cronos attempting a ballad, which he actually does twice; once with I’ll Be Back and once with My Girl (the latter inspired by Cronos going through a break with his then girlfriend). Boobytrap is definitely the most out there in terms of composition as well as production, filled with all sorts of samples and sound effects.
The aforementioned rendition of At War With Satan is not the sole cover on the album, as there is also a cover of THIN LIZZY’s Bad Reputation, obviously with considerably more bite than the original. We also get an instrumental under Chinese Whispers.
The standout track is undoubtedly the title track, Dancing In The Fire. Delightfully catchy, it includes some of Cronos’ best vocal work and is very melodic, borderline aprroaching glam metal vibes.
Thus concludes our foray into Dancing In The Fire : a snapshot of the late 80s – early 90s metal scene, as well as a unique stage in the career of one of metal’s most influential figures.
CRONOS – Dancing In The Fire will be reissued on CD by Cherry Red Records, on the 13th of March, 2026.
