VENOM INC., the band featuring original VENOM members Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (drums) alongside ex-VENOM bassist/vocalist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan, has been forced to cancel its appearance at this year's Psycho Las Vegas festival, set to take place August 17-19 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mantas said in a statement: "It is with regret that I must inform you all that myself and VENOM INC. will not be appearing at this years Psycho fest on August 17th. This is due to circumstances completely beyond my control, not least of which being myself having a major heart attack on April 30th, which did in fact take my life, although, fortunately, I was resuscitated and spent the next month in three different hospitals before undergoing a double heart bypass. The other factor, of course, is that of the visa where the timing of this could not have been worse.

"I do not cancel shows, and even now being only 10 weeks into my recovery period, I am doing my utmost to play and perform. However, due to

the unfortunate timing of this period of my life, I have to make my apologies and hope you all understand.

"Please enjoy what I'm sure will be a great festival with great bands and I hope sincerely to see you all very soon."

VENOM INC. will release a three-song 10-inch single, "War", on August 10 through Nuclear Blast. The single's artwork was created by Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, HATEBREED, MACHINE HEAD, BORKNAGAR).

VENOM INC. was born during an impromptu live set at 2015's Keep it True festival in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. The onstage reunion was a rousing success amongst VENOM fans and music industry personnel alike, and although it was originally only set up for fun, Dolan began receiving numerous show offers for VENOM INC. from booking agents around the world. What started as a live set to celebrate VENOM's legacy immediately turned into a serious reunion discussion.

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

VENOM INC.'s debut album, "Avé", was released last August via Nuclear Blast.