Jeffrey Dunn
Dunn with Venom Inc. at Metal Frenzy Open Air 2019
Dunn with Venom Inc. at Metal Frenzy Open Air 2019
Background information
Also known asMantas
Born (1961-04-22) 22 April 1961
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1979–present
Member of
Formerly of

Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn (born 22 April 1961) is a British guitarist best known as one of the founding members of the heavy metal band Venom, with which he played as a guitarist from 1979 to 1985 and 1989 to 2002. He currently plays in Venom Inc. alongside fellow former Venom member bassist/vocalist Tony Dolan and drummer Jeramie Kling.

Career after Venom

In 1986, Dunn left Venom to form the band Mantas which has recorded two full-length albums, Winds of Change in 1988 and Zero Tolerance in 2004. In 1992, he played guitars for Warfare, a NWOBHM band from the United Kingdom.

In 2006, Mantas toured with German hardcore techno act Scooter in Germany as an additional member on guitar;[1] he admitted being apprehensive about the job, as he wasn't a fan of Scooter's music, but admitted to greatly enjoying the tour.[2]

In 2007, he worked with the band Dryll.[3] In 2009, he guested on German metalcore band Last One Dying's debut album The Hour of Lead and released the Dryll EP Digital Surgery which was available at live shows only.

In 2010, Dunn and former Venom members Antony "Antton" Lant (drums; brother of Venom frontman Conrad "Cronos" Lant) and Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan (bass, vocals) formed a band, initially called Primevil and then M-pire of Evil. In 2015, the Venom '89/'90 line-up of Dunn, Dolan and Bray reunited for a concert at the Keep It True festival in Germany, which was the start of what became the band Venom Inc., which released the album Avé in 2017 and toured extensively. The year after, Bray was replaced by Kling.

Dunn played guitar on the track "Hold On" by Scott Michael Cavagan (2019).

Other projects

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, Dunn became active on the social media platform Facebook, releasing tutorial videos of how to play many Venom and Venom Inc. songs. This later developed into livestreams, usually twice a week (Monday and Friday nights), first on his private Facebook page, later on his official Jeff Mantas Dunn page. These livestreams transmissions are referred to as "GRTV", an in-joke that started off due to a glitch that repeatedly stated "Gareth Richards is watching".

In February 2021, Dunn launched a Jeff Mantas page on Patreon. 25% of the profits goes to a local cat and dog sanctuary and his own cat sanctuary, both in Portugal, where Dunn currently resides.

Personal life

In May 2018, Dunn underwent emergency heart surgery (double bypass) in Lisbon following a life-threatening incident.[4]

On August 27 2023, Jeff announced that his wife is battling cancer. He stated he will remain beside her “Until a course of treatment is decided by the Oncologist” Jeff stated that he will fulfill the remainder of festivals up until September 3rd at which he will cease touring until further notice. [5]

Equipment

  • CSL Flying V
  • Ibanez Roadstar with Hardrock'r tremolo system[6][7]
  • Ibanez RG (Black Finish)
  • Ibanez RG (Blue Finish)
  • Ibanez Xiphos (Black Finish)
  • Steinberger Synapse (Black Finish)
  • Ibanez Destroyer DT 555 (Black Finish with White Pickups)

Mantas now uses Caparison guitars.

Discography

Mantas with M-pire of Evil in 2014

With Venom

With Mantas

  • Winds of Change (1988)
  • Deceiver (single, 1988)
  • Zero Tolerance (2004)

With Dryll

  • Digital Surgery (EP, 2009)

With M-pire of Evil

  • Creatures of the Black (EP, 2011)
  • Hell to the Holy (2012)
  • Crucified (2013)

With Venom Inc.

  • Avé (2017)
  • There's Only Black (2022)

With Warfare (as guest)

  • Noise, Filth and Fury (EP, 1984)
  • Pure Filth (1984)
  • A Conflict of Hatred (1988)

With The Mugshots (as guest)

  • Children of the Night / The Call (maxi single, 2021)

References

  1. ↑ "SCOOTER-Fans feiern Mantas ab - News". Powermetal.De. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Jeff Mantas with Serena Fox for TotalRock @ Bloodstock 2022" – via www.youtube.com.
  3. ↑ "Dryll's Myspace Page". Jeff Dunn. 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  4. ↑ "Original VENOM Guitarist JEFF 'MANTAS' DUNN Is Recovering After Successful Heart Surgery". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  6. ↑ "Ibanez Rules 1983-84 US Catalog". ibanezrules.com. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "new wave of british heavy metal". new wave of british heavy metal. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
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