Total destruction is at hand.
Venom is a name that is often cited as the prime mover in metal’s move from its heavy rock roots into more extreme territory, so much so that the subsequent speed, thrash, death, and black metal movements have all claimed it as their respective godfather.
Yet in the abstract, the best way to understand this proverbial dark horse of the NWOBHM’s unique blend of raw sonic fury and theatricality would be as evil, unchanged by the passage of time and corresponding trends. Comparisons to rock icons and heavy metal forerunners Motörhead become inevitable not only due to the same power trio arrangement, but also due to a similar dedication to no frills speed and aggression that lands them in a darker yet still noticeably comparable sound.
And in the same respect as the former being cited as a key bridge between heavy rock and the NWOBHM, Venom’s nastier sonic result provides the link between the aforementioned early 80s British metal explosion and its uglier extreme progeny, and that key place in metal’s formative evolution remains on full display more than 40 years later on their 16th and latest studio release, Into Oblivion.
Though the years have seen numerous lineup shifts since this proto-blackened institution came raging out of Newcastle in 1979, a sense of stability has endured since 2011’s Fallen Angels and a corresponding modern chemistry in an otherwise primordial metallic template. Spearheaded by the glassy bass work and gritty, occasionally guttural snarl of founder and helmsman Cronos, the trio, rounded out by the raging riffs of aptly named John “Rage” Dixon and the rapid-fire kit work of drummer Danny “Dante” Needham put on a display fiery enough to rival many of their death and black metal descendants.
The precise and often flashy character of Rage’s guitar solos and his propensity for mixing things up in the rhythm department play a pivotal role in bringing this beast from the glory days of analog recording into the present, sometimes to the point of channeling some of the stylistic quirks of post-80s black and death metal in the process. Yet when the rubber of this motorcycle from hell hits the road of perdition, the slovenly spirit that originally made Venom a force to be reckoned with endures in every single note played.
In contrast to the often expansive and long-winded character that has come to define much of modern metal, Into Oblivion maintains Venom’s underground credentials while sticking to a concise and to-the-point approach to songwriting. Bludgeoning speed demons with a tall side order of thrash-like riffing such as the opening foray and title anthem “Into Oblivion” and the occasionally doom-steeped and dissonant yet raging “As Above, So Below” stand as the only two entries in this 13 chapter sonic kill fest to go past the 4 minute mark, and both of them manage to cram a good deal of death and black metal oriented ideas into durations that would still pass for terrestrial radio.
On the shorter side of things, the barely 2 minutes long mid-paced crusher “Dogs Of War” is the only offering of the lot that feels fleeting, to the point of almost being a nod to the crossover formula, save all the gratuitous pinch harmonics coming from Rage’s guitar like he’s signed onto a slam project. On the other hand, the generally mid-tempo crusher “Deathwitch” listens like a slower and more diabolical twist on a late 80s British thrash offering, while the quirky progressive entry “Legend” sees the guitars and drums channeling elements of Death’s Human.
The eclectic yet consistently traditional character of this album could almost be likened to a father reminding his progeny where they got their sound from while also paying homage to how much further they took things. One can’t help but notice how the synchronicity between Cronos’ jagged shouts and the dissonant riffs streaming from Rage’s guitar on “Live Loud” resembles something Darkthrone might have dabbled in over the past decade, while the otherworldly atmospheric melancholy brought on by a droning keyboard line at the onset of “Unholy Mother” and its subsequently haunting display heavily parallels several seminal 90s black metal offerings out of Scandinavia and Greece.
The uncompromising punch and flashy detailing of “Kicked Outta Hell” could have easily traded blows with the heavy hitters of the Teutonic thrash explosion of the mid-80s. Yet through it all, the anthem that ends up injecting the most charm into things is the overt throwback to Venom’s too fast for heavy metal early years “Death The Leveler”, showcasing that classic blend of Judas Priest flash and Motörhead grittiness like it never went out of style.
It’s a fool’s errand to draw qualitative comparisons between any subsequent album by any band with that of revolutionary acts of studio-created mayhem like Venom’s unholy first trinity of releases in Welcome To Hell, Black Metal, and At War With Satan, respectively. But as far as this outfit’s studio efforts in the years since, and particularly following their mid-2000s reformation, Into Oblivion is a standout offering that proves equally accessible to the old school purists who don’t want anything overly polished and younger trustees of extreme metal that aren’t immediately drawn to the Persian Flaws that often come with an early 80s production.
Like many of the greats that have been at the game for more years than they were alive before taking it up, this is not a band that is simply standing still or living entirely off the glory of their past, but has seen fit to balance a controlled stylistic evolution with sticking to their guns.
In an age where metal is often defined by a fragmented collection of rivaling and clearly defined styles, Venom remains at a crossroads where one can find a little of just about everything.
Release Date: May 1st, 2026
Record Label: Noise/BMG
Genre: Thrash / Speed / Black Metal
Musicians:
- Conrad “Cronos” Lant / Bass, vocals
- John “Rage” Dixon / Guitars
- Danny “Dante” Needham / Drums
Into Oblivion Tracklist:
- Into Oblivion
- Lay Down Your Soul
- Nevermore
- Man & Beast
- Death The Leveller
- As Above So Below
- Kicked Outta Hell
- Legend
- Live Loud
- Metal Bloody Metal
- Dogs Of War
- Deathwitch
- Unholy Mother
Order the album here.
Into Oblivion proves that Venom still has a legitimate claim to the throne they built: raw, punishing, and sharp enough to draw blood from both old guard diehards and extreme metal converts alike. Forty-plus years in, they remain a band at the crossroads of everything heavy, and that's exactly where they belong
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Songwriting
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Musicianship
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Originality
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