Venom's 'Into Oblivion' - Album Review

I know that there is little in this world now that is truly original, but having two albums called Into Oblivion by big-name metal bands dropping within a couple of months of each other seems especially unoriginal. Not that it really matters, as there are plenty of albums out there that share titles, but Lamb of God won 2026's Into Oblivion race when they dropped their latest album back in March (which I reviewed here). Coming in second place, then, are the Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based proto-black/speed metal band Venom - a three-piece that formed back in 1979 and were a vital part of the NWOBHM movement. Looking back, most of the big-hitters of the NWOBHM movement were not especially heavy - often due to thin-sounding productions and a general love of classic rock from all involved. Some bands did push the envelope and introduced darker tones into their sound during the early 1980s, though, and Venom were certainly one of them. Whilst it remains a scrappy release, no-one had heard anything like Welcome to Hell when it dropped in 1981 - and 1982's Black Metal, which built upon the sound of the debut and improved it in essentially every way, practically birthed and named a whole genre. My knowledge of Venom does not really extend beyond those first two albums, though. I have heard 2015's From the Very Depths, too, as I saw the band live at the 2016 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air, but really I can only be called a casual Venom fan - and they are a band that I have often thought that I should make more of an effort with. In truth, they have largely been a band that I have respected rather than truly loved. They are clearly very important in the history of extreme metal, and were doing something pretty revolutionary during the early 1980s, but I have never been a big fan of black metal - so I am less inclined to be interested in Venom's music. Venom do not play black metal in the modern sense, despite their association with the genre, but their fast-paced songs, pseudo-Satanic imagery, raw production, and punkish edge are all things that later fed into the black metal genre - and at the time they just sat at the extreme end of the NWOBHM movement. I cannot say that I was especially impressed with the band live, either. Venom have not played in the UK since that 2016 festival appearance - and it was also their first UK show since 2006. They clearly have little interest in playing in their own country - and I remember that band founder Conrad 'Cronos' Lant spent much of the set complaining that they were not playing at the bigger Download Festival instead. I cannot imagine that went down well with the Bloodstock team - and his attitude seemed really poor considering the size of the crowd he was still playing to. Perhaps, as a result, there is actually little interest when it comes to promoters booking them here in the UK, rather than the band having little interest in playing here. This aside, though, I still wanted to persevere with Venom - so when their sixteenth studio album dropped earlier this month I decided to give it a go. It is the band's first album in eight years, following 2018's Storm the Gates - and their fourth with the current line-up. Frontman Cronos is the only original member left by this point, with guitarist Stuart 'Rage' Dixon and drummer Danny 'Dante' Needham having been in the band since 2007 and 2009 respectively. The current line-up has been together for quite a while, then, but the band has not exactly been all that prolific in recent times - hence this only being their fourth effort together.

With 13 songs here that clock in at just under 44 minutes, nothing really outstays its welcome. Venom have never really shaken things up that much, so Into Oblivion essentially feels exactly how I would expect it to. The band's trashy, dark, fast-paced sound is present and correct - but after a while the songs here all do start to blend into one somewhat. The album gets underway with its title track, which opens with a dark-sounding, and surprisingly epic guitar riff - before quite a melodic intro section takes over. Anyone expecting a more nuanced and melodic sound should not hold out much hope, though, despite these early melodies from Rage, as soon enough Dante lays into his double bass drums and a barrelling riff takes over. This speed metal assault essentially drives the rest of the song. The intro's guitar leads are later returned to during breaks between the chorus and the next verse, which is welcome, but otherwise the song barrels along with a punk pace and some buzzsaw riffing. Cronos never had the greatest of voices, but he still sounds pretty much like his old self here. That part-shouted, part-sneered approach from the early days remains, if a little lower in the register, and he barks his way through the verses and a simple, shout-along chorus here with a good amount of power. Aside from this and the brief melodic sections, the song does not really change - and it essentially sets the tone for what is to follow. Lay Down Your Soul references Black Metal lyrically, with part of the latter's chorus lifted in a bit of a jarring way and incorporated here. Another fast track, this song shows how much of an influence Motörhead were on Venom - with the main guitar riff here feeling like a crunchier version of something Motörhead could have included on one of their earlier albums. The melodic moments from the previous song are gone here, though, and this one is a full-on speed fest. From the off, Dante's drumming is relentless, whilst Rage thrashes away on his guitar and Cronos barks the vocals. The vocal melodies are a bit hookier here, especially during the chorus - and there is a decent energy. A brief guitar solo section does slow the pace somewhat, but otherwise this is a thrashy piece. Nevermore feels a bit crunchier overall. It is more of a mid-paced number, although there is still something of a kinetic energy throughout - largely thanks to a stop-start double bass drum pattern and some more active riffing. There is no real standing on ceremony here, and Cronos starts to sing essentially as the song kicks in. The verses are accented by a couple of big chords, with Rage adding these full stops after each line of lyrics, which does help to provide something of a hook - whilst a later chorus section feels a little more furious. As such, there is a bit more variety pace-wise throughout this number - with slower and faster sections sitting side-by-side. There is also a pretty riffy bridge, which shows that NWOBHM grounding, whilst Rage's solo feels a bit more melodic than is typical. Man & Beast is more of a true mid-paced number. From Dante's count-in, the song really chugs along - sounding quite a bit heavier than anything else heard on the album up to this point. There is a bit of an Accept feel throughout the song, and this is later expanded upon with some repetitive gang vocals that are deployed throughout. These gang vocals give the song a bit of a shout-along feel at times, whilst Cronos utilises the overall slower pace to deliver a creepier overall vocal - with more of a harsh edge that suits the song's crunch.

Death the Leveller returns to the band's classic faster-paced sound. The song's opening riff is a bit more 1980s-sounding, with less of a dark overtone, but the song is typically thrashy and full of all of the classic Venom tropes once it gets going. The verses are pretty furious, then, despite Dante largely leaving his double bass drums alone this time, but there are some little guitar riff accents which return to the more organic opening somewhat. As is generally the case with Venom, too, the chorus is very straight forward. The lyrics are essentially just the song's title shouted a couple of times by Cronos in that gravelled manner he has always utilised. It is easy enough to latch onto, but given that this is typical across the album it does not do a lot to stand out. As Above, So Below is the longest song here, at just under five minutes - so it acts as the album's centrepiece and epic. It does open in a slower manner, with some slow-burning guitar riffs that slowly build in heaviness and volume - whilst Dante begins to add some marching snare drum behind it. This relatively lengthy intro in the context of the album is as about as progressive and stretched out as Venom ever feel here - and much of the song is just typical of the core Venom sound, there is just a bit more of it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pace is not as fast as is often the case - with this track mostly operating at a crunching mid-pace. This allows for the verses to feel a bit longer and riffier - but Cronos' vocal style remains the same as ever, so there is little in terms of variety. There is a bit more time given over to instrumental moments here, though, with a few little riff-led sections jumping out - whilst some more atmospheric moments are used briefly to bridge certain sections, including a fast-paced guitar solo. Kicked Outta Hell picks the pace back up again, but this time the song's main opening riff is allowed to settle in a bit more - and it is one of the best riffs on the album as a result. Many of the riffs here are just chugs or thrashy note patterns, but the riff here is actually much more defined and melodic overall - which means that when the rest of the band are crashing away behind it there is something more to latch into. The whole rest of the song seems to build on this approach, too, and everything here just feels a bit more memorable. The chorus is very similar vocally to everything else here, but the riff behind it really helps - whilst the guitar solo is another that feels a bit more melodic. There is even a bass-led section from Cronos - and this is a song that just feels more well-crafted than most of the other cuts here. Legend slows things down, and opens with an elongated riff that makes the most of a handful of notes and the odd pinch harmonic to create a classically evil sound. Dante's percussive drumming behind the riff is a bit different from the norm, too, and there is a bit more space in the mix overall - which allows Cronos' voice to feel a bit clearer than usual. The chorus and instrumental parts of the song are faster and more typical, with buzzing riffing and faster drumming, but the verses are actually quite groovy - which is not something that can be said about most of this album. Live Loud is much more typical of the album's core sound, with scrappy buzzsaw riffing kicking in from the off - although the use of pinch harmonics is carried over the previous song. It is a much thrashier piece overall, then, aside from the chorus which is a bit more of a plodding affair, and Dante makes good use of his double bass drums again whilst Cronos growls away and Rage lays down some simple riffing.

Metal Bloody Metal is another track which actually has a bit of a groovy feel overall - so it is one of the songs here than stands out a bit more as it does something a bit different. The main chorus is faster, with double bass drumming and quite a tidy riff, elsewhere the song is much more of a headbanger overall. It is quite an easy song to vibe with as a result, and I do like the drumming from Dante quite a lot throughout it. Venom are not a band to showcase virtuoso musicianship at any time really, but Dante does some interesting beats here which gel nicely together - so there is a lot to like about his performance here and the overall hard-driving, mid-paced nature of the piece. Dogs of War is the shortest song here at just over two minutes - so I would have expected something much faster overall. Instead, the song is a strange, mid-paced chug with quite a chaotic overall sound. The main riff has more of a slab-like feel than is typical for the band, but large parts of the song sound quite noisy with whammy-bar screams and other feedback-type noises just filling out the mix as the riff clatters around in the background. There is a strangely industrial feel to parts of the song, then, despite synths or anything of that nature seemingly not featuring - and it is over almost as quickly as it started, kicking the listener with something strange and snaking for a brief period. Deathwitch is much more typical, then, picking the pace back up - with Dante again leading from the front with his double bass drums whilst Rage lays down a chugging riff. This is another song which has a little bit of an Accept vibe at times. It is not as obvious as the example earlier in the album, as the riffing is not as overtly crunchy, but the chorus here boasts plenty of shout-along gang vocal moments which are very much Accept-coded. It is a simple song to latch onto, then, and there are also moments that allow the guitar riffing to shine a little bit more - especially during a later bridge section which leads into a melodic guitar solo. The album then comes to a close with the somewhat more creeping Unholy Mother - a mid-paced number with a snaking opening riff that is allowed to settle in a bit more than is typical. This is not an especially long song, but given the slower pace a bit more time is afforded to instrumental segments here - and the main riff is allowed to shine as a result. Alongside this main riff, there is a bit more of an in-depth vocal arrangement this time - with a bit of a call-and-response approach during parts of the song, which sees Cronos floating around the speakers. There is quite a lengthy guitar solo section, too, but there are parts of the solo which are largely just noise and guitar effects, which is a bit of shame - especially as the album closes out on this solo. It does not feel like an especially fitting climax, but given Venom's scrappy overall nature maybe it does work somewhat. Venom are never going to be a favourite band of mine, they are just too one-note and scrappy for me, but I have still managed to find plenty to enjoy during my recent time with Into Oblivion. There were perhaps a bit more variety than I expected, despite a core sound very much being adhered to, and there was fun to be found in the band's overall quite simplistic and primal approach. I am certainly not going to now go out and get all 16 of Venom's albums, but I do not regret getting this one - even if it will not be in regular rotation.

The album was released on 1st May 2026 via Noise Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Lay Down Your Soul.