There are metal bands, and then there’s Venom—they group that launched the concept of Black Metal and lit the match that ignited into a worldwide scene. Since clawing their way out of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1979, Venom have cast a long, shadowy influence over extreme metal, with their early records pretty much writing the DNA of it. Now, more than four decades later, they return with their sixteenth studio album Into Oblivion, and a record akin to a war cry that echoes across eras. Reuniting the classic lineup of Cronos, Rage, and Dante, it’s their first new material since 2018’s Storm The Gates. And don’t worry, time hasn’t done anything to dull their edge; if anything, they’ve mutated into something even nastier.

Across thirteen tracks, Into Oblivion doesn’t ignore the familiar Venom blueprint of vicious riffs, hellish hooks, and a sense that the whole thing might collapse into chaos at any moment. There’s an obvious tension between their raw, early-’80s sound and a more modern touch. But it’s evolution without feeling like aging, and the ability to refine what they do without surrendering their ethos. The first single, “Lay Down Your Soul,” comes storming through the gates with the speed of the fifth horseman who was left behind but determined to catch the other four. It’s a moment that nods to their past while kicking open the door for a new generation of metalheads, a way of dragging the past into the present and setting it ablaze all over again.

The road to Into Oblivion wasn’t exactly smooth. Pandemic delays, recording setbacks, and the band’s own relentless standards stretched the process over years. But that doesn’t burden down the record, it does the opposite, giving it a feeling of urgency with ferocity. Cronos has described the album as a test of limits, while Rage points to its balance of familiarity and surprise—no two tracks alike, yet all part of the same infernal machine. What makes Into Oblivion hit harder than expected is the chemistry. Dante credits it to something simple but rare: friendship and mutual respect, the kind that survives decades in a scene built on intensity.

Venom’s early records—Welcome To Hell and Black Metal—didn’t just influence bands like Metallica, Behemoth, Celtic Frost, and Mayhem, they rewired heavy music’s possibilities. With Into Oblivion, they prove they’re not done rewriting the rules—they’re just carving them deeper.