Even though we had to wait five long years since VENOM’s last EP, “Pentagram” from 2021, to return to a full-length album, there is no doubt that there is one and only one VENOM and that they fucking rule! To speak of VENOM today, in 2026, with this new album called “Into Oblivion”, is to look straight into the mirror of what made us love this demon that came into the world 46 years ago to spread the plague of devil worship and that no one will ever be able to equal. As soon as I started playing this new blasphemy, I immersed myself in a satanic spiral that shows no contemplations and seeks only one thing: for you to surrender to the evil one. What else is VENOM for? With the first track, called ‘Into Oblivion’, like the album, VENOM strikes the table making it clear who is in charge here. It is incredible how, after almost five decades, they maintain that ability to sound raw, dirty and completely stripped of any unnecessary pretension. What we have here is a demonstration of absolute authority; it is the sound of the pioneers reclaiming their throne, the one that always belonged to them. Cronos continues to roar with that hateful voice full of poison that seems to come from the deepest corners of hell, while the rhythmic base is an incessant hammer that wants to crush everything in its path. I got fascinated by the way they structured the tracks, achieving that mix of their old sound to feel organic and VENOM as fuck. And yes, there are reminiscences of primitive VENOM on this album. Not only because a track is called ‘Lay Down Your Soul’, but because this track helps us remember the world where all this comes from. There is no mathematics here, only evil, rebellion and darkness. “Into Oblivion” is an album that doesn’t need permission to enter your ears; it simply kicks the door down and leaves you with that feeling of euphoria that only a band like VENOM can make you feel. You can tell that the musicians are still drinking from the same sulfur ocean as always, but with a maturity that only the years on the highway to devil can grant. It is a dense album, elevated with an atmosphere that smells of old leather and clandestine smoke and spikes, reminding us that the true spirit of those who created Black Metal does not reside in speed for speed’s sake, but in that unwavering attitude of not yielding to anyone and of annihilating the sacred without any mercy. Without any doubt, “Into Oblivion” is a piece that continues the legacy of a band that not only invented a genre, but continues to be its most authentic representation. You’ve got to listen to this album! More information here: www.facebook.com/officialvenomband, www.facebook.com/noiserecordslebt