ALBUM REVIEW
RAZORVOID – Into the Void
Speed, violence, punk and metal collide.
The first thing I felt while listening to RAZORVOID’s Into the Void was this: This album is aggressive and absolutely reeks of testosterone. The fast guitars, aggressive vocals and drums constantly pushing forward hit with such force that it feels like they’re about to unleash all their violence on you. There’s no intention of playing nice here. That doesn’t seem to be what the band is about anyway.
RAZORVOID formed in 2021 and set about melting their love of old-school death metal, thrash, d-beat punk and traditional heavy metal into the same pot. The Motörhead, Anti-Cimex and Repugnant references the band themselves have given make a lot more sense as you listen to the album. But to my ears, it doesn’t stop with those three names. The influence of Hellripper, Hellbutcher, Nifelheim and Midnight is also clearly audible. The blackened heavy metal side in particular forms the album’s darker face, while the guitars veering into speed metal territory keep the tempo consistently high.
The drums play an important role in keeping the album alive. Punk-driven beats don’t just make the songs faster; they give them a sense of constant motion. The guitars, meanwhile, are razor blades in their own right. Sharp, aggressive and never softening when there’s no reason to. And it doesn’t stop at death metal riffs, either. At times, sections reminiscent of early RAZOR’s speed/thrash aggression come in, adding even more flavor to the album.
Photo by: Max Ljungberg
The solos are one of the things I particularly enjoyed. Because the guitars aren’t just providing accompaniment here; they’re flat-out screaming heavy metal. When that old-school approach to solos merges with the album’s blackened and death metal side, the result is pretty filthy but just as damn cool. Blasphemic Assault, meanwhile, stands apart. In some sections, I got the feeling that the song wasn’t written by RAZORVOID at all, but by early-era METALLICA. It’s these kinds of little touches that keep the album from being merely a fast and aggressive record.
The Motörhead reference is absolutely spot-on, too. In fact, I think it’s an important reference point for understanding the roots the band draws from. Because this isn’t simply about playing metal; it’s about an approach where speed, punk, a rock’n’roll attitude and filth all come together. What RAZORVOID are doing actually resembles what many bands have been doing in recent years by melting speed, blackened heavy metal and similar strains into the same pot. They take the old sounds they love, mix them together and put them back in front of us.
But I don’t see anything wrong with that. Quite the opposite, Into the Void is, to me, an album that puts the legacy of the past back on record. They aren’t chasing innovation. They aren’t trying to invent a new genre. They take the legacy left by those who came before them and set it alight again with their own energy. Sometimes that’s exactly what needs to be done. Take the music you love, put your own spirit into it and play it all the way through.
By the time we reach the final stretch of the album, you expect the energy to drop, but that never happens. White Death and Jaws of Perdition close the album with the same aggression. RAZORVOID don’t let off the gas until the final whistle. Its runtime of just over 35 minutes fits the album perfectly in that respect. It never drags unnecessarily, nor does it leave you thinking, “I wish it had lasted a little longer.”
In short, don’t come here looking for innovation. Into the Void didn’t come to teach you a new musical language. It takes that old spirit you already know and love and smacks you right in the face with it. There’s speed, violence, punk, speed metal, blackened heavy metal and old-school death metal. And on top of that come razor-sharp guitars and solos screamed at the top of their lungs.
Listen to it with plenty of beer. Everything you need to get yourself fired up is right here. Enjoy the moment, turn it up and leave the rest to RAZORVOID.
See you in the mosh pit.
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