Clouded with nihil and driven to batwing stretching menace the bugged n’ bulging eyes of Gothenburg, Sweden-based speed metalpunk quartet RAZORVOID stare aghast at what chaotic horrors lie ahead, embracing nonexistence on this kängpunk-charged debut full-length album. The fusion inherent to ‘Into the Void‘ emphasizes comorbidity between crust punk and heavy metal taken to taste-informed thrash and extreme metal highs. Humanity’s voyage toward oblivion ain’t on autopilot, though, as these folks’ gruff and roaring battery finds nuance within their d-beaten n’ rolling swat through.

Razorvoid released numerous digital singles after forming in 2021 but caught on more loudly when a compilation and a debut EP (‘Terror in Time‘, 2023) arrived all at once. The latter option showcases a clear foundation for the crust stamped signature of the band thus far, a raw precursor to the style found on this debut LP. In exploring their discography one can expect ~three minute rolling thrashers fired one after another delivered with a harsh hand taking equal inspiration from Motörpunk, UK82, speed/heavy metal and the death metal it’d inspired. Their approach hits harder than stuff like Inepsy or Midnight but doesn’t feel unrelated in spirit as we hit certain pieces (“Blasphemic Assault” etc.) though the band cite harder decap-attackers like Repugnant and Bastard Priest as equally key inspiration for their greater aura.

Beyond some cage-rattling and a gasp we’re throttled into the rolling-hard aggression of ‘Into the Void‘ by way of a few trill-built riffs and aggressively roared frontage via vocalist/guitarist Stefan Eliasson as album opener “Sign of the Curse” sets the tone. Though I’d gotten a sort of black/speed metal blasé reaction from my first impression of this track the style that wrings out within its ~3.5 minute jut is (again) a familiar form of speed metalpunk which reigns over the majority of the full listen. Rambling-along leads and a hit of phaser bleed into their charge via the title track (“Into the Void”) soon after and no doubt Razorvoid aren’t doing anything new or avant-garde here but the combination begins to catch the ear as the songs clip past one after another.

The first real shit-quaker here beyond the opener for my taste is probably “An Everlasting Flame” (see also: “Jaws of Perdition”), an early 80’s heavy metal tipped street punk piece delivered with the right sort of straightforward impact. Another highlight, “Rituals of the Damned”, hits soon after in feature of the faster-paced thrashing side of the band up front and a similar heavy metal meets late 80’s hardcore punk fueled trample in its second half. The gems on this eleven song record mostly hit later on in the running order otherwise with “422 Gutterpunx” achieving something bigger and better with its satisfying streel-level German thrash stomp; Though they haven’t packed this record with all-primo riffcraft the shocks of different pacing highlighted here offered the best of what Razorvoid do in broadest possible scope. The entirety of Side B shines otherwise, offering more tonal variety and less of the stock standard rocking speed metal gear in hand.

On this debut album Razorvoid make thier case as a boss opening act and I wouldn’t consider that a slight so much as a thumbs up toward the mean-assed, high energy form of metalpunk they’re sporting within. As a first longplayer ‘Into the Void‘ is doing all the right things here in terms of arriving upon a decently fleshed personae and finding a niche worth expanding though I don’t know if they’re leaning into their more vestigial interests (traditional heavy metal, death metal) enough in the span of these ~36 minutes to fully stand apart. A moderately high recommendation.

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