Generally Impressed With Riffs
In case the recent surplus of hair raising releases delivered via today’s heavy metal torchwielders (Vultures Vengeance, Morax, Tower, Kuenring just to name a few) has led us to believe it’s not that hard to serve up a trad-platter that …
Did you know that the English words “trope” and “tropical” share the same etymology? Hello, and I’m sorry to welcome you to this heavy metal album review. It’s true, though! Both words come from the Greek verb ‘trepein’ (τρέπειν), meaning …
Some thoughts that crossed my mind as I listened to Watch Out!, the latest from Raleigh N.C.’s Mega Colossus. I can’t wait until it’s warm enough to run through the sprinkler and play “Minja Turtles” in the backyard with my …
[Cover art by Travis Smith] Personally, I enjoy it when a band opens an album by kicking in your door and lighting your home on fire. Detroit doesn’t have a Devil’s Night reputation for nothing after all. The Murder Mitten’s …
[Cover art by Adam Burke] Sweeping, tactile strokes. Threads of light and iridescent color pervading an inky blackness. A sense of continual but ever-shifting movement, like water. You might think these descriptive passages were written …
Ross Sewage closed a recent interview with a perfectly Exhumed response to a simple question: Asked to complete the sentence beginning with “Death metal is at its best…,” his answer was straight to the point: …
Friend, I wonder if you would agree with me when I say that authenticity in black metal is a dead letter. I don’t mean that black metal is always played inauthentically, but rather that the …
[Album artwork by Jean-Pascal Fournier] In order to fully appreciate the impact of a record like The Longest Night, we really need to hop into our handy Bill & Ted’s phone booth and dip back …
[Album artwork by Mario López] You would never know the very USPM-sounding Leatherhead are Greek. Yet here we are, reviewing Leatherhead’s sophomore effort, the bluntly titled Violent Horror Stories, which is … you guessed it, …
Monolith Of Ephemerality is the ambitious debut of Italian quartet Dwellnought, which formed in 2023 and released one prior demo last year. The band proclaims it blends black metal and doom, but you’ll find moments …
Howdy, friends. It’s time for your monthly insight into the Last Rites staff’s listening habits with a little feature we call Staff Infections. February finds most of us here deep in the heart of Winter, …
[Cover art by Jesse Jacobi] A recent conversation among friends – all current or former Last Rites writers – discussed Opeth’s (in)famous song “Black Rose Immortal,” and its merits and pitfalls. Some friends love the …
