Generally Impressed With Riffs
Nostalgia is probably overrated, at least the most common notion of it, the poignant sense that what was is somehow inherently better than what is. It’s a lie of which we are well aware, if we’re honest, and which we …
Swedish kängpunks Martyrdöd have always sounded iron-willed and up for a fight. No more so than on their new album, Hexhammaren. With a who’s who lineup of Scandi punk / metal heavyweights, Martyrdöd have spent the past 18 years affixing …
Astres, the debut full length from French duo Epectase, manages to be both incredibly promising and a mite confounding all at once, often for the intertwining reasons. The record is absolutely sprawling in both style and length, covering several blackened …
Sometimes you’re sitting around with your buddies, listening to all your favorite old records, when you notice one of the guys staring extra intently at the iconic sleeve art of Screaming for Vengeance. “You guys know what this big mechanical …
Though it was early a decade ago now, Ares Kingdom still couldn’t have picked a better title for their second album than Incendiary. If one word encapsulated this band’s aesthetic, that word was “incendiary.” And …
“Album Of The Day” is a Last Rites Facebook feature we started whose purpose is quite straight-forward: highlight one album per day and say a few words about it. Understanding that not everyone chooses to …
Thirty-odd years ago, I placed a classified ad in the pages of punk zine Maximum Rockandroll (MRR). I was searching for a penpal who was plugged into the subterranean punk and metal scenes in the …
In “Diamonds & Rust,” Last Rites looks back at classic albums from metal’s storied history. Some of these albums were big hits, and others are overlooked gems. All of them deserve your time and attention… …
If Hellripper doesn’t slow down, their discography page is going to be rivaling that of the satanic thrash speedy boys in Abigail in just a few short years. But Hellripper never slows down. The brainchild …
We live in an age of flight. Airplanes are so ubiquitous and mundane we really can’t imagine a time when the idea of travelling in the air at speed was kind of absurd. If you …
Loudness is a crutch. “Maximum volume yields maximum results” is a fine bit of sloganeering, but as a guiding principle for music, its pithiness belies its hollowness. Of course, the act of listening necessarily requires …
It’s May, friends—well into spring and nudging on summer. And yet, the weather still sucks. The rain is seemingly incessant, the sun barely glimpsed, my summer clothes still packed away, and my motorcycle still un-ridden. …
