Alright, dear readers, the infection has returned, stronger and more virulent than ever before. Eh, realistically, older and weaker is probably more accurate. Sorry for the layoff, but we traditionally skip Staff Infections in December, so as not to overload you all with lists in a list-heavy month. You may have noticed that I also blew off November. Sorry, I was tired. Chasing deer around the woods is exhausting. In the spirit of the new year, however, I resolve not to miss a single month of Staff Infections in 2023, except December… and maybe November if I get really tired again. Without further ado let’s get to what we’ve all been listening to around here.
It seems we’ve all been listening to different stuff this past month. I can’t give you an album of the month because not a single album made more than one appearance on the various staff Playlists. The closest thing to a winner we have is Darkthrone, with three appearances with three different albums, including their latest, Astral Fortress, the classic Under a Funeral Moon, and 2014’s impressively beefy Arctic Thunder. As always, you can have a gander at what else we’ve been listening to in the individual playlists below and have a listen to selections from said playlists in the Spotify playlist that appears right after the conclusion of my ramblings.
Of course, we at Last Rites would like to wish you a happy new year and thank you for your readership. We could, in fact, do this without out you, but it’d just be a bunch of mostly old drunk dudes in a hotel room arguing about metal (It’s actually more fun than you might think). Thanks to you, we are encouraged to make (mostly) sober and (occasionally) coherent points in print and to use fewer cuss words. You make us better people. There’s still plenty of fucking room for improvement, but thank you just the same. We hope you’ve enjoyed all the various year-end lists this past month, and be sure to check out the three-part series of our most anticipated albums of 2023. With one last nod to 2022, in the comments along with your playlist, please share your favorite album of last year. Going with the staff consensus, it’s The Chasm’s The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow for me. Take care, and see you all next month.
- Andrew Edmunds
Rotten Sound – Abuse To Suffer
Tankard – Zombie Attack
Sodom – Genesis XIX
Voivod – Synchro Anarchy
Nazareth – Loud ‘N’ Proud
D.R.I. – Four Of A Kind - Dave Pirtle
Warrior Soul – Out on Bail
dArtagnan – Felsenfest
I Drink My Coffee Alone – Nichts
Mass Worship – Portal Tombs
Stabbing Westward – Chasing Ghosts
Darkane – Inhuman Spirits - Zach Duvall
Anachronism – Orogeny
billy woods x Messiah Musik – Church
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold As Weiss
A Sound of Thunder – Time’s Arrow
Echo and the Bunnymen – Porcupine
Judas Priest – Ram It Down - Ryan Tysinger
Armagedda – Only True Believers
Minenwerfer – Der Rote Kampfflieger
Gorgoroth – Pentagram
Demigod – Slumber of Sullen Eyes
HellPoison – Ultra Outbreak of Hell
Jordfäst – Av stoft - Danhammer Obstkrieg
No Spill Blood – Eye of Night
Rotting Christ – A Dead Poem
Autechre – Chiastic Slide
Ocean of Grief – Pale Existence
Impending Rot – Anatomical Discorporated Aberration
Sonic Poison – Eruption - Spencer Hotz
Darkthrone – Under A Funeral Moon
Darkthrone – Astral Fortress
Phantom Spell – Immortal’s Requiem
Bloodbath – Survival of the Sickest
Big|Brave – Vital
Hammers of Misfortune – Overtaker - Lone Watie
Russian Circles – Gnosis
King Buffalo – Generator
Ark – Burn The Sun
Held By Trees – Solace
New Country, Black Road – Ants From Up There
Anders Buaas – The Edinburgh Suite - Jeremy Morse
High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons
Day of Suffering – The Eternal Jihad
Darkthrone – Arctic Thunder
Enforced – Kill Grid
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
Slayer – Reign in Blood - Captain
Straw Man Army – SOS
Blacklist – Afterword
Bark Psychosis – Hex
Brutus – Unison Life
Faceless Burial – At the Foothills of Derivation
Anal Stabwound – Reality Drips Into the Mouth of Indifference
- Andrew Edmunds
Dismember – Like An Everflowing Stream
Tears For Fears – Seeds of Love
Sigh – Shiki
Heruvim – Shadowheart
Vulgar Mephitis – Vulgar Mephitis
Sacred Skin – The Decline of Pleasure
Fave of 2022: Inanna – Void of Unending Depths
Eternal Champion – Ravening Iron
Yob – Atma (reissue)
Eliminator – Ancient Light
Phobophilic – Enveloping Absurdity
Judas Priest – Killing Machine
Riders of Rohan – s/t
Faves of 22 – Sumerlands – Dreamkiller and Negative Plane – The Pact
Imha Tarikat – Hearts Unchained- At War with a Passionless World
The Otolith – Folium Limina
Voidhra – Sorrow Guides Us Alll
Dodsengl – Bab Al On
Gospelheim – Ritual & Repetition
Fav of 22: White Ward – False Light