Staff Infections – February 2023

Howdy, partners. Here’s hoping you’ve come through the arctic blast safe and sound. Why don’t you brew yourself something hot and spend a few minutes with your pals at Last Rites. It’s time for Staff Infections; let us see what we’ve been listening to for the last month.

It seems some prog fans have crashed the metal fest, because we have a tie for album of the month, including Obituary’s recently released album, Dying Of Everything, and Arena’s not-at-all-recently released album, The Visitor. An album from the least progressive band in death metal and a twenty-five-year-old, progressive rock concept album make for a strange pairing to be sure, but, if nothing else, this result highlights the spectacularly diverse and thoroughly refined listening habits of the Last Rites staff. Personally, although metal makes up the majority of my listening, you might be surprised to learn that I also enjoy hard rock. We’re all very cosmopolitan around here. Sure, the only time I’ve listened to an entire progressive rock album was under heavy pressure from the rest of the staff, for a project that ultimately never went anywhere, and I might still be slightly pissed about it, but that doesn’t mean I’m closed-minded. And, yeah, I stopped buying Opeth records as soon as they added a keyboard player—keyboards absolutely do not belong in metal, it’s just a fact. I don’t think those incidents should paint me as some sort of crazy musical conservative, though; I was listening to Opeth for Christ’s sake. What do you people want from me?

It’s probably time to wrap this up. As usual, we have a Spotify playlist for you below, featuring selected tracks from this month’s staff playlists. Have a listen while you share your own playlist in the comments. For our discussion this month, please share your favorite progressive metal album. How you define progressive is entirely up to you. Until next month, take care of yourselves, and try to stay warm.

• Zach Duvall
  Brutus – Unison Life
  Kokoroko – Could We Be More
  Anal Stabwound – Reality Drips Into the Mouth of Indifference
  Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold As Weiss
  Gorguts – The Erosion of Sanity
  New Model Army – No Rest for the Wicked
• Andrew Edmunds
  Trucido – A Collection Of Self-Destruction
  Riverside – ID.Entity
  Arena – The Visitor
  Nile – Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka
  Proletar – Depressive Disorder
  Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption
• Ryan Tysinger
  Minenwerfer – Feuerwalze
  Minenwerfer – Volkslieder
  Sacriphyx – The Western Front
  Ares Kingdom – The Unburiable Dead
  Sodom – Persecution Mania
  Truppensturm – Fields of Devastation
  Bonus!: Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History – Blueprint For Armageddon I-VI
• LoneWatie
  Conjureth – The Parasitic Chambers
  Samael – Blood Ritual
  Sabbat – Dreamweaver: Reflections of Our Yesterdays
  X Japan – Blue Blood
  Arena – The Visitor
  Ahmad Jamal Trio – The Awakening
• Danhammer Obstkrieg
  Majesties – Vast Reaches Unclaimed
  Hammock – Love in the Void
  Drain of Impurity – Beneath the Maze of Infinite Equilibrium
  Meshuggah – Koloss
  Marcus Strickland Twi-Life – The Universe’s Wildest Dream
  Yagya – Rhythm of Snow
• Captain
  Dusk – …Majestic Thou in Ruin
  Saturnus – Paradise Belongs to You
  Funeral – Tragedies
  Morgion – Among Majestic Ruin
  Paramaecium – Exhumed of the Earth
  Sorrow – Hatred and Disgust
• Spencer Hotz
  Soulmass – Let Us Prey
  Beherit – Drawing Down The Moon
  Profane Nightmare – One Nightmare Unto Another
  Temple of Void – Summoning The Slayer
  Bolt Thrower – The IVth Crusade
  The Quintet – Jazz At Massey Hall
• Dave Pirtle
  Rollins Band – Get Some Go Again
  Amen – Death Before Musick
  Turmion Katilot – Omen X
  Iggy Pop – Every Loser
  Katatonia – Sky Void of Stars
  Obituary – Dying of Everything
• Jeremy Morse
  Obituary – Dying of Everything
  Agnostic Front – One Voice
  Earth Crisis – Firestorm
  Killing Time – Brightside
  Leeway – Born to Expire
  Judas Priest – Stained Class

Posted by Jeremy Morse

Riffs or GTFO.

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