Best Of 2018 – Michael ‘Captain’ Wuensch: Never F*#@ing Relax
I’m long past the point of wondering if I’ll ever tire of listening to heavy metal. I’m 1.4 million years old and can still remember the very first time I heard Judus Erectus’ first demo …
We Have The Power! — The Top Twenty Power (And Power-Related) Albums Of 2018
News flash: Last Rites loves lists. Hell, we might as well refer to ourselves as List Rites come December because by then we’ve already spent weeks compiling lists, comparing lists, tweaking lists and, most importantly, …
Catching Up With Sodom + Partisan EP Review
The deeper you care to dig into the underground, the more likely you’ll eventually unearth crews of thorny bangers who “only care about the demo material.” It works for a band like Sodom because the …
Pale Divine – Pale Divine Review
In terms of what’s currently in vogue, no branch of metal has wandered further from its roots than doom. As an illustration to that point, if one were to poll a random group of metal …
Witherfall – A Prelude To Sorrow Review
Metal and darkness have been enthusiastic partners since the very moment “Black Sabbath” first lifted from a speaker. Consequently, the near half-century that’s followed has found our genre exploring every facet of light’s mortal enemy—from …
Fifth Angel – The Third Secret Review
Clearly, grunge did not kill metal. What it did kill, however, was hope—the hope of every mid-to-late 80s’ hard rock / metal band that was interested in rocketing into living rooms via MTV / 107.7 …
Desolation Realm – Desolation Realm Review
Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. Subtlety is for hosebags. Sometimes, at least. And particularly in those cases where a new band decides to re-grip the blade once swung by a primo band that …
Heir Apparent – The View From Below Review
The Heir Apparent backstory is a decidedly familiar one that’s been handed down likely since the earliest days when music first began hitting platters: Band arrives on the scene with something special; a person or …