Fast Rites – Volume 13
We’re clearing the decks with looks at releases that languished in our inboxes over the “holiday” season. Record labels don’t completely shut down in December, but it’s very easy to overlook new albums when you’re …
Last Rites’ Best Of 2016 – Combined Staff
Every year we get hundreds of thousands of letters from all over the world asking how we manage to compile our annual Last Rites Combined Staff Top 25 List. It’s no easy task, we’ll have …
Last Rites’ Top EPs Of 2016 – The Best Briefly Bashing Bonanzas
When writing up our favorite EPs of last year, I dubbed 2015 as “The Year of the EP.” It wasn’t a claim supported by deep historical research or context, but just a quick observation about …
Last Rites’ Favorite Album Artwork Of 2016 – Welcome To List Season…
Kicking things off with the theme to “Welcome Back Kotter” might seem strange, but there’s a warmth and familiarity in the tune that’s fitting as an opener to this most hallowed season. No, not the …
Fast Rites – Volume 12
December always sees the number of new releases considerably decreasing, and heavy hitters certainly dominated the release calendar in recent months. As the end of the year fast approaches, the LR staff’s focus will go toward …
Thanksgiving Turkeys – 2016’s Fowlest Flops
Stand back, because I’m about to drop an idea bomb that you’ll never believe: Some albums are really good, but some albums really suck. Like, really, really, really suck. I know it’s hard to fathom, …
A Devil’s Dozen – Katatonia
With apologies to the poet Wallace Stevens, one might think about Katatonia’s career as something like thirteen ways of looking at melancholy. Few bands have been more single-minded in their pursuit of gloom and creeping …
Battle Royal: Judas Priest vs. Iron Maiden – Two Bands Enter, One Band Leaves
Battle Royal is back and more unfair than ever! In the first installment, we cruelly pitted Metallica against Slayer based ONLY on their 80s output. The result was a dirty tie amongst the LR crew …