The Best Of What You’ve Missed In The First Half Of 2014 – Part 2
It’s half-way through the year, and we’ve all heard a lot of metal so far. We’ve seen releases by some big names—Mastodon, Behemoth, Mayhem—but sometimes smaller releases can get lost amidst the noise. That’s why …
The Best Of What You’ve Missed In The First Half Of 2014 – Part 1
It’s halfway through the year, and summer has just begun. For many of us, summertime is prime heavy metal season. There’s something about cranking up the riffs when the sun is shining and meat is …
South Of Heaven – A History Of New Zealand Extreme Metal
Astute Last Riters may have noticed that New Zealand correspondent Craig Hayes has been relatively quiet of late, at least on these pages. Elsewhere, however, he’s been getting loud. Recently, he produced and presented an …
Outre Monde – Blood Of The Black Owl And Ampacity
Welcome to the third edition of Outré Monde. In this ongoing series of discussions, Erik Highter and Craig Hayes will be hurling Bandcamp recommendations at each other, with the aim of recommending some new tunes …
5Q5A – Dirge
Let’s be real. The word “dirge” isn’t all that appealing. Setting aside it’s aethestic ickiness, it’s also a bit, well, literal, at least when applied to our little corner of the universe. While brothers …
RIP H.R. Giger – Swiss Artist Dies At 74
H.R. Giger, famed creator of the Xenomorph, has passed away, reportedly from injuries sustained in a fall. Unlike most of the deaths we reflect on here at Last Rites, Giger was neither young nor a …
A Devil’s Dozen – Danzig
It’s a safe bet that hordes of metal fans were first introduced to Glenn Danzig’s golden pipes via Metallica, as early photos of the group always seemed to find at least one member sporting a …
5Q5A – Lvcifyre
Lvcifyre is heavy like a nightmare is heavy. Theirs is not a heaviness entirely born of volume or of sheer violence, though both are certainly present, and in spades. Their heaviness is more made of …