All posts by Last Rites

GENERALLY IMPRESSED WITH RIFFS

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

Protoplasm 3 – The Big Dig For Proto’s Gold

Protoplasm is a killing machine, it’s got everything. •••••   CRUSHED BUTLER – UNCRUSHED (1986) Land: UK Lifespan: 1969 – 1971 File Under: The punk, in the study, with the sledgehammer. In Print?: Yes, re-released by Last Years