All posts by Zach Duvall

Last Rites Co-Owner; Senior Editor; Obnoxious overuser of baseball metaphors.

Sulphur Aeon – Swallowed By The Ocean’s Tide Review

In the interest of full disclosure, it must be admitted that I can be quite susceptible to the seductions of great cover art. In the case of Germany’s Sulphur Aeon, the glorious art that adorns

Saille – Ritu Review

As a style, symphonic black metal is generally theatrical, grandiose, and (without necessarily implying fault) often quite pompous. It isn’t exactly a sub-genre known for scaling it back. That made Irreversible Decay, the debut from

Suffocation – Pinnacle Of Bedlam Review

Let’s get one thing clear: Suffocation is, without a doubt, one of the greatest death metal bands in the history of our rotten, festering world. This is, as the Dothraki say, known. But consistent and wholly

Crowned – Vacuous Spectral Silence Review

There’s a term used by sports analysts called “upside,” meaning that a prospect is often not judged based on current production, but what they could potentially become. It is why a baseball team will often

Paroxsihzem – Paroxsihzem Review

There’s something to be said for offering just enough of a twist to stand out, but there’s way more to be said for crafting that twist into high quality tunage. Today’s subject: Toronto’s Paroxsihzem. They

Zach Duvall’s Top 20 Of 2012

Last year there figured to be about twelve or thirteen albums I was trying to shove into my top ten. This year there are easily eight or nine trying to wiggle their way into the

God Seed – I Begin Review

After several years of quarrels, court disputes, and confusion over when the album would see the light of day, Gaahl and King ov Hell’s post-Gorgoroth vision has finally arrived; and boy oh boy is it

Altar of Oblivion – Grand Gesture Of Defiance Review

Despite being a relative enthusiast when it comes to all things epic in the doom department, I did not give Denmark’s Altar of Oblivion any attention when they released their debut Sinews of Anguish back