All posts by Zach Duvall

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

Metallica – Beyond Magnetic Review

Metallica just doesn’t understand how to stay in our good graces. By most accounts, 2008’s Death Magnetic was a very long-awaited return to form for the Biggest Metal Band in the World. The production was a

Nekromantheon – Rise, Vulcan Spectre Review

Confession: I occasionally take on albums because I think something nice and conventional will be an easy write-up; a type of critical palate-cleanser between the more exploratory and adventurous stuff out there. And 90 percent

Corrosion Of Conformity – Corrosion Of Conformity Review

There might not be a bigger mystery in metal right now than the absence-but-not-departure of Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity. He’s still in the band, but he isn’t recording or playing live (regularly) with

Beyond the Bridge – The Old Man And The Spirit Review

Warning: if you have an aversion to soulful, artsy, and uplifting prog metal, you are hereby kindly asked to leave the room. No really, you’ll have to wait outside; we don’t serve your kind here.

Drudkh – Eternal Turn Of The Wheel Review

When Drudkh announced that their ninth album would be a return to their harsh roots, many preparing to groan at another Handful of Stars probably held their breath and raised a cautious eyebrow. After all,

The Stone – Golet Review

With Golet, Serbia’s stalwarts of under-the-radar black metal excellence The Stone seem to have confidently turned the page on an era of their career. Their 2006 gem Magla achieved a mix of Drudkh-like atmosphere and

Witchaven – Terrorstorm Review

It’s a shame that bands-doing-the-old-thing-better-than-the-old-guys-still-do-it never get much appreciation. (Or is it? Here at least, it is.) San Ber’dino’s Witchaven is a fine example of such. Put simply, they play slightly blackened thrash, had the

Stielas Storhett – Expulse Review

Typically, a black and white photo of a lone band member looking frustrated, downtrodden, solitary, and/or confrontational gives way to thoughts of minimalistic raw black metal – the type of music made by one person, for one