Category: Features

Keep it Short, Stupid- EP Round-Up: November 2013 Part 1

Trying to keep up with all of 2013’s releases is like committing to a filthy second job. Well, your old pals here at Last Rites are ever-so willing to walk directly into the line of

5Q5A – Activator: A NYHC Roar To Score

Originally written by Ian Chainey Activator, a Brooklyn-based hardcore slash thrash crossover killer, doesn’t recycle the past. Despite an album cover depicting the pre-Rudy horrors of subway Hell-trains, burly breakdowns built in the image of

To The Furnace With The Fab Four! – The Beatles Done Heavy

It’s very hard to find someone who doesn’t like The Beatles. Rather, it’s very hard to find someone who doesn’t like The Beatles and isn’t just stating their dislike out of some sort of forced

Deconstructing Dødsfest! – A Dialogue With Beaten To Death

Originally written by Ian Chainey and Jordan Campbell With their second record, Beaten To Death has emerged as one of the most inspired acts in not only modern grindcore, but the entire spectrum of musical

Keep It Short, Stupid – EP Round-Up: November Part 2

Heavy metal’s highway is stacked ten miles deep with bumper-to-bumper short-player traffic in 2013, and we’re doing our best to pick through the releases most likely to land on our readers’ collective radar. Here’s round

Hold Your Tongues – Pelican vs. Russian Circles

Originally written by Dean Brown. Since primitive man made a rhythmic racket by slapping a stick off a rock-face, instrumental music has always been an important part of our culture throughout the ages. Nowadays we

Mad Max On The Autobahn – A Krautrock Primer, Part 2

originally written by Craig Hayes If you took the time to read Part One of this Mad Max on the Autobahn feature (and danke schön! if you did), then you’ll be aware that part two

Mad Max On The Autobahn – A Krautrock Primer, Part 1

originally written by Craig Hayes Metal has cooked up plenty of hearty musical combinations over the years, and some of the most tempting have resulted from peppering the sonic stew with Krautrock. This year, Finnish