Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by Maciej Kamuda] I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture, but more importantly, I admire its people. That fascination has persisted throughout my life, stemming from childhood when I was just captivated by the beauty and courage of …
It’s been a minute since I’ve committed any significant amount of time to listening to doom. Any doom, really. From anywhere. Of any type. And not because there hasn’t been great doom the past few years. Rather, my attention has …
[Cover Art by Daniel Karlsson] Februus is a one-man project driven by the prodigious and still developing talents of Sweden’s Andreas Karlsson. His latest, Construction of Conflict, delivers 40 minutes of guitar-centric death metal that, despite being packed to the …
There’s much more than this plane of existence. Are you willing to listen? A few years ago, one of the more obscure bands on my year-end list happened to be Germany’s Ch’ahom and their debut full-length LP Knots of Abhorrence. …
[Artwork by Adrian Dexter] Beyond the certainty of death and taxes, one thing that unites most all willing participants of humankind is a humble craving to feel good. The pursuit of this unifying goal naturally …
Each generation thinks it invented sex; each generation is totally mistaken. Anything along that line today was commonplace both in Pompeii and in Victorian England; the differences lie only in the degree of cover up …
Welcome to the second installment of this two-part In Crust We Trust: 2010s Essentials special. The first part of this ear-splitting fiesta included a lengthy introduction followed by a raft of releases from the likes …
“I love French black metal, like I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favorite. Fantastic language. Especially to scream with.” – The Merovingian, The Matrix Reloaded Or at least …
Well, it’s a different world from last time we did Staff Infections. We here at Last Rites hope the worst you’re dealing with right now is cabin fever. If you and / or your loved …
Remember bars? Man, that sure was fun sitting in a dimly lit hole-in-the-wall and knocking back a few while discussing sports, politics and work. If only we could teeter on an uncertain bar stool again …
I’m sure that when Ash Pearson and Justin Hagberg chose to name their debut album Give In To Despair, it probably just sounded really metal and maybe tied some lyrical themes together. But here we …
Last Rites is currently running a 10-part series highlighting 100 essential metal albums from the past decade. I decided to wedge myself into the conversation by volunteering to write this two-part feature, which explores a …
