Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by Jon Zig] Important question: Does tolerance suck? Not all the time, clearly, as it’s often tied rather closely to the ever-important trait of patience. Additionally, developing a tolerance for certain things can and will open the potential …
For the 250th anniversary of America, Last Rites is featuring 250 of the greatest American metal albums ever made, and here we are at the end of the road. Please note that these albums are not ranked or ordered in …
For the 250th anniversary of America, Last Rites is featuring 250 of the greatest American metal albums ever made, and here we are at Part Four, already. Please note that these albums are not ranked or ordered in any way …
For the 250th anniversary of America, Last Rites is featuring 250 of the greatest American metal albums ever made, and here we are at Part III, already. Please note that these albums are not ranked or ordered in any way …
[Cover art by Mihály Zichy] There’s certainly nothing wrong with grindcore that sounds like a violent raccoon orgy in a dumpster full of nuclear waste, but I tend to be ever-so-slightly more partial to those …
You do something for thirty-plus years, and you get pretty good at it. Case in point: Finland’s thirty-five-year-old progressive metal wizards Amorphis. After starting out in a more death metal direction, over the last few …
Hello, friends. Everything in the world is still terrible and seemingly getting worse. Nonetheless, it’s time for Staff Infections, our monthly glimpse into the listening habits of the Last Rites staff. Usually I tally up …
It might be hard to believe, but Paradise Lost’s return to their doom/death roots on The Plague Within is now a full decade old. This makes them almost double veterans of their own sound, now …
[Artwork by Ryan Lesser] It starts softly. “Obey Capricorn,” the opener of Slomatics’ eighth album, Atomicult, begins with drummer/vocalist Martin Harvey all by his lonesome. “Behold: the moon, the sun, the stars, the sky,” Harvey …
[Cover art by Grellach] One of the great joys of heavy metal is how often it forces you to learn random things. A little peek behind the Last Rites curtain for you: we have a …
[Album artwork by Aleksandra Pawłowska] Earlier this year, I finally grabbed the limited edition CD reissues of the early works from Montréal, Canada’s very excellent Obliveon—one of those oft-overlooked projects that arrived somewhat late for …
In 2023, Texas metal quartet Krigsgrav released an album that resonated with me more than any that year, clinching the top spot on my AOTY list. A beautifully sinister cacophony of melodic black and doom …
