Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Artwork by Petri Ala-Maunus] There’s nothing quite like that sense that you get as a listener that you’ve fully connected with an artist through their music. There’s about a million ways it can happen, from simple appreciation of the music …
[Cover art by Christian Ward] No one has ever accused Dreadnought of being doggedly orthodox in any respect. Their music is a product of the watercolored mishmash of monoculture in which it was and is created, a world of intrusive …
[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 …
“Album Of The Day” is a Last Rites Facebook feature we started whose purpose is quite straight-forward: highlight one album per day and say a few words about it. Understanding that not everyone chooses to …
FAST RITES: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. Sweden’s Blood Worship comes to you from the mind, guitar, and voice of Martin Andersson, also of Astrophobos. And if you’ve spent time with that band, you’ll know …
In a perfect world that embraces the ludicrous and terrifying with equal enthusiasm, everyone has a guy similar to Olve “Abbath” Eikemo in their crew of friends. Well, at least the version of Abbath the …
Few would argue that death metal has enjoyed an impressively strong run recently; best-of lists from recent years have been dominated by it, and death metal has already left a conspicuous mark on 2018, with …
At the intersection of Blind Guardian and Manilla Road lies Greece’s Battleroar—epic paeans to battle and heroes, historical tales of Ye Olden Days, infectious guitar leads, soaring melodies, bombastic choirs… Codex Epicus is the band’s …
If you want to get all scientific about it, music is just physics. “Just physics,” of course, is a silly statement, as physics is the vast study of about everything, and the tiny vibrations that …
I’m an old fart now—I remember the late 1980s. I remember running across Lizzy Borden when they were featured in Penelope Spheeris’ classic The Decline Of Western Civilization, Part 2: The Metal Years, prancing about …
“Back in 2004, I had the privilege of interviewing Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul during a local stop with Damageplan on the Headbanger’s Ball Tour. Two of the nicest guys you could ever hope to …
