Monolithe – Nebula Septem Review

For reasons both unknown and likely unknowable, I am a complete mark for the sort of mathematical and musical formalism with which Monolithe has constructed Nebula Septem. For this seventh album, the seven musicians of

The Sword – Used Future Review

I didn’t get the hype surrounding The Sword when they released Age of Winters. In fact, I largely tried to ignore it. The flood of similar bands during that time had soured me on their

Horn – Retrograd Review

Like a majestic dolphin breaching the icy ceiling of the ocean, leaping high into the air as it fills its lungs with oxygen before returning to the darkness of the deep sea, Horn returns with

R.I.P. Killjoy (1969 – 2018)

None of Killjoy’s various projects was destined to make him a household name, not in thirty years, but his importance to death metal belies his notoriety. He wasn’t universally well-known for the gory death metal

Primordial – Exile Amongst The Ruins Review

Two facts are indisputable: Primordial is a Very Good Band, and Exile Amongst the Ruins is a Very Bad Album. Maybe those facts seem difficult or painful to reconcile, but let’s face it: great bands

Judas Priest Indebtedness Guest List: A Musician’s Perspective

We love Judas Priest. This is blatantly obvious, of course, as we’re winding down Priest Week here at Last Rites. But it bears repeating ad nauseam: We. Love. Judas. Priest. Guess who else loves Judas

Last Pose Of Summer – Priest’s Fetching Fashions

By common consensus, Black Sabbath kick-started this entire thing called heavy metal. As such, not only did they set the goalposts for what heavy metal would sound like, but also many of its thematic and

Judas Least: In Praise Of Filler

Welcome back to Priest Week! It’s a pretty universal opinion that Judas Priest is one of the most important, most influential, and downright greatest heavy metal bands in history. If you came here to argue

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