Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover artwork by Old Hag] When I initially realized that Arckanum’s first album after a long hiatus—and, technically, its breakup—would be released on All Hallows’ Eve, I devised this rather cutesy and far-fetched idea to compare the entire album to …
[Album artwork / art direction by Joseph Niet / The Creative Corporation] Offering up a textbook definition of “holy crap, time flies,” Black Sabbath’s swan song, 13, was released 13 years ago, on June 7th, 2013. In a curious move, …
If you’re just now catching up, well, we’re just now catching up. Seth Buttnam and I (plus one uninvited guest) are rounding up some of our favoritest grindcore (or grind-adjacent) releases of the past however many months, since we (read: …
[Album artwork by Truls Espedal] It’s 17 albums for Enslaved now, comprising a discography I find exceptionally challenging to wrap my arms around. What’s going on here? Does anyone else forget that the relatively rote and by-the-numbers Frost is actually …
The story of Fates Warning spans decades and is complex in terms of music, musicians, genre definitions, and public perception. On a musician level, this is the story of Jim Matheos, guitarist, primary songwriter, and …
When paths diverge… only to collide. It has been a while since any transmissions from the godfathers of stoner doom have been received. Sure, there was a one-song EP that saw the replacement of Chris Hakius …
It’s undeniable that After will remain the classic Ihsahn record. If someone wants to get into his work, that’s the album they select. It’s not even out of the realm of possibility some would rate After higher …
FAST RITES: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. Consisting of two former members of Flourishing and former Castevet drummer Ian Jacyszyn, the debut EP of Aeviterne ought to excite fans of slightly noisy, oddball death metal. …
Spain’s premier pan-Scandinavian death metallers return with this EP, a continuation of their rotting blend of gnarly Swedish buzz and morbid Finnish atmosphere, and all to the usual results: Very respectable, highly enjoyable, not at …
[On May 5, 1978, AC/DC released the almighty Powerage, their fifth album. Forty years later, we’d like to talk about it.] With all due respect to the likes of Back in Black and Highway to Hell, …
“Album Of The Day” is a Last Rites Facebook feature we started recently whose purpose is quite straight-forward: highlight one album per day and say a few words about it. Understanding that not everyone chooses …
Let’s nail something home right from the jump: Amidst the ever-expanding ranks of heavy metal groups currently and constantly competing for collective ears, Amorphis ranks at or very near the top with regard to those …
