Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Caelan Stokkermans] “Change–and everything is change; nothing can be held on to–to the degree that you go with a stream, you see, you are are still, you are flowing with it. But to the degree you resist …
[Album artwork by Adam Hill] It’s kind of amazing how Elder has maintained their identity over the course of nearly 20 years and seven albums (plus EPs, a collaboration, and live albums), because, when you put Elder right up against …
[Cover art by Matt Stephens – sole full-time member of the band] If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance that you are a music obsessive. More than likely, that means you consume other forms of media with a …
[Cover artwork by Daryl Kahan] If you, like many of us here at Last Rites, are an ancient, or at least ancient-adjacent, then perhaps you’ve been listening to death metal for quite some time. For my part, I happen to …
Kia ora, compadres. Welcome to the latest edition of In Crust We Trust. Below you’ll find a bunch of ear-wrecking noise to help you process and/or drown out the 24/7 horror show currently occupying our …
Cryptworm’s third LP, Infectious Pathological Waste, quite charmingly arrives at the perfect time for yours truly; the deeper, choppier musical waters I’ve been swimming in the past few weeks have made for an often rewarding …
[Album artwork by Aaron Turner] Neurosis’s willingness to push past the boundaries of metallic hardcore early in their career has influenced scores of bands across a wide range of subgenres. Hardcore, metal, and untold strains …
[Album artwork by Lena Richter] “Nostalgia is probably overrated, at least the most common notion of it, the poignant sense that ‘what was’ is somehow inherently better than ‘what is’. It’s a lie of which …
[Album artwork by Shindy Reehal] Back in 1978, upon the release of their self-titled debut, Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau panned Van Halen for making music that “belongs on an aircraft carrier.” It’s one …
Death metal’s primary function is, or perhaps should be, to whip the listener into a good old-fashioned frenzy with riffs aplenty. On Longing Voracity, their sophomore effort, Germany’s Teratoma zealously commit to and meet this …
[Cover art by Eliran Kantor] What exactly do we expect from Immolation at this stage of their career? This is a band whose legacy was set in stone decades ago by their impeccable early run …
Oh, it feels like a million years ago now, but way back in January, I wrote this one up as one of our (meaning, in this instance: “my”) most anticipated releases of 2026, and here …
