Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Mister Curse] Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface. Stack Overflow in…Corpse Pile Interface? “What’s in a name? That which we call a corpse pile, by any other word would smell as putrid” – billy shakes Forgive my …
[Cover art by Jef Whitehead] Cognizance’s In Light, No Shape serves as a useful reminder that when it comes to our musical preferences, our whats are subservient to our whys. If, for example, you are a fan of the early …
[Cover artwork by Michael Cloutier] Prog, of course, is known for technical musicianship and songwriting complexity above all else, a reputation well-earned by the early giants of the genre and happily maintained by their progeny ever since. It’s also true …
[Cover artwork by Timbul Cahyono] In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I’ve always found the concept of the split to be flawed. It works best when there’s a shared theme or the band’s involved cover each …
If you’ve been a regular reader of Last Rites over the years, you know we’re pretty kind to the 80s. That has a lot to do with the fact that a number of us who …
Moonsorrow has never been a band to shock their fans, or anyone for that matter. Over the course of six albums and one really long “EP,” the greatest carriers of Quorthon’s legacy have generally stayed …
Sludge, especially southern sludge, is in a strange place right now. Since 2010, the current standard bearers of the region (Baroness, Kylesa, Mastodon) have eschewed traditional sludge sounds and lyrical themes in favor of exploring more progressive …
It’s been seven years since Deströyer 666’s last full-length album, the somewhat underwhelming Defiance. In those seven years, the band essentially disintegrated, leaving only founder/guitarist/vocalist K.K. Warslut from that 2009 line-up. The band’s membership has never …
I’ve probably written about Anthrax five times in my years here, and I feel like every time I start out defending their legacy against the (wholly correct) statement that they’ve released very, very little of …
Two simple truths to begin: 1. Cantique Lépreux are very good at what they do. 2. What they do is play Quebecois black metal. For most of you, those two brief sentences are likely sufficient …
Growth can be difficult to measure. For example, we know that grass grows, but if one were to sit there and watch it grow, said growth would be imperceptible. Similarly, you can’t see a child …
Last year, Tau Cross‘ eponymous debut took the top spot on Last Rites’ Best Of list, and with good reason. The logical continuation of Amebix‘s final gasps, Tau Cross is a record that feels …
