Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover art by Quinn Henderson] You’re familiar with the term, “unc,” right? If not, it generally refers to a washed up older feller whose personality in large part revolves around extravagantly performing confusion and/or displeasure at the mere notion of …
[Artwork by Caroline Harrison] “Nonsense” opens with a slow fade-in of distorted guitars and seismic drums — the chaos before the swarm. It’s a trick of the trade, the extreme metal equivalent of a camera operator calling out “speed” before …
[Cover artwork by Luca “Zeero” Zironi] There was always something uniquely charming about Konquest’s brand of traditional heavy metal—an almost whimsical breeziness that still felt like a near perfect balance of playful and substantive. A long-lost Italian cousin to Sweden’s …
[Cover art by Beyond Art] There are bad musical moods, and then there’s Mylingar. Over the course of the last decade this group of anonymous Swedes has concocted the type of ill-meaning black/death that makes Diocletian seem like a Care …
Originally written by Rae Amitay Unlike some of my metal-reviewing peers, I’ve never really viewed Finntroll as being a gimmicky band. Sure, their name is goofy, and may suggest that they create songs solely about …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell Death metal….IN SPAAAAAAAAAAACE! Yes, it’s been something of an oddball infatuation over the past few years, but it makes sense. Death metal is nerd music for nerd people, and not …
One of the key elements of true artistry is juxtaposition. The simplest example one could give of this, from the visual perspective, is the process of using black and white with one another to create …
You’ve felt something in the air lately, too, right? A relapse into old habits. The easy comfort of settling down in a worn couch groove. New bands, old sounds – that’s the thing. One hundred …
One of the perks and perils of this “music critic” gig is that we’re each inundated with new music every month – I’m not complaining, mind you; new music is why I’m here, after all. …
Way back at the beginning of three months ago, we here at Last Rites did a little round-up feature of records we were most looking forward to in 2013. My contribution to that article was …
It may well be true that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but it’s equally true that practice makes perfect, so it would stand to reason that old dogs can certainly perform what tricks …
It’s easier to sway minds if you can first move bodies. Cerekloth understands this, and deploys an arsenal of hugely tactile, physical riffs throughout its debut full-length In the Midst of Life We Are in …
