Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Artwork by Vicky “Liddo” Morales] In a soak-your-underwear sweaty, tetanus-to-the-touch warehouse in the middle of Skid Row, Raw Addict played its first show. Weeks earlier, drummer Isaac made the irresistible sales pitch, stating that the multinational band connecting grind lifers …
Picture this, brah brah: You’re out enjoying a nice meal with the in-laws. It’s a pleasant setting—a beach vacation, let’s say. The sun gently peeks above the horizon, illuminating the tides as they roll in and wash away the footprints …
[Artwork by Pierre de Palmas] When revealing Melting Rot as the first band booked to play at Revenge of the Corpse 3, festival organizer Isaac Horne wrote on Instagram that the Aurora, Illinois, trio was “the closest you’ll ever get …
[Album artwork by Staffan Lindroth] The last time we gathered together under the Dimhav banner, I was busy losing my grip over the Swede’s very excellent and very sudden debut, 2019’s The Boreal Flame. I say ‘very sudden’ in that …
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 …
I’m a big enough man to almost admit when I’m almost wrong. Last year, I reviewed the two-track teaser EP by this latest of Rogga Johansson’s myriad projects, and I wasn’t really blown away. Given …
Here’s the thing: You’ve probably heard this before. Australia’s Encircling Sea grafts earthy black metal themes and musical motifs onto a bedrock of lengthy clean doom structures and sweeping post-rock. So, while the band’s sound …
Ever find yourself thinking, “Man, I really love mid-80s hardcore, but sometimes I wish they’d just lose the self-righteous socio-political agenda and get down to tackling really important topics…”? And if politics, religion, and personal …
After a while, even someone who writes about music for a hobby is bound to repeat his or herself. There are only so many angles, analytic tools, or perspectives that one person can provide. Enter …
