Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Album artwork by James Koehnline] As much as I love and appreciate the fact that my metal foundation was fortified by growing up alongside the genre in the ‘80s as a youth, I owe a great deal of my undying …
[Cover art by Fenomeno Design] Did you know that Chile is pretty darn good at death metal? If not, you must be new around these parts, in which case, I say, welcome friend! We’re glad to have you here and …
It’s a magical corner of the musical world where a band can combine an infectious nature with extreme oddness, and it’s in that corner that Idaho’s Seven Chains makes their home. Make no mistake about it, third album Swollen, In …
[Cover art by Claudio Elias Scialabba] Italy’s Into Darkness has been a band for approximately 15 years but is just now releasing its first full length album, Route to the Other Side, but all that time has been greatly beneficial …
Alright, kids, welcome to a somewhat belated and not particularly special Father’s Day edition of Staff Infections. If you don’t know the drill for this recurring feature, it goes as such: We, the Last Rites …
Kia ora, comrades. Welcome to In Crust We Trust. This regular round-up of noisy releases focuses on the harshest strains of punk, hardcore and metalpunk. Tune in for crust, d-beat, stenchcore, raw punk, noisecore, and …
Ukraine’s Heruvim burst into the scene ‒ and our 2022 EP list ‒ with last year’s beastly Shadowheart. They showed a massive affinity towards Edge of Sanity (the melody, the gargantuan riffs, the deep growls) …
Metal moved fast in the 80s. It was the wild, open frontier–there was so much room to push things faster, louder, and more aggressive. Simultaneously, it’s bastard cousin in punk was pushing stripped roots rock …
Look, there’s no need to call anybody old. Let’s just say that a few of us here at Last Rites have acquired… a nice patina. Maybe you have too, in which case you’re lucky to …
Heavier and more progressive than 2019’s What the Water Wants, the Fates Warning singer’s sophomore effort, II, retains the former’s ethereal feel but hits some incredible highs that were perhaps lacking on that earlier effort …
A few months back, I waxed poetic rambled semi-coherently about how much fun it is, as a grindcore fanboy, when a split comes along from two bands you love. That particular enthusiastic word-barrage was in …
[Cover art by Dieter Geisler] In the world of metal, math has nothing to do with formulas and variables but rather a distinct approach to writing that involves wonky time signatures, polyrhythms, incredibly tight playing …
