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 …
Welcome all, to another view into my listening mind. As usual, I will surely regret the ordering of these items within the fortnight. Or maybe I won’t, because this is just a snapshot, and it …
[Content advisory: The following article contains an in-depth and intimate account of the loss of a loved one. If you believe the reading could be traumatizing, you may wish to forgo it.] A handful of …
I have spent the better part of a full morning kicking over rocks in all the corners of my brain in an attempt to recall any sort of crucial trends, significant controversies or major Pants-Filling …
If there’s one thing that we at Last Rites cannot be accused of, it’s not expressing ourselves enough to get the points across. Maybe it’s our enthusiasm in discussing the finer points of this wide …
Chances are pretty high that a not insignificant part of what first drew you to heavy metal were the aesthetics and imagery associated with our beloved genre. Maybe you were a young lady raised in …
A stunning, arguably canonical debut, Fall of the Idols’ The Womb of the Earth remains a doom high-water mark. Though hardly an uplifting contribution, “Sown are the Seeds of Doom” remains a Soundtrack of 2006 …
Heartfelt hails, salutes, subtle nods and solemn bows, all you heroes and villains. As implausible as it may seem, it’s time once again to dust off our helms, spot clean those cravats, fluff those poet …
Writers and artists build by hand little worlds that they hope might effect change in real minds, in the real world where stories are read. A story can make us cry and laugh, break our …
