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 …
There was this kid in my fourth (maybe fifth?) grade class who was smart–I mean exceptionally smart. Xavier was very well spoken, well-read for his age, and extremely intelligent. The teachers mostly left him alone as …
Not to be too presumptuous, but it must feel great to be Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson these days. For decades now, they’ve dedicated themselves to making some of history’s greatest progressive metal under the …
Greetings once again, Travel’rs, to the unhallowed halls of the dungeon beneath Castle Last Rites. This turn of the moon, a candle is set aflame in the darkest corners of the metals most black–not just …
There’s a time for everything. The time for Mother Of Graves is now, in a few senses. In the broadest one, the time is now because it feels like this young band is rapidly gaining …
[Cover art by Dan Seagrave] Australia is well known for its multifaceted ability to take human lives. There are trapdoor spiders ready to pierce venom-dripping fangs into the weak flesh of gardening hands when least …
As my compatriot Mr. Hotz mentioned in his recent write-up of Cloud Rat’s latest, 2022 has been a hell of a year for grindcore. In addition to that Cloud Rat, we’ve been blessed with new …
One-person bands in the metal sphere regularly navigate a very challenging landscape. More often than not, this very subject immediately brings to mind black metal and a near endless motorcade of individuals hoping to make …
Howdy, friends. It is time for Staff Infections, wherein we, the Last Rites staff, share what we’ve been listening to, you share what you’ve been listening to, and, hopefully, we all come away inspired to …
