Tag: Power

The Seal Of Quality – A Riot Primer, Part 2

The 80s were tough on Riot, even as the band was creating classic metal albums. There were endless line-up changes, contentious dealings with labels, managers, and producers, and mostly, there was a massive disparity between

The Seal Of Quality – A Riot Primer, Part 1

For those of us who don’t believe in predestination, the past is an endless series of could-have-beens. Every adventure left unchosen branches out in infinite directions, all the possible pasts and futures winding around one

ShadowStrike – Legends Of Human Spirit Review

Do you believe in Destiny? Then reach deep within thineself, crusaders of light, and heed the beckoning call of Fate as it carries from the mythical kingdom of Long Island, New York. Five mighty bards

Turilli / Lione Rhapsody – Zero Gravity Review

Friend, I was just as surprised as you when I learned that Turilli / Lione Rhapsody, the imaginatively named new group bringing together Luca Turilli and Fabio Lione, was trading in their bombastic, symphonic-leaning power

Missing Pieces 2019: The Best Of What We’ve Missed So Far, Part 2

Here at Last Rites, we listen to a metric shit-ton of heavy metal—it’s just what we do. But every year there’s so much great metal that we simply don’t have time to cover it all…

Missing Pieces 2019: The Best Of What We’ve Missed So Far, Part 1

Here at Last Rites, we listen to a metric shit-ton of heavy metal—it’s just what we do. But every year there’s so much great metal that we simply don’t have time to cover it all…

Freternia – The Gathering Review

More often than not, two things generally come up when conversations turn to Sweden’s greatest influence on heavy metal: Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Swedeath. It’s an understandable consequence—the prior taught us the importance of giant

Lunar Shadow – The Smokeless Fires Review

Old age, or even the precipice below it, distorts time. You spent most of your life in the first 18 years, where moments were moments, then seconds, then minutes. But over time the moments can