Runaway Girls

Once again those dastardly fiends over at  Rise Above Records drop a Uncle Acid single on me that nearly went completely unnoticed. I think I may have just randomly clicked on the website one day and it caught my eye in the new releases section.

Uncle Acid - Runaway Girls

So yes here we have another track from the Mind Control sessions, a track that didn't make the record in the form of Runaway Girls. It's a good track too but then I love everything this band do so that's really no surprise. It's backed by a previously unreleased acoustic version of Devils Work. This is the 'closing chapter' of Mind Control - I really hope there is still more to come from the band.

I have no idea of numbers for this release, in fact I can't even remember why I picked this blue vinyl version, I think at the time it just sounded the nicest. Love the artwork and theme that the band have kept during these releases too.

Check yourself, before you wreck yourself

The Admirals back and he's ready to rock. I like to think of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell as a person, the big bird headed thing on the album covers actually. I heard the debut LP a year or so ago whilst in the midst of a big 70's hard rock phase here and it was glorious. So I was pretty pleased when a follow up was quickly announced by Rise Above.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Check 'em, Before You Wreck 'em

This record definately see's the Admiral in second album territory. It's less instant and formulaic than the first record with the band experimenting a bit more. Not that it's any less rocking if course. The band still deliver the goods in fine fashion.

As always with Rise Above there's a wealth of vinyl options and 'die hard' editions to be had but I settled here for a Red / Black Marbled version of 400 copies. It looks really good actually. As does the gatefold packaging in general.

           

Black Sheep Man

You can't keep up with all of the records all of the time right? Even so, I thought I was on top of Rise Above releases, I'd checked the website regularly and what not. Then Mike goes and posts a record up by a band I like that I'd completely missed the release of!

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Black Sheep/Elementary Man

Yep Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell had released a new 7" and I knew nothing about it. I'd completely missed the clear vinyl version that Mike had scored and would have to make do with a black version. The Rise Above site was sold out however, so I had to find a uk store that had one. Still, I managed to find one and very glad I am too. Once again I love the retro feel Rise Above have given this with the old price tag on the front. Reminds me of the last Uncle Acid 7".

I like both songs on offer here too, more good stuff from the band. 100 copies on clear and 500 on black!

I really need to get into Facebook so I don't miss out on releases like this, I'll take my chances though so as not to get sucked into that world! Hah!

Time Warriors

Back in October I posted about Kadavar and their record Abra Kadavar , they along with this group are my favourites doing the 70's rock Sabbath doom thing at the moment.

Horisont - Time Warriors

I think I first heard Horisont around the time of their second LP 'Second Assault' being released and I loved what the band were doing straight away. For some reason I'm yet to pick that record up on vinyl so this is the first release I've picked up in it's physical form and it doesn't disappoint.

This is another quality release from the band and another quality package from Rise Above. I managed to pick up the Die-Hard Gold Vinyl version of the record Limited to 150 copies. It comes on a great looking gatefold sleeve and a poster and I think the Gold vinyl really goes well with the rest of the record. It looks superb.

The record also came with a Rise Above dog tag which is a nice little extra although I think it was supposed to come with a Horisont tag like the ones Mike is showing off here . I think the Horisont one is cooler than this one (where they supposed to originally be a set I wonder? A Horisont one and a Rise Above one together?) but never mind. It's still a nice little extra.

When I was in the Rise Above store I also added a copy of the excellent and frankly bonkers single Writing On The Wall to my cart when I saw they had copies left. Mainly for the hell of it, but it is a quality song.

Strangely I can't find the pressing info for the Purple version. Clear (Limited to 100 copies) ,Orange (Limited to 100 copies) , Black (Limited to 300 copies). Let's just say Purple is ultra limited and have done with it haha!

Mind Crawler

I didn't even know this new single from Uncle Acid was being released until I saw a picture online and thought 'that's a cool cover'. I then realised it was their just released new single and headed over to Rise Above Records to grab a copy. Of course as to be expected they had completely sold out of the 2,020 copies of the single, that's mental right? Especially as 1600 of them are on black. Anyway luckily for me the non Rise Above colours were still available online at a UK distro. Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats - Mind Crawler

Sorry if the picture is a little hazy I've left the single in the shrink wrap and it proved a little tricky to capture it seems. Anyway this thing looks awesome with it's B-movie style cover and 'R' rating tying in perfectly with the full length Mind Controls' inlay.

The single happily contains an exclusive track too. The rather well chosen and extremely catchy Get On Home originally by Charles Manson. This version stays pretty true to the originals acoustic folky styling, minus the female 'family' members vocals. I can't find any pressing info for this orange colour version but I know there's also a red and a blue version not exclusive to Rise Above.

Mind Control

This was one of my most anticipated records of 2013 after discovering Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats last year and the awesome Bloodlust record. After the teaser that was the Poison Apple single my appetite was well and truly whet for the follow up Mind Control, and I actually thought if I was patient and diligent enough I might have a shot at the die hard version of this record. Pah!! As if, this thing had sold out before I'd even clicked my mouse to head over to the Rise Above store, all 400 copies!! And just as soon some had appeared on eBay! Wankers!

So in the end I settled on the solid orange vinyl version as it's slightly more limited than the other regular copies of the record with it being out of 600 and the other colour versions being out of 700 and the black version being out of 1000.

 Rise Above as per usual did a great job on the look/packaging of this record with the gate fold sleeve not only looking great but going along way to support the concept story that weaves it's way through the album.

It's a good follow up to Bloodlust from Uncle Acid. I have to admit I don't, even after a fair few listens which I've enjoyed, like the album as much as Bloodlust as I feel the band have lost some of the sinister sound that I found so appealing about the previous work. That being said I'm sure that's the entire point of this record so in that Uncle Acid have certainly painted the right musical picture to accompany the theme they set out.

Black Masses

I've been loving the doomy stoner side of the rock/metal world over the last year or so. I've always been into Sabbath and a few stoner rock bands but my love for this style has really been kindled now. Maybe it's an age thing?!?
So with this in mind I ventured to my local record store recently (they have a good stock of this kinda thing) to get a new fix. I stumbled upon a band I had often seen the name of but don't think I'd actually ever heard, Electric Wizard. The shop had a few records by the band, but not knowing where to start I opted for what looked to be not only the most interesting, but also the cheapest. This is the bands 2010 effort Black Masses, released on the always trusty Rise Above Records. Awesome layout. Double Gatefold Lp on black (180 gram??) vinyl. I was a bit bummed that this was only on black as its pressed on around 20 different colours it seems but as the record is called Black Masses maybe it's the most apt? Looking at the other pressing numbers I'd presume this is of 400.
Cool band, if anyone has any suggestion for their best stuff let me know.

Poison Apple

I'm so far behind it's crazy, I've got loads of records through recently and haven't had the time to listen to a lot of them let alone blog about them. The joys of working and being a father I guess. Anyway, that being said I'm gonna begin my attempts at catching up with the new Uncle Acid (my surprise band of 2012) 7" Poison Apple.

Mark over at Couch Slouch has already done a pretty comprehensive write up about this so I'll try not to repeat what he's said too much. I'd been waiting keenly for this to be released but either forgot the date or got distracted or something so by the time I realised it was available for pre-order the limited to 100 clear vinyl had gone, leaving me with a choice of  the 'purple splatter' or the 'white in solid green' versions limited to 200. I can't remember why I went for the white in solid green, I think something seemed more limited about it, maybe it was one per customer like the clear version and the splatter was two per customer? I can't remember.

As you can see, either way it's probably better described as half white-half green but maybe some of them differ? As usual with Rise Above releases even as I was pre-ordering this, the clear versions were 'available' on eBay for stupid money even though the sellers didn't actually physically own a copy yet. It's pretty disgusting really, especially as like Mark pointed out, that it was limited to one per customer so this was pure flipping. Even this version sells on eBay now for around triple what I paid for it. Rise Above stuff really is hot at the moment.

Anyway, enough about that. The music is more of the same really from Uncle Acid and that's exactly how I like it. Both tracks are good and in fact I might even prefer the B-side Under The Spell. It's a great preview for the new album Mind Control, which I thought was out this month but as there is no pre-order yet (which will be fun), I guess not.

The cover for the 7" just says Uncle Acid where as the record labels say Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats which I think a few people have noticed and found odd. I hope that they don't drop the '& the deadbeats' part, i think that really adds to the name and mythos of the band.

I Got The Time Travelling Blues

So how the deuce does this work? I've been on a right old doom rock/stoner rock trip for the last few months so when I saw in November that Rise Above had given Orange Goblins first two albums a vinyl press for the first time, I knew I wanted to grab my favourite of the two Time Travelling Blues, but man did the price put me off. I mean, once you'd factored in postage from the Rise Above store you were looking at a £26 LP and I couldn't shake the fact that I could buy maybe two hardcore records for that price.

This weekend however I ventured to my favourite record shop The Music Exchange in it's new bigger premises in Nottingham (apt as that's where the record was recorded). I picked up some decent stuff and in amongst them was this:

Priced at a very reasonable £16!! A whole £10 cheaper than if I'd have bought the record direct from the label. I dunno, it just doesn't make sense to me. I should have picked Mike one up too actually as I know he's been after this and the bands debut Frequencies From Planet Ten but the price has quite rightly been putting him off.

This is a fairly common pressing of the album on purple vinyl of 300. As always with Rise Above though the packaging looks superb.

 

Sweet gate fold layout. I haven't heard this record since maybe 99/00 properly and I forgot how good it is, I haven't really dug the bands later stuff but I'm tempted to give them a bit of a revisit now. Fun stuff that's been on constant rotation for the last two days here. 

 



The inner of the record has the band talking about the recording of this record and the hi-jinx of living with Iron Monkey for two weeks, I can only imagine it was messy.
The record also comes with this 10"  bonus EP.

This is pressed on the same colour as the album

 

Don't get me wrong I'm yet to see a Rise Above package that's not been put together superbly, and you could of course argue that with the bonus 10" the price isn't that high, maybe even pretty good. I just find it weird that I can go to a shop and buy the record that much cheaper than the label have it for sale for though.

Sir Admiral Rotting

Two records that I picked up recently here that are nothing alike in musical style but they share a common bond in that I'd to varying degrees been after both for a while.

First up, Rotting Out and their debut LP Street Prowl

I'd been after this record for ages but it just seemed to keep eluding me, every time a distro got it in I'd think 'cool, I'll grab that in a couple of days' and by the time I came back to pick it up it had all sold out. Finally I was in the right time at the right place to pick this up from Go The Distance.

Why are all the dudes in the band sporting their own merch? Who are they Iron Maiden? haha
Anyway I dig this record alot. Great paced modern hardcore that whilst nothing especially new holds up well against the other current hardcore heavyweights out there. This band should be more well known than they are.

This is the second press of the album and comes with this insert of a decent sized poster backed with the lyrics.

It comes on this glorious red with black marbling vinyl, which really changes shade when held up to the light. Good looking vinyl.

Next -

 

The wacky named Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Don't Hear It...Fear It. Ever since I picked up the Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats LP on a whim a few months ago I've been on the look out for something similar as I really love that record. I saw this on a couple of blogs and also on the Rise Above Records website the same label that released the Uncle Acid LP so thought it might satisfy the dirty garage rock itch that I've developed, so I made a mental note to check this out.

 



I promptly forgot all about this record of course so when I saw it staring back at me in a record shop a few weeks ago I took a blind leap of faith and picked it up. Funny story here, after I picked this record up in the store about 10 seconds later a couple came in and it quickly became apparent from their not so hushed whispers that this was the record they had come in to buy, after frantically looking for a second copy and following me down the vinyl rack they left empty handed...score!

This record is of course beautifully packaged just like the Uncle Acid one, that Rise Above sure do a nice job with their presentation. Gate fold sleeve this time and on ace thick (I presume 180 gram) green vinyl. Not sure of pressing info but I would guess this is of 500. This is a good listen too, I've only had a few listens and whilst it's not as immediate as the Uncle Acid album and doesn't quite grab me in the same way, this is good stuff that is a slightly different beast. I think with more listens I'll find more in it as it's got that sort of layered spacey sound.

Uncle Acid

Man I like this record! I bought it on Saturday after going to a record store and amazingly they had it. I don't even think I'd normally bother with the 'U' section but I remembered I'd been meaning to check this out after hearing one track a while ago and Mike wrote about it recently too, so i checked and there it was. I've probably listened to it five times since Saturday.

I think if someone described this to me I'd say 'that doesn't sound like my kinda thing', I mean you can make all the Doom and Black Sabbath comparisons you want but this is basically 70's rock just a bit dirtier. I think it's the vocals and how it compliments the music so perfectly to make something totally hypnotic!

The first press and especially the super limited 'ultra die hard' edition have gone for mental money on eBay, which is made even crazier by the fact Rise Above are still pressing this. I got the solid green second press version limited to 500. I think that green actually works quite well, especially with the green sticker on the cover. The laminated cover looks awesome too.