Runaway Girls Got Limits

Rise Above Records has been releasing some pretty cool 7 inch records this year. We've seen some cool shit from a couple of favorites of mine...Blood Ceremony and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell...and recently the label has given us three more.

I initially ignored the first Death Penalty release, the Sign Of Times 7 inch. I wasn't interested in another female fronted band, so I didn't bother checking it out this little two song record. When the band released their self titled LP a few months later, there was enough buzz for me to give them a shot. It ended up being worth my time, and after buying the LP, it only made sense to go back and get the 7 inch as well.

500 pressed on purple vinyl.

When I can, I've been trying to avoid the high shipping prices from Rise Above. The records get some solid distribution in the US now, so I tend to only empty my wallet when Rise Above has a solid Die Hard pressing with some cool extras. The new Uncle Acid 7 inch, Runaway Girls, did not count as one of those Die Hard editions that I needed to have...but since I was picking up something from the Rise Above store anyway, I figured "What the fuck", and I bought the clear vinyl pressing that was limited to 100.

I haven't really listened to any Uncle Acid lately. While I enjoyed most of their last LP, there were some songs that kind of dragged a bit at the end, and because of this, they haven't showed up on my playlists lately. This 7 inch, makes me rethink that stance. The Runaway Girls song is really good, and the acoustic version of Devil's Work is haunting. A great reminder that I need to move this band back into rotation.

The final 7 inch in this trilogy is for Horisont. The band has yet to disappoint, so I was really looking forward to this release. The artwork for the record seemed like an odd choice for the band, but a quick peak at their video for Break The Limit, and I was sold. Classic hard edged 70's rock.

200 pressed on red vinyl.

Sentenced To Death

Earlier this year, Rise Above put up preorders for the Death Penalty 7 inch. Apparently, this was the new band that the guitarist from Cathedral put together, so people were pretty excited to check it out. Me? I'd never really bothered to check out Cathedral, and the thought of yet another female fronted Doom band made me simply shrug my shoulders and move on. Not interested.

A few months after the release of the 7 inch, Death Penalty followed it up with their self titled debut LP. While it was easy enough to ignore a two song 7 inch, I figured that I'd put the effort in and at least check out the promo video for the song Immortal By Your Hand. Whoa. I did not expect that it was going to sound this good! I was so impressed that I immediately preordered the Die Hard pressing from Rise Above.

The album, as a whole, isn't as mind blowing as that first song I'd heard. It is still pretty solid, but some songs seem to drag a bit, as doomy female fronted songs can do at times.

The vinyl for this, comes as double LP, with an etching on side D. The Die Hard pressing was limited to 100 on clear vinyl, and looks exceptionally nice.

Also included in the Die Hard edition was a bonus 7 inch, with two unreleased songs, plus a patch. Die Hard is obviously the way to go.