Lord Of The Blood Ceremony

Since discovering Blood Ceremony in 2011, with their sophomore album, Living With The Ancients, the band just absolutely blow me away with every new release. Even with their last album, The Eldritch Dark, I was completely floored that they were releasing something that good.

With their fourth album, I figured that Blood Ceremony was going to start to get stale. They couldn't keep their streak of greatness going for this long, could they?

As soon as I heard the preview track, The Devil's Widow, all doubts were erased. The band still sounds incredibly powerful, and have hooks and melodies for days. As soon as I heard that song, I knew that I was going to have to make a run at the Die Hard pressing, no matter the cost.

Man, there is just something special about owning clear vinyl pressings from Rise Above.

Rise Above knocks it out of the park again with their Die Hard box set pressing for the new Blood Ceremony album. Great looking box, clear vinyl, silver printed turntable slipmat, screen printed poster, and a giant bookmark. Limited to 150. Quality.

Check 'Em Before You Wreck 'Em

I really enjoyed Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's first album, Don't Hear It, but the new Black Sheep/Elementary Man single, that was released earlier this year, took things to another level. Anticipation levels were high for the new album.

From the first song on the album, you can hear that something is a bit different. The mood is a bit more loose, the sounds are a little more frantic, and the attitude tells you that the band just does what they do, and they aren't too concerned if you dig it or not. The entire thing is a step from their 2012 debut.

100 pressed on clear vinyl for the Die Hard Edition.

The Die Hard Edition comes with a bonus 7 inch, and a big poster. Anything that features that dude wearing the freaky bird head is instantly awesome.

Don't Break The Oath

Rise Above brings us another band with a female handling vocal duties. Look, I love Blood Ceremony, and I can hang with Purson, but I wasn't sure if I'd be interested in adding another female fronted Metal band in my collection. Maybe a bit of a douche because of it, but I like my Metal mean and aggressive, and sometimes the girls don't cut it for me. Reluctantly, I checked out the preview video for The Oath, before committing to the latest Rise Above preorder. As soon as All Must Die kicks in, with those mean sounding guitars, I was sold on it.

I was there as soon as pictures went up, so you know I went with the Die Hard pressing.

The Die Hard edition comes with a nice slip cover for the regular LP sleeve. I can see why you would want to keep the slip cover on...the actual album cover is really nothing to look at. Hot blondes in leather with some skin showing? Who would be interested in something like that?

Clear vinyl Die Hard pressing is limited to 100.

Once again, Rise Above does not disappoint. This album is solid all the way through. Total quality.

On of the biggest draws for me to pick up the Die Hard Edition for this album was the exclusive 7 inch. It is just a one sided deal, but on it, The Oath cover Night Of The Demon by NWOBHM band Demon. I'd been listening to Demon's second LP, The Unexpected Guest, a lot lately, so I was stoked to hear that The Oath was covering on of their songs. They do great job with it here.

In addition to the bonus 7 inch, Rise Above goes above and beyond with extra goodies for the Die Hard pressing, including a promo shot and patch.

Horisont Time Warriors

Before you read this post, you'll need to answer one question. Have you watched the Writing On The Wall video from Horisont? If the answer is yes, you may continue reading. If the answer is no, please close your browser, and don't bother coming back until either I have a new post up, or you have watched it. I don't care if you like it or not...it just has to be seen. Completely over the top, senseless destruction. Oh yeah, the song is pretty good too.

Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, how about that new Horisont album? Dudes in denim and long hair rockin' that 70's sound. Yeah, I can dig it.

Of course, I had to order the Die Hard edition from Rise Above. Limited to 100 on crystal clear vinyl.

The Die Hard edition came with a set of Horisont dog tags. Shit like this and patches are kind of useless and silly, but I absolutely love them. Cool little collectibles.

“We think of a time warrior as someone who digs really good rock’n'roll and fights all the bad music that’s on the air nowadays by coming to a bad ass show, rocking out and buying real music.” says Horisont's singer, Axel. Keep fighting the good fight.

I Am Iron Man

I'm still working to clean up the backlog of new releases before the year's end. It seemed like a natural choice to follow up a Black Sabbath post with one from a band named Iron Man, so let's go with it.

Rise Above rarely disappoints, and when they announce a band that I've never heard before, I make sure to check them out. Iron Man have been around since the late 80's/early 90's, and released four albums and a few EPs...but somehow I've never even heard of this band until now. When Rise Above announced they were going to be putting up preorders for the new album, South Of The Earth, I hunted down a video from the band to see if it was going to be something that I'd be interested in. After I got a taste, and didn't hesitate to order.

I'm surprised at how much I'm liking this album. I can't get enough of it, and have to give it a spin every couple of days. Come on, with a name of Iron Man, you know there is going to be a huge Sabbath influence. Great doom metal.

100 pressed on clear vinyl, with a nice looking etching on Side D.

Of course, when I ordered from Rise Above, I couldn't settle on just the regular press...nope, I had to go with the limited Die Hard edition. The Die Hard pressing comes with a bonus 7 inch and a patch. I'm not going to do anything with the patch, but they are still cool additions to the packaging.

As I was checking out the back of the 7 inch, I noticed that the live song was recorded not far from where I live. Trust me, if Iron Man plays Portland again, you can bet that I'll be there.

Die Hard Blood Ceremony

It has been a great year for Metal. With the release of the new Blood Ceremony album, The Eldritch Dark, I now have four contenders for my favorite Metal record of the year.

Blood Ceremony were a great surprise back in 2011, and I eagerly was awaiting their new release this year. As soon as Rise Above put up the pre-orders for the vinyl, I didn't hesitate to grab the deluxe Die Hard pressing.

The Die Hard edition comes packaged like a box set. Rise Above isn't one to cut corners, and this entire thing is quality...something truly special for the collector nerds.

The Die Hard edition also includes a belt buckle featuring the face of the horned god, Pan, and reads "The Old Ways Remain".

As for the album, to be honest, my expectations were set a little low. While their last album, Living With The Ancients, was absolutely amazing, I figured that there was no way the band could top it. I was wrong. From the moment that Alia's voice kicked in with a devilish snarl, "Black magic has risen in Witchwood...", I knew that I was wrong to doubt this band. This album is absolute perfection.

Limited to 100 on black vinyl for the Die Hard edition.

Age Of Taurus

Even though I'd never heard of Age Of Taurus, as soon as Rise Above announced that they were going to be putting up pre-orders for the band's album in the upcoming weeks, I knew that I had to do my homework. Rise Above consistently release some of the best Doom Metal albums, and I didn't want to get caught with my pants down. That label's stuff can sometimes sell out lightning quick, so I better be prepared. After quickly checking out an Age Of Taurus video on youtube, I added it to the list of things to do once the pre-orders went live.

For a band that seemed to come out of nowhere...for me at least...this is really a great Doom album. Once again, Rise Above doesn't disappoint, and they deliver another high quality album.

Because I'd prepared prior to the pre-orders going up, and I was one of the first ones online, I was able to grab the clear vinyl vinyl pressing that is limited to 100.

There was a time when I was hesitant to buy the deluxe Die Hard editions from Rise Above...these days it is an automatic purchase if they are still available. The Age Of Taurus LP comes with a bonus one sided 7 inch and a patch.