Approved By The Cosmic Code Authority

A little over five years ago, there was an explosion of great Rock bands coming out of Europe. They looked like they had stepped straight out of the 70's, and they had the power chords to match. Some of those bands had a pretty good run, and in terms of today's standards, they were pretty successful. One of those bands that seemed to fly under the radar was Horisont. Even releasing three albums on Rise Above didn't seem to get them much love.

I've been a fan of the band since I first heard their debut, and I've loved their straight forward Rock approach. It blows my mind to think that they have been around for around seven to eight years. It seems like just a few years ago that I was discovering them. How has so much time passed?

Horisont are no longer with Rise Above, but with About Time, they keep doing what they do best.

While it took a while for their last album, Odyssey, to grow on me, About Time hits me right from the start. Great album.

For the evening of the Super Bowl, I had the option to stay home and watch the Patriots play, or head out with a friend to go record shopping. Pfffft....records win that fight every time. We jumped in the car, and headed to Bull Moose with my sights set on the new Horisont album.

300 pressed on yellow vinyl, exclusive to US indie record stores.

With About Time, Horisont release their fifth full length album. I was kind of dumbfounded by that fact when I realized it. Five albums. I don't think that there are many bands these days that record that many albums. Seems like a long lost art to have bands stick around and evolve, and release a new album every other year. I was so amazed by their longevity and production that I had to pull out their full vinyl catalog for a photo.

Odyssey Beyond The Stars

Damn, it seems like every band that was releasing a new album this year, waited until after Summer. Suddenly, I can't keep up with all the new records that are coming out. No time or money to spend picking up old stuff right now, as this blog is getting flooded with records from 2015.

Admittedly, while this album didn't jump out at me on the first couple of listens. There is a lot going on with this record...lots of layers and moods, and I can definitely see it being a slow burner. Bad News on the other hand sinks it's hooks in me from the start...what a great song.

Rise Above has started doing a US pressing for their releases...with all of them on purple vinyl. It is kind of nice of them to give those of us in the States a chance to pick up their vinyl releases without having to spend an arm and a leg on overseas shipping. So why do I look at this purple vinyl with a bit of disdain...like it is some kind of second rate Vertigo French pressing, or an Italian pressing for Neat? I hate buying them, but they are so damn convenient.

At least for this Horisont album, I can convince myself that at least the purple vinyl looks good with the album cover.

Cool looking gatefold cover, with a comic style layout for the lyrics of the title track.

500 pressed on purple vinyl.

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.

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.

Rise Above Singles

Rise Above recently released a couple of 7 inch singles...well, since I'm about two months behind on my posts, I guess it wasn't that recent.

First up is the Uncle Acid single for Mind Crawler. This song is obviously from their latest album, so it was odd to see them release the single several months later. Still, I was interested in checking out the b-side song which is a Charles Manson cover. Yeah, it is a strange trip.

The packaging on this is great. Clear vinyl is limited to 100.

The Uncle Acid 7 inch was cool, but I was more interested in the one that Rise Above was releasing for Horisont. The band had a killer album last year, and I was very eager to check out some new songs. Writing On The Wall is a great preview of the new album, and the video is fucking over the top. Check it out if you are into seeing nuns drinking and driving, running over a baby, vomiting and then making out. Who isn't into that, am I right?

The back cover has an AC/DC Back In Black vibe going on with the layout. I love it. 100 pressed on orange vinyl.

Horisont Boogie

I first heard Horisont during the summer of 2011. I was over visiting with my friend Jeff, and he pulled out the Två Sidor Av Horisonten album, and gave it a spin to see if it was something I was interested in. My first reaction was that it reminded me of Cream, and that was all it took to sell me on the band.

Once I got home and downloaded the album, I noticed that half of the songs are in the band's native tongue of Swedish. Ugggg. I have a hard time hanging with bands that don't sing in English. If I can't sing along to the songs, it limits my experience with the band, and therefore I can't connect. I still liked the album though, but it was no longer a Must Buy for me. I had my eye on a copy that All That Is Heavy had for sale, and over the next year and a half, I watched it go in and out of stock. Each time I saw it listed as Sold Out, I worried that I'd missed my chance, but then a month or so later it would be back in stock and I'd breathe a sigh of relief.

With Horisont's excellent sophomore release, Second Assault, and with such a great experience from All That Is Heavy...plus the album was on sale, so that sealed the deal...it was finally time to grab a copy.

Assault On The Horisont

Yeah, Horisont are another Swedish band that were heavily inspired by 70's Hard Rock (see also Witchcraft and Graveyard). I really liked their 2009 debut, Två Sidor Av Horisonten, and have been anxiously awaiting their follow up on Rise Above Records.

I downloaded the album, and it didn't grab me immediately (partially because I had no patience to listen to anything outside of 80's Hardcore at the time)...it didn't help that shipping is crazy expensive for overseas orders from Rise Above...so I held off on ordering. After sitting with the songs for a month or two, it was really starting to grow on me, and I finally place my order.

Rise Above usually does a special pressing, called the Die Hard edition, for most of their releases. This typically includes some kind of special packaging, or cool odds and ends that are included with the record. In most cases, they sell out very fast. I've always held off on buying any Die Hard editions because they cost more, and any order I place with Rise Above is already going to cost me a small fortune, so I usually pass. With the new Horisont LP, I figured that I'd finally spend the few extra pounds, and without really checking what was included with the Die Hard version, I grabbed one on black vinyl.

When I finally received my package, I started looking through the record to see what made it "Die Hard". I couldn't find anything that would have made it extra special. I checked online and found that it was supposed to come with a poster and a patch. Hey, where was mine? It wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped, but I still kind of wanted it. I emailed Rise Above and Jeremy wrote me right back apologizing. He promised to beat the guy that packaged the record and to send me the items that I missed out on. Over a month later, I still haven't received the poster and patch. That fucker better have received his beating.