Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoing position.[1] It was during the same year that he had left his previous band, Napalm Death.[2] Dorrian explained that it was predominantly done to "get the dole off my back as they were asking a lot of questions as Napalm Death were on the front cover of the NME and on TV three times in one week, but I was still living in a council flat and couldn't even afford the rent."[1]
Rise Above Records was initially started up on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, a Conservative government initiative which fronted cash to young entrepreneurs.[1][2]
Style
Dorrian's initial intention was to release hardcore punk music and limited edition releases.[1] The label was named after the Black Flag song of the same name.[2] The first release from the label was a Napalm Death live EP (Extended play) followed by releases from bands such as S.O.B. and Long Cold Stare.[3]
Dorrian was a fan of bands such as Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble but stated there "wasn't really a 'doom scene' as such" and that "doom became an obsession" for him.[1] Finding that there were a scattered amount of doom metal groups in the United States (specifically Maryland), Dorrian attempted to "give the scene a boost" and released a compilation titled Dark Passages, a compilation stating that "if people asked what doom was you could point to that record and there was something tangible to grab hold of."[1] Dorrian found that the release "didn't get as many bands as we'd have liked, hence the reason why there are two Cathedral tracks on there."[1] Dorrian admitted later that it took until 1997 "that a new wave of doom bands started to appear. Ever [sic] since then it's become really strong."[1] Dorrian specifically noted Electric Wizard's Come My Fanatics... as being "the turning point of everything."[2]
RISECD/LP 71 - Electric Wizard - Electric Wizard (re-master) digiCD/LP w/bonus 7-inch (500 black vinyl, 500 ice blue vinyl, 500 luminous lime green vinyl)
RISECD/LP 72 - Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics... (re-master) digiCD/2LP w/bonus 7-inch (400 violet sparkle vinyl, 100 violet sparkle w/colored 7-inch, 500 deep red vinyl, 500 black vinyl)
In early 2011 the label also reissued five Orange Goblin albums with bonus tracks largely covers or demo versions of preceding tracks, released with the same catalogue numbers as when they were first released.
Rise Above Relics releases
RAR7 001 - Luv Machine - "Witches Wand" 7-inch
RARCD/LP 001 - Luv Machine - Turns You On! CD/LP (500 black vinyl, 400 cerise vinyl, 100 clear vinyl)
RARCD/LP 002 - Possessed - Exploration CD/LP
RARCD/LP 004 - AX - "You've Been So Bad"
RARCD/LP 005 - Necromandus - "Orexis of Death & Live"
^This band is not the same as the more commercially successful band Iron Maiden. This band was active in the late 1960s and 1970, and had a sound that was inspired by Cream and jazz music, and was considered a "proto-doom metal" act. Rise Above Relics released a compilation album of their works titled Maiden Voyage, while marketing the band as "The Original Iron Maiden".[5]
References
^ abcdefghKerswell-O'Hara, Ronnie (April 2012). "Lee Dorrian". Terrorizer's Secret History of...Doom Metal. p. 21.
