Upper Hand - Chains of Shame

Recently Mind Rot put out Richmond VA's very own Upper Hand's new EP, "Chains of Shame".  Featuring members of Break Away and Friend or Foe, two other really sold bands, I pretty much knew what to expect. This is super solid NYHC style in a similar vein of Cro Mags and Madball. I love the cover art on this too, it appears whoever did the Losin' It LP cover art also did this. This probably won't be in heavy rotation for me, but it is still a very good release and solid as hell. I feel like maybe seeing this band live could change my opinion on that last statement. For a debut EP this band shows a ton of promise, so I will be all over their next release. 

Even though I had never heard this band, I figured with that kind of description there was very little chance of me not liking it. I went ahead and ordered the 4 pack which is still available. Red out of /100,  White out of /102, Blue out of /90 and Black out of /200. The blue copy definitely goes best with the cover art and is the most limited copy, so I would scoop that shit up first!

BREAK AWAY - For Life

Here is another super solid young youth crew band. Here's my copies of Break Away - For Life. I ordered this one based solely off the cover art (have you noticed I do that alot?) Sometimes listening to bands first just ruins the surprise. This one is on Mind Rot records and the pressing info is Blue /89, Clear /171, Black /225. Totaling out to a kind of cooky 485? What happened to those other 15 copies... it leads me to believe there is a mysterious other version, or most likely 15 were used for a band only release, or a record release? If someone could clarify that would be sweet. And if there is a version out there that's /15, I'm all over that if it makes it to ebay. I was impressed by this thing though, and just from looking at the cover art you can pretty much figure out it's going to be no nonsense straight edge hardcore. Another band great young band to keep my eye on, and with them about to play at Sound and Fury festival I would suggest picking up your copies of this release now, don't fall prey to merch flippers.