May 31st, 2023 - Forbidden Fruits And Other Failures For Gods

 

Hello metalheads and craft beer freaks!!  Happy Wednesday!  The Meista here with another great pairing for ya...  "Failures For Gods" (24 years old today!) by legendary death metal monsters Immolation and a tart, spicy, and tasty Forbidden Fruit Raspberry Ginger Sour Ale from the fine folks at Red Rock Brewing! 

Album Info:

• Artist: Immolation
• Title: "Failures For Gods"
• Recorded: July 1998 at Millbrook Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York
• Release date: May 31st, 1999 (3rd studio album by Immolation)
• Record company: Metal Blade Records
• Production: Paul Orofino
• Album cover art: Andreas Marschall 
• Personnel: Ross Dolan (bass and vocals), Alex Hernandez (drums), Rob Vigna (guitars), and Tom Wilkinson (guitars)
• Musical style: Death metal
• Sound: Wonderfully produced, intricately textured, and totally embracing an unconventional song structure, yet still powerfully intense and melodic, the sound on "Failures For Gods" is a perfect old school metal album that blends brutal death metal with progressive and technical death metal.  Vigna and Wilkinson create fiery guitar passages throughout while Dolan and Hernandez drive intricately textured rhythms. 
• Major themes: Death, anti-religion, mythology, destruction, hate, ruin, violence, rage, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Once Ordained"
2. "No Jesus, No Beast"
3. "Failures For Gods"
4. "Unsaved"
5. "God Made Filth"
6. "Stench Of High Heaven"
7. "Your Angel Died"
8. "The Devil I Know"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Red Rock Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://redrockbrewing.com/ 
• Brew: Forbidden Fruit Raspberry Ginger Sour Ale 
• Style: Kettle Sour Ale / Fruited Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• IBUs: 11
• Pour: The Forbidden Fruit pours a very hazy, mauve hue with a bubbly and thin, light pink head that dissipates rather quickly, leaving only a thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, tart, spicy, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of freshly picked raspberries, raspberry preserves, tart lemon juice and zest, cranberries, freshly cut ginger, light grains, and a hint of earthy honey.
• Taste: The taste of Forbidden Fruit follows the nose with notes of fruity, tart, and spicy flavors.  There are notes of tart raspberry, lemon juice, lemon zest, cranberry juice, spicy ginger beer, fresh ginger, light cereal grain, and a hint of sweet honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Forbidden Fruit is very crisp, tart, and spicy with a dry, slightly bitter, clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Red Rock Forbidden Fruit is a tart, crisp, and spicy brew... a great foil to the extreme and brutal death metal intensity of Immolation's killer "Failures For Gods" album!  Those tart and fruity notes blend wonderfully well with the thunderous crunch of the guitars, bass, and drums while the spicy ginger flavor goes great with the brutal vocals and dark lyrics!  Happy birthday to this great album!  'Nuff said!

Cheers and hails... keep it metal and keep it craft!!

May 30th, 2023 - An Interview With Ohio Metal Band Unchipped

 

Hey there thrashers and metal maniacs!  It's the Meista here with another great interview for you!  This one is with Ohio metal band Unchipped!  We chatted about the band's latest EP, "Systematic Deletion", the band's history, and much more!  Here's a link to that interview: https://youtu.be/rOMWTydaHu8

Enjoy!!

Make sure to check out Unchipped at:

• https://www.facebook.com/unchipped
• https://unchipped.bandcamp.com/music

Cheers and Hails!!  \m/  \m/

*Special thanks to John Thomas for setting up this interview, to Jamie Winters for designing the Brews and Tunes logo, to Jerry Howard for creating the Brews and Tunes intro video and to DiseNgaged for the use of their song "The Real Me" (copyright 2020)

May 29th, 2023 - Laser Kiwis Of The Master Control

 

Hello and happy Memorial Day hopheads and headbangers!  The Meista here today rocking the hell out with a pairing of the classic "Master Control", the wonderful 3rd album by heavy metal band Liege Lord and a hoppy and crushable Laser Kiwi India Pale Ale from Offset Bier Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Liege Lord
• Title: "Master Control"
• Recorded: 1988 at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut
  Release date: August 19th, 1988 (3rd full-length studio album by Liege Lord)
• Record company: Metal Blade Records
• Production: Terry Date and Liege Lord
• Album cover art: John Zeleznik
• Personnel: Joseph Comeau (vocals), Frank Cortese (drums), Paul Nelson (guitars), Tony Truglio (guitars), and Matt Vinci (bass)
• Musical style: Traditional metal, power metal, speed metal
• Sound: Criminally underrated, Liege Lord's opus "Master Control" is an exercise in brevity and musical discipline, yet full of excitement, energy, and ferociousness!  With dual guitar attack and influence from bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, the tracks are fiery, fast, and totally engrossing! 
• Major themes: With songs delving in science fiction and fantasy about epic battles, valor, and danger, themes on the album include fear, violence, death, war, the future, good vs. evil, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Fear Itself"
   
2. "Eye Of The Storm"
3. "Master Control"
4. "Kill The King" (Rainbow cover)
5. "Soldiers' Fortune"
6. "Feel The Blade"
7. "Broken Wasteland"
8. "Rapture"
9. "Suspicion"
10. "Fallout"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Offset Bier Company (Park City, Utah)
• Website: https://offsetbier.com/
• Brew: Laser Kiwi India Pale Ale
• Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: Nectaron, Nelson, and Riwaka hops
• Pour: The Laser Kiwi IPA pours a hazy, bright golden-yellow hue with a 1+ finger, frothy, bright white head with great retention and lots of sudsy lacing. 
• Nose: Fruit forward, the nose is tropical, citrusy, sweet, and malty.  There are aromas of kiwi, gooseberry, pineapple, passion fruit, grapefruit rind, tangerine, orange zest, a slight hint of pine resin, crackery biscuit, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste is like the nose: fruity, citrusy, hoppy, and slightly sweet.  There are notes of kiwi, gooseberry pineapple, passion fruit, mango, pink grapefruit juice, orange juice, tangerine, peach, apricot, and soft sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Laser Kiwi IPA is very crisp, juicy, and smooth with a clean, slightly sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The punchy citrus and tropical fruit flavors of Offset Laser Kiwi IPA make it a great, drinkable beer!  It has lots of flavor and a hoppy kick... perfect for the metal sonic attack of  Liege Lord's killer album, "Master Control"!  'Nuff said! 

Make sure to check out my interview with Tony Truglio from Liege Lord here:  https://youtu.be/teQ-vemSieo 

May 27th, 2023 - "We Are Really Pulling From Each Other Now... Collaboratively": An Interview With Blood Of Angels Guitarist Aaron Robinson

 

Hey there evil-doers, headbangers, and metal maniacs!  Your heavy metal beer drinking pal the Meista here today with another great interview for you!  This one is with Arron Robinson, the guitarist of Tampa metal band Blood Of Angels!  We chatted about Blood Of Angels' most recent album "Failure Of Faith", the band's history, touring, and much more!  Here's a link to that video interview: https://youtu.be/4ZwpIONsyEI

Enjoy!!

Check out Blood Of Angels here:

• https://www.bloodofangels.net/home
• https://www.facebook.com/bloodofangels1

Cheers!!

*Photos of Aaron and Blood Of Angels by Babarazzi Photos

**Special thanks to Benjamin Niebla II of Online Metal Promo PR for setting up this interview, to Jamie Winters for designing the Brews and Tunes logo, Jerry Howard for creating the Brews and Tunes intro video and to DiseNgaged for the use of their song "The Real Me" (copyright 2020)

May 26th, 2023 - Sacred And Light Hearted

 

Hello and happy Friday metal maniacs!  The Meista here rockin' the hell out to Dio's kick-ass "Sacred Heart" album with a tasty and hoppy Light Hearted Ale from the fine folks at Bell's Brewery, Inc.!  Hell yeah! 

Album Info:

• Artist: Dio
• Title: "Sacred Heart"
• Recorded: 1985 at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: August 12th, 1985 (3rd studio album by Dio)
• Record company: Warner Bros. Records / Vertigo
• Production: Ronnie James Dio
• Album cover art: Robert Florczak 
• Personnel: Vinny Appice (drums), Jimmy Bain (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitars), Ronnie James Dio (lead vocals and keyboards), and Claude Schnell (keyboards)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, hard rock, heavy blues
• Sound: With that classic Dio sound, "The Last In Line" is full of richly textured metal anthems, mid-tempo rockers, and RJD's incredible vocals. 
• Major themes: Rock and roll, fantasy, good and evil, life and death, dreams and nightmares, sorrow and happiness, runaways, etc.
• Notes: The inscription around the border of the album cover is Latin and reads "FINIS PER SOMNIVM REPERIO TIBI SACRA COR VENEFICVS OSTIVM AVRVM", which can be translated to "Along the borders of dreams, I found for you the sacred poisonous heart and golden door."
• Tracks:  

1. "King Of Rock And Roll"
2. "Sacred Heart"
3. "Another Lie"
4. "Rock 'N' Roll Children"
5. "Hungry For Heaven"
6. "Like The Beat Of A Heart"
7. "Just Another Day"
8. "Fallen Angels"
9. "Shoot Shoot"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bell's Brewery, Inc. (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
• Website: http://www.bellsbeer.com/
• Brew: Light Hearted Ale
• Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 3.7%
• IBUs: 36
• Ingredients: Centennial and Galaxy hops, a variety of specialty malts, and House Ale Yeast 
• Pour: The Light Hearted Ale pours a slightly hazy caramel-amber with a frothy, off-white, 2+ finger head with good retention and sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: Hop-forward, the nose is floral, earthy, citrusy, and malty.  There are aromas of pine resin, grapefruit rind, wildflowers, bitter herbs, sweet caramel, and biscuit.
• Taste: Although a low calorie and low ABV brew, the taste of the Light Hearted Ale is characterized by bold citrusy, piney, earthy, malty, and floral flavors.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, orange peel, pine, herbal tea, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Light Hearted Ale is very crisp, juicy, and smooth with a dry, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The complex, yet straight-forward hoppy bitterness of the Light Hearted is an excellent brew to pair with the powerhouse rockin' goodness that the songs on "Sacred Heart" express!  RJD's vocal range is wonderfully enhanced by those citrusy hops, while the more bitter pine notes and heartier malts are great for Campbell's monster guitar work and the rhythm beast that is Appice/Bain!

Cheers and hails!!  Keepin' it metal and keepin' it craft!!

May 25th, 2023 - The Shadowed String Theory

 

Hello there metal heads and artisan beer freaks!  The Meista here today rocking out to "The Shadow Theory", the amazing 12th album from Kamelot and a tasty and crushable String Theory Saison from Equilibrium Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!!  

Album Info:

• Artist: Kamelot
• Title: "The Shadow Theory" (Digipak Edition)
• Recorded: 2017 in Wolfsburg, Germany
• Release date: April 6th, 2018 (12th studio album by Kamelot)
• Record company: Napalm Records
• Production: Sascha Paeth and Kamelot
• Album cover art: Stefan Heilemann
• Personnel: Tommy Karevik (vocals), Johan Nunez (drums), Oliver Palotai (keyboards), Sean Tibbetts (bass), Thomas Youngblood (guitars)
• Additional musicians: Jennifer Haben (vocals), Lauren Hart (vocals), Sascha Paeth (additional guitars and keys, and growls on "The Proud and the Broken")
• Choir: Annie Berens, Oliver Hartmann, Herbie Langhans, Evelyn Mank, Nadine Ruch, Cloudy Yang, and Thomas Dalton Youngblood
• Musical style: Melodic power metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal, gothic metal
• Sound: Emotive, bombastic, complex, and totally engaging, Kamelot's latest album continues the evolution of the band's sound with singer Karevik.  Youngblood's fiery guitar work tears and shreds, Palotai's keys soar, Tibbetts and Nunez hammer out a rhythm of tribal power, and Kaverik's amazing vocal acrobatics just get better and better with each album!  The guest vocals of the amazing Lauren Hart and Jennifer Haben add another level of depth and power!
• Major themes: A concept album of sorts with songs about an oppressive government in a dystopian future, themes on "The Shadow Theory" include rebellion, control, power, freedom, memory, darkness, sorrow, hope, etc.
• Tracks: 

Disc 1:

1. "The Mission"
2. "Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)"
3. "RavenLight"
4. "Amnesiac"
5. "Burns To Embrace"
6. "In Twilight Hours"
7. "Kevlar Skin"
8. "Static"
9. "MindFall Remedy"
10. "Stories Unheard"
11. "Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)"
12. "The Proud And The Broken"
13. "Ministrium (Shadow Key)"

Disc 2:

1. "Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)" (instrumental version)
2. "RavenLight" (instrumental version)
3. "Amnesiac" (instrumental version)
4. "Burns To Embrace" (instrumental version)
5. "Kevlar Skin" (instrumental version)
6. "The Proud And The Broken" (instrumental version)
7. "The Last Day Of Sunlight" (bonus track)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Equilibrium Brewing Company (Middletown, New York)
• Website: https://www.eqbrew.com/
• Brew: String Theory Saison
• Style: Saison 
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: Farmhouse mixed culture, white wheat, and Strata hops 
• Pour: The String Theory pours a hazy, light straw yellow with a frothy, bright white, 1+ finger head that slowly dissipates to the thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, fruity, floral, grainy, and subtle sweetness.  There are aromas of tangerine, lemon zest, banana, pear, hay, summer grass, wildflowers, crackery grains, and a subtle hint of funk.
• Taste: The taste of the String Theory follows the nose with lots of citrus, fruit, and more subtle malt flavors.  There are notes of lemon zest, orange zest, Anjou pear juice, sourdough bread, soft banana, crackery biscuit, and softer toffee notes.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp, refreshing, and slightly acidic with a dry, crisp, and clean finish.

Overall pairing: The is a complex, punchy, and delicious brew... perfect for the power, intensity, intricacies, and overall depth of Kamelot's amazing "The Shadow Theory"!  Those fruity notes make a great foil to the dark themes and feel of the album, while the sweeter notes go great with the wonderful vocals, soaring guitars, and keys!

I picked up "The Shadow Theory" from my buddy Kevin at the Heavy Metal Shop (www.heavymetalshop.com)... and you should too!!

Cheers and hails!!

May 24th, 2023 - "Like A Moth To The Flame": An Interview With Musician/Actor/Stuntman/Martial Artist Ed Gage

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, and metal maniacs!  Your heavy metal beer drinking pal the Meista here today with another great interview for you!  This one is with guitarist/bassist/vocalist Ed Gage, solo artist and member of such bands as Steelwitch, Wolf Chamber, and The Militants!  We chatted about his musical history, working with the John Gallagher of Raven and the late, great Steve Grimmett, his acting career, and much more!  Here's a link to that video interview: https://youtu.be/imDne3ZvUJE

Enjoy!!

Check out Ed Gage here:

• https://www.facebook.com/EdGageActorMusician

And check out Steelwitch here:

• https://www.facebook.com/steelwitchofficial

Cheers!!

*Special thanks to Benjamin Niebla II of Online Metal Promo PR for setting up this interview, to Jamie Winters for designing the Brews and Tunes logo, Jerry Howard for creating the Brews and Tunes intro video and to DiseNgaged for the use of their song "The Real Me" (copyright 2020)