June 9th, 2012 - The Few, The Proud, The Metal Beer Drinkers! OR Phantom IPA

So... how about some fast-paced brutality this afternoon?  Today I am pairing German thrash metal gods, Kreator and their latest album, "Phantom Antichrist" with Squatters Beers multi-award winning India Pale Ale.  Damn!  I love this band and this beer!

"Phantom Antichrist" is an intense explosion of Millie Petrozza's and Sami Yli-Sirnio's guitars, Christian Geisler's bass, Ventor's drums, and Petrozza's harsh and screaming vocals from start to finish.  In the early 1980s Kreator was a bit of a Metallica clone, but after 30 years of building their own, unique sound, fan base, and catalogue, the irony lies in the fact that Metallica now wishes they sounded this good, this raw, this intense, this tight, this fucking THRASH!  This is the real head-banging deal ladies and gentlemen!   There are definitely elements of old-school Kreator here, but it is fresh, powerful, and everything you want in a thrash metal album.  Without apology, the Kreator boys pound you with tracks like the environmentalist "Death to the World," the socially critical "Civilization Collapse," the religiously critical "Your Heaven, My Hell," and the all-out rocker "Victory Will Come."  And hands down, the title track "Phantom Antichrist" is a beautifully intense, stand alone text book thrash metal track... this is your new thrash text book metal heads!  And make sure you check out "From Flood to Fire..." what a wonderfully complex track of brutal honesty , emotion and craftsmanship with almost ethereal guitar work.  And of course, the finale - "Until Our Paths Cross Again."  This is the band and the album that every American thrash metal band should be listening to for inspiration.

Due to the aggressive intensity of the "Phantom Antichrist" album, I had initially planned on pairing it with a big, high alcohol content Imperial Stout or Belgian, but those are usually slow "sippers".  Because of the speed and head-banging nature of the music, I decided to go with something that would go down smooth, quick, and easy, but still with a good kick.  And Squatter's IPA does just that...  Squatter's IPA pours a beautiful and cloudy golden amber with a thick, frothy 1-2 finer head with very prominent, sustained lacing.  The nose is very aromatic and "skunky"- floral, piney, and citrusy.  Coming in at 6.5% alcohol and around 55 on the IBU scale, Squatter's IPA is a very flavorful, very hoppy and dry India Pale Ale with notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, and of course the north western hops I love so much.  And like any good, quality IPA, there's that lovely resiny, bitter, "oily" aftertaste.  Like Kreator's "Phantom Antichrist," Squatters Beers India Pale Ale is an intense, in-your-face, hand-crafted masterpiece of complexity, aggressive flavor and depth.

Do yourself a huge favor and grab a Squatters Beers India Pale Ale, pick up Kreator's "Phantom Antichrist" from http://www.heavymetalshop.com/, and turn your living room into your very own, one-man/woman mosh pit!!