August 11th, 2012 - Chaos In The Mine!

And now friends, I bring you one of the greatest thrash albums ever written in the Meista's humble opinion... Sepultura's "Chaos A.D." I am pairing it today with an equally amazing brew, the Miner Mishap Black Lager from Choc Beer Company/Krebs Brewing Company out of Krebs, Oklahoma (the oldest brewery in OK).  (Thanks for the beer Laura!!)

Choc's Miner Mishap is a German Schwarzbier, also known as a Black Pilsner or a Black Lager. It pours a deep brown/black hue with a thin, foamy head.  Brewed with imported Pilsner, Munich, and Carafa Malts as well as Perle and Hallertaur Mittlefreu Hops, the Miner Mishap is a complex, robust, and tasty brew. Coming in at 28 IBUs and 5.3% ABV, this Black Lager is somewhat hoppy, velvety, and rich.  There are notes of roasted caramel, chocolate, maple, and coffee.  Medium to heavy in body, the Miner Mishap has a good mouthfeel and a nice slightly smoky and earthy finish.  The name of the beer comes from a story about the founder, Pete Prichard who in 1919, at the tender age of 21 was nearly killed in a mining accident.  Badly injured, he could not go back into the mines and started brewing and selling beer instead, using a recipe he received from Native Americans in the area.
Tribal, aggressive, unapologetic, thoughtful, and political... a few terms that (under) characterize "Chaos A.D.," the Brazilian thrash metal band's legendary 5th album released in 1993.  This is the album that changed everything for Sepultura, defining them as a force to be reckoned with and truly original in approach and delivery.  Having toured relentlessly for two years with the "Arise" album, the Sepultura boys had grown tired of their sound and wanted to branch out and rediscover themselves... and it definitely worked!  No more would they be viewed as a "Slayer clone"; with "Chaos A.D.," Sepultura created their own unique and diverse sound, incorporating traditional Brazilian percussion and rhythm with hard-core thrash, punk, and groove metal.  The song writing and musicianship is truly astounding, inspiring, and above-all, honest.  With centralized themes of political unrest, massacre of the innocent, protest, and cultural turmoil, "Chaos A.D." demands attention and challenges the metal head listener to think about world issues.  Like the Miner Mishap, "Chaos A.D." is definitely a tasty concoction of complexities, intensity, and all-around amazing flavor!  And yet... even with the depth of themes here, the heaviness of the subject matter, this album still is thrash - aggressive, fast-paced, and utterly brutal! 

The tracks:

1. Refuse/Resist: (a political protest march song - my favorite on the album)

2. Territory (a song about the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis)

3. Slave New World (a protest song against censorship)

4. Amen (a song about the conflict in Waco Texas between David Koresh and his followers and the FBI)

5. Kaiowas (an acoustic instrumental song in honor of a Brazilian Indian tribe "that committed collective suicide in protest against the government that wanted to drive them off the land of their ancestors")

6. Propaganda (a song about media manipulation and judgement)

7. Biotech Is Godzilla (written by Dead Kennedy front man, Jello Biafra, this song looks at the dangers of biotechnology in the hands of the government - Jello sings backup and is the growling Godzilla as well!)

8. Nomad (a song about people being expelled from their homelands)

9. We Who Are Not as Others (that's it... those are the only lyrics... brilliant!)

10. Manifest (a faux-radio report of the Carandiru massacre)

11. The Hunt (a cover of a New Model Army song)

12. Clenched Fist (pure thrash, a song of aggressive dissonance)

Learn more about Choc Beers at http://www.chocbeer.com/choc_beer.html#beer/ and pick up a copy of  "Chaos A.D." today from the Heavy Metal Shop: http://www.heavymetalshop.com//!!  Cheers!!