Good evening fellow headbangers and ale drinkers! The Meista here with another metal and beer pairing for you. Tonight I am pairing local (Salt Lake City, Utah) extreme metal outfit, Stalemate Flesh and their new album, "Freedom 2020" with Utah's own, Uinta Brewing Company's Sixteenth Anniversary Barley Wine.
Complex, multi-layered, and quite heavy (10.4-10.6% ABV), Uinta Brewing Company's Sixteenth Anniversary Barley Wine is beastly brew that was released several years back to celebrate their 16th anniversary. With such a rich and big flavor, the Sixteenth Anniversary Barley Wine really compliments the intensity of Stalemate Flesh's sound I think and is a great sipping ale so you can really concentrate on the delivery of the music. The Barley Wine's nose is malty and sweet with notes of plum and raisin as well as rich soil. Dark amber/light chocolate in hue with a very smooth and malty character, the Sixteenth Anniversary Barley Wine is a very flavorful ale. As with any barley wine, it is full-bodied and there is no carbonation and a significant "booziness" to the beer, and yet it is very silky and goes down smooth. Uinta uses a good amount of hops to help balance the high alcohol content so there is a certain floral dryness to the brew as well that I think works well with the aggressive nature of Stalemate Flesh.
Influenced by the likes of Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad, Bathory, Death, and Alice Cooper, Stalemate Flesh's sound is a mix of thrash metal, black metal, and death metal along with a bit of theatrical rock for good measure. Coupled with socio-political lyrics and driving riffs, the music of Stalemate Flesh pairs wonderfully with the intense flavors and overall heaviness of the Barley Wine. This talented two-man band is made up of Christus Black (vocals, lead rhythm and bass guitars, drums, and keyboards) and Spikehilda (vocals and keyboards). Songs like "Oapmeal" and "Wizardry" take a critical view of Christianity while songs like "Shitdiot" and "The End Of History (...And The Last Man)" deal with the current political climate. And speaking of complexity and layers (like a good barley wine), check out "The Sound Of An Empty Home"... very interesting song... dark and foreboding with great hooks! And "No One Will Care When You Die" and "Asphyxia" just plain rock... and brutally so! The thing I really like about Stalemate Flesh is their juxtaposed rawness and aggression along with their complex song structure and subject matter. I see good things ahead for this band!
Check out Stalemate Flesh at http://www.facebook.com/stalemateflesh and you can stream their album, "Freedom 2020" at http://soundcloud.com/stalemateflesh for FREE!! And get yourself a bottle or two of Uinta Brewing Company's Sixteenth Anniversary Barley Wine for an evening of Stalemate Flesh heaviness! Cheers!
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