Good evening thrashers and beer-lovers! Tonight we are going to get a little evil! The Meista here pairing a Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale from Stone Brewing Company and "Resurrection" by those lovable boys from Newcastle upon Tyne, England... Venom! This pairing goes out to two buddies... Parkey, who gave me the brew and Jerm, who gave me the tunes. Cheers guys!!
"Resurrection" is Venom's 10th studio album and was released in 2000 and is the last album to feature founding member, guitarist Jeff Dunn (aka Mantas). Probably one of the original "extreme" metal bands, Venom's sound on "Resurrection" is more in line with traditional thrash metal although there are elements of death metal and black metal. Like earlier works, this Venom offers no quarter and no apology with this album... just in-your-face, fast-paced, aggressive, and bitter heavy metal! From the first explosive note of the title track to the final notes of "Leviathan," they offer the listener fist-pumping monster thrashing! Songs like "Vengeance," "War Against Christ," "All There Is Fear," "Pain," "Pandemonium," "Black Flame (Of Satan)," "Disbeliever," "Man, Myth, & Magic," and "Thirteen" are in a word... BRUTAL! The vocals and bass work of Conrad Thomas Lant (aka Cronos) is powerful, gruff, and pure metal! His brother, Antony Lant (aka Antton) would take on the drums with unbridled fury and precision. As much as I LOVE the raw energy and originality of early Venom, I honestly think this may be their best album in terms of writing and musical delivery. It is fierce, fast, and through musical notes and dark lyrics, basically says "fuck all!" You can hear the Black Sabbath and Motörhead influence, but it is completely original.
The Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale is an American Black Ale, also referred to as an American Black IPA or a Cascadian Dark Ale. This bad boy pours jet black with some reddish brown glints on the sides and the bottom of the glass and a huge, frothy and rocky mocha head with insanely strong spider web lacing and sustain. The nose is a combination of sweet caramel and hoppy pine. The mouthfeel is sticky and thick... a full-bodied killer! There are some really big malty notes and more subtle ester notes. The flavor is a great balance of rich roasted chocolaty and coffee with sweeter, sharper hops. There a mocha coffee notes up front that morph into sharp and bitter hops and then into a black tea-like finish. There are strong piney resin notes throughout. The finish is very bitter, which I love, but it may not be appealing to "novice" Black IPA drinkers. Coming in at 8.7% ABV, there's a bit of a boozy kick, but the complex flavors hide it well. The heaviness and bitterness of this ale goes really well with those piss and vinegar sentiments of Venom! Like "Resurrection," the Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale is fierce, unapologetically bitter, and a tasty bastard!! I also get the sense that this brew is whispering "fuck all" in my ear as I drink it too! :)
Well, I'm going back to banging my head and finishing this kick-ass Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale so you need to go check out Stone Brewing Company at www.stonebrewing.com and pick up a copy of Venom's "Resurrection" from the Heavy Metal Shop: www.heavymetalshop.com today!!
Cheers!!
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