Another pairing from the Meista today? Hells yes!! Good evening ale and metal lovers! In a continuation from last night's pairings, I'm pairing Opeth's brilliant 2002 album, "Deliverance" with a Russian River Brewing Company Redemption Pale Ale!
"Deliverance" was recorded at the same time as their seventh album, "Damnation" between July 22 and September 4, 2002. The two albums were originally going to be released as a double album, but the record company decided to release them 5 months apart, purposely dividing the band's two most prevalent styles: prog-rock and death metal. Starkly different from the mellow and progressive "Damnation," "Deliverance" is one of Opeth's heaviest albums... pure fucking death metal in the vein of Morbid Angel and Death. Mike Åkerfeldt growls like an infernally angered beast on this album... guttural and powerful! Åkerfeldt's and Peter Lindgren's guitar work is wonderfully delivered, powerful, driving, fast and aggressive. Martin Mendez's bass work is heavy and brutal. Martin Lopez's drum work is the stuff of thunder storms and battle fronts! And producer Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree fame) provides richly textured backing vocals, additional guitars, Mellotron, piano, and keyboards. Songs like "Wreath," "Deliverance," "A Fair Judgement," "By The Pain I See In Others," "Master's Apprentice" are powerful, brutal, aggressive, and in-your-face death metal! Man, I love this album!!
Redemption Pale Ale is the sister beer to Russian River's Damnation and a Belgian-style Pale, originally brewed to compete with German Pilsners during the WWII era. Belgian Pales differ from other ales of this style, by traditionally being less bitter, and using aged hops for a more delicate hop finish. They often are more malty than other Pales and Pilsners. Redemption pours a cloudy, pale straw color with a thin, white head that dissipates quickly - due to the low hop content. The nose is a very soft and mellow pear. Light-bodied, the mouthfeel is very crisp and biting due to the high carbonation. Like the nose, the flavor of Redemption is rather mellow, which makes for a nice foil against the intensity of "Deliverance." There are notes of sour apple, soft lemon, some sour dough bread, herbal black tea, and spicy, peppery flavors like white pepper and a hint of nutmeg. Redemption finishes clean with a nice refreshing lemon twist... very much like iced tea. Good stuff!
Check out Russian River Brewing Company at http://russianriverbrewing.com/! And make sure you pick up a copy of "Deliverance"!!
Hails!!
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