February 15th, 2014 - Holy Diving With A Franziskaner!

Evenin' my friends!  The Meista here with another heavy-duty rockin' pairing for you tonight... a favorite of mine, "Holy Diver" by Dio and a Franziskaner Weissbier (Naturtrub Premium Hefe-Weissbier) from Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu!  Hell yeah!  \m/  \m/

Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, "Holy Diver" is the debut album by American metal band Dio, which was made up of the always incredible Ronnie James Dio (RJD) on lead vocals, the amazing (and very young at the time) guitarist Vivian Campbell (now with Def Leppard), kick-ass bassist Jimmy Bain (who had played with RJD in Rainbow), and bad-ass drummer Vinnie Appice (who had played with RJD in Black Sabbath).  "Holy Diver" was released on May 25th, 1983.  The quintessential Dio album, "Holy Diver" is a MUST for any true metal head.  I think this album may define 1980s metal more than any other... at least for me anyway.  Musically speaking, it is aggressive, fast-paced power metal with wonderful hooks, beautiful melodies, and jaw-dropping solos.  Thematically, the album explores good-versus-evil conflicts, religious and romantic hypocrisy, and fantasy/science fiction motifs.  Every (and I mean EVERY) track on this album is gold!!  From those fiery opening notes on "Stand Up And Shout" to the closing doomy notes of "Shame On The Night", every chord, every vocal, every cymbal crash is perfectly executed metal!  The complete (and perfect!) track list includes:

1. "Stand Up And Shout"
2. "Holy Diver"
3. "Gypsy"
4. "Caught In The Middle"
5. "Don't Talk To Strangers"
6. "Straight Through The Heart"
7. "Invisible"
8. "Rainbow In The Dark"
9. "Shame On The Night"

The Franziskaner Weissbier from Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu is a traditional Bavarian Hefe-Weissbier.  It pours a very cloudy and bubbly dirty straw-gold with a 2-finger, frothy, white head.  The nose is a combo of yeast and fruit ester.  Notes of soft banana, lemon zest, clove, nutmeg, and honey-wheat bread abound.  Light to medium bodied with high carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, but with some nice, frothy creaminess and slightly sour bite.  The flavor is wonderfully complex and tasty!  This is a true Hefe-Weissbier (not some watered down, crappy American Hefeweizen), so there are big notes of clove, nutmeg, yeast, banana bread, and a hint of pink bubble gum.  (You don't put a damned lemon slice in this either!)  The finish has this wonderful spicy bite as well that lingers for a few minutes... leaving you begging for more... just like Dio's "Holy Diver"!!

PROST!!  And HAILS!!