October 10th, 2014 - Blood Of The Dunkel

Guten abend!!  In celebration of Oktoberfest, some more German goodness for you my friends... a pairing of Accept's wunderbar "Blood Of The Nations" and a Flensburger Dunkel from Flensburger Brauerei GmbH Und Co. KG!

Released on August 20th, 2010, "Blood Of The Nations" is the very heavy 12th studio album by German heavy weight metal band Accept.  The album marked the mighty return of the band since their "Predator" album released in 1996.  It is the first Accept album to feature Mark Tornillo on lead vocals and Stefan Schwarzmann on drums.  It is also the first album to include rhythm guitarist Herman Frank since his departure from the band way back in 1983 after the recording of "Balls To The Walls".  Lead guitar work is of course performed by founding member and the profoundly amazing Wolf Hoffmann.  Bass work is performed by the equally talented Peter Baltes.  Steeped in traditional European metal, but with a fresh sound, "Blood Of The Nations" is the slap in the face we metal fans all needed in 2010.  This is pure, unadulterated metal delivered in perfect synchronicity!  Songs like "Beat The Bastards", "Teutonic Terror", "Shades Of Death", "Locked And Loaded", "Rolling Thunder", "Pandemic", "New World Comin'", and "No Shelter" are aggressive, fast-paced, and the epitome of all things heavy!!

The Flensburger Dunkel is a traditional Munich Dunkel Lager, characterized by a rich, complex and sweet malt flavor from the heavy use of Munich malts used.  It pours a beautifully cloudy deep copper amber with a frothy off-white head that leaves lots of intricate spider web lacing.  The nose is characterized by aromas of dark fruit, spice, and roasty malts.  There are scents of cinnamon bread, dates, figs, cloves, and hearty and freshly baked bread.  The taste is a wonderful blend of fruit ester, sweet maltiness, and hoppy bitterness.  There are notes of raisin, plum, thick and hearty bread, soft caramel, a hint of cocoa, and some grassy hops.  Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is rather smooth and oily with a bitter, hop finish. 

Prost!!