March 14th, 2015 - Gigantic In Time

 

Good afternoon!  The Meista here pairing "In Times", the latest album by Norwegian extreme metal gods, Enslaved (that I picked up Tuesday at the Heavy Metal Shop) and a Gigantic IPA from Gigantic Brewing Company, which was my pre-show brew of choice last night for the Enslaved show here in Salt Lake City!!  Hell yes!!  This pairing goes out to my metal sista, Steph... cheers and hails my friend!!
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Enslaved
• Title: "In Times"
• Recorded: Duper Studios (Bergen, Norway) and Solslottet Studio (Bergen, Norway).
  Additional recordings at Conclave and Earshot Studios (Bergen, Norway) and Peersonal Sound Studios.  Mixed at Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden).
• Release date: March 10th, 2015 (13th studio album by Enslaved)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Album cover art: Truls Espedal
• Personnel: Cato Bekkevold (drums and percussion), Ivar Bjørnson (rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal (lead and rhythm guitar), Grutle Kjellson (bass, lead growling vocals, and backing vocals), and Herbrand Larsen (keyboards, mellotron, synthesizer, lead clean vocals, and guitar)
• Musical style: Blackened progressive Viking metal, black metal, progressive rock, psychedelic rock
• Sound: Combining the melodic and harmonic elements of progressive rock and the fast, fiery, aggressive brutality of Norwegian black metal, with "In Times", Enslaved creates a wonderful rich and colorful, thought-provoking album that is a sheer joy to experience!  (Think Pink Floyd meets Mayhem or Porcupine Tree meets Celtic Frost.)  The combination of Kjellson's brutal growls with Larsen's fluid and ethereal clean vocals is simply brilliant.  The writing along with musicianship is top-notch... maybe there best album to date... and that is saying a lot!
• Major themes: Viking mythology and lore, inner strength, desolation, war, etc.  According to Bjørnson, the album is "is about “times” and existing in and across several times, the same way you have in mythological or a mystical perspective of time, creation and the forthcoming, the end of the world."
• Tracks:

1. "Thurisaz Dreaming"
2. "Building With Fire"
3. "One Thousand Years Of Rain"
4. "Nauthir Bleeding"
5. "In Times"
6. "Daylight"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Gigantic Brewing Company (Portland, Oregon)
• Website: http://www.giganticbrewing.com/
• Brew: Gigantic IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.3%
• Ingredients: Cascade, Centennial, Crystal, and Simcoe hops
• Pour: Hazy dark copper with a thick and frothy, 2-finger head that displays intricate spider web lacing and excellent retention.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by piney, floral, and herbal hops and hints of grain and citrus.  There are aromas of pine resin, spicy herbs, orange juice, lemon, and grassy hops with light aromas of crackery biscuit.
• Taste: The flavor of the Gigantic IPA is characterized by bitter, herbal and citrusy hops with more subtle caramel malt and grain elements.  There are notes of pine, grapefruit, black tea, Sweet Tarts, light caramel/toffee and biscuit.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the Gigantic IPA's mouthfeel is fairly crisp and smooth, but with sharp, bitter bite and dry finish.

Overall pairing: The bold, bitter hop flavors of the Gigantic IPA made for a great pre-show brew for the richly textured and brutal metal power and brilliance that is Enslaved!  The brew goes great with the band's latest offering as well with the wonderfully blended Cascade, Centennial, Crystal, and Simcoe hops that all seem to bring out the progressive and extreme metal aspects of "In Time"!

Skål!!  Hails!!