Saturday, June 20, 2015

June 20th, 2015 - The Eternal Idol Of Captain Sig





Good afternoon!  The Meista here pairing the very underrated and industry ignored Black Sabbath album "The Eternal Idol" and a Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale from Rogue Ales!

Album Info:
  • Artist: Black Sabbath
  • Title: "The Eternal Idol"
  • Recorded: October 1986 through March 1987 at Air Studios, Montserrat and Air Studios and Battery Studios, London, England
  • Release date: November 23rd, 1987 (13th studio album by Black Sabbath)
  • Record company: Vertigo Records/ Warner Bros. Records
  • Production: Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, Jeff Glixman, Patrick Meehan (executive producer), and Chris Tsangarides
  • Album cover art: The cover art for the album is based on a statue created by sculptor Auguste Rodin.  The band could not get the rights to use a photograph of the statue so they photographed live models painted to look like they were made of bronze.
  • Personnel: Bob Daisley (bass), Tony Iommi (guitars), Tony Martin (lead vocals), Geoff Nicholls (keyboards), and Eric Singer (drums)
  • Additional musicians: Bev Bevan (percussion - cymbal overdubs on "Scarlet Pimpernel" and "Eternal Idol") and Ray Gillen (original lead vocals)
  • Musical style: Heavy metal / hard rock 
  • Sound: With a much more contemporary and faster hard rock / metal than the earlier doomy sound, "The Eternal Idol" is a richly complex and well-crafted and well-balanced album.  I'm reminded somewhat of Dio-era Sabbath on some of the tracks.  Martin is a wonderfully talented and overlooked vocalist in the Sabbath pantheon.  Daisley's bass work is warm and heavy.  And Iommi is just as brilliant as ever!  
  • Major themes: Criticism of religion and politics, prophecy, fear, darkness, warriors, etc.
  • Notes: Fraught with problems from the beginning, it is rather amazing the album ever was completed. Vocalist Gillen left the band for Blue Murder before he had finished recording his parts.  He was replaced by Martin (ex-Alliance) who had to re-record all the vocal parts.  Bassist Dave Spitz left due to "personal reasons" before recording started and was replaced by Daisley.  But before the album was complete, Daisley left to join Gary Moore's band, taking Singer with him.  Bevan was brought in to finish the percussion.  Once released, the album was not well received by music critics at the time.  And the tour saw further personnel changes.  Due to poor commercial performance, both Vertigo Records and Warner Bros. Records dropped the band.  But regardless of all these issues, I still think "The Eternal Idol" is a kick-ass, musical triumph!
  • Tracks: 
  1. "The Shining"
  2. "Ancient Warrior"
  3. "Hard Life To Love"
  4. "Glory Ride"
  5. "Born To Lose"
  6. "Nightmare"
  7. "Scarlet Pimpernel"
  8. "Lost Forever"
  9. "Eternal Idol"

    Brew Info:
  • Brewery: Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon)
  • Website: http://www.rogue.com/
  • Brew: Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale
  • Style: American Amber
  • Serving: 22 ounce bottle
  • ABV: 6.2%
  • IBUs: 80
  • Gravity: 14.5º PLATO
  • Ingredients: Chocolate, C15, C40, Dare, and Risk Malts along with Bravo hops, Rogue Farms Revolution, and Rebel Hops, and Free-Range Coastal Water and Pacman Yeast
  • Pour: A very murky and deep burnt amber with a bold and persistent, 2-finger tan head that leaves sticky, spider web lacing throughout.
  • Nose: Floral and slightly citrusy with a strong malt backbone, there are aromas of grassy and lemony hops upfront that lead to more buttery, biscuity, and bready notes.
  • Taste: The flavor is sweet, buttery, and malty with a nice hoppy finish.  There are notes of buttery toffee, sweet caramel, hearty bread, Tootsie Rolls, and hints of pine and earthy herbs.
  • Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, sticky, and pulpy with a slightly bitter finish.
Overall pairing:   The rich, complex, malty flavors with lovely hop flavors around the edges of Captain Sig's work really well with the rockin' sound of Black Sabbath's "The Eternal Idol"... and especially Martin's wonderful vocal performance.  In fact, the first time I tasted this brew, the song "The Shining" popped into my head! 

Cheers!!

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