August 13th, 2015 - King Diamond's [Big] Eye

Good evening evil-doers!!  The Meista here tonight pairing King Diamond's "The Eye" and a Big Eye India Pale Ale from Ballast Point Brewing Company! 
 
Album Info:

• Artist: King Diamond
• Title: "The Eye"
• Recorded: June through August 1990 at Sweet Silence Studio, Copenhagen
• Release date: October 30th, 1990
• Record company: Roadrunner Records
• Production: King Diamond
• Album cover art: Thomas Holm??
• Personnel: Pete Blakk (guitars), Roberto Falcao (keyboards), Andy LaRocque (guitars), Hal Patino (bass), Kim Bendix Petersen (aka King Diamond - vocals), and Snowy Shaw (electronic drums)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, progressive metal, theatrical rock, neo-classical metal
• Sound: One of my favorite King Diamond records, "The Eye" blends the shock rock glam sound of earlier Alice Cooper with a more driving and aggressive, powerful heavy metal sound (definitely some elements of Mercyful Fate and Judas Priest)!  As always LaRocque and crew tear it up while the King does what he does best!
• Major themes: "The Eye" is a concept album that blends actual historical events with occult fantasy.  The story revolves around a magic eye necklace that records the events it sees.  The album's major themes revolve around Christian atrocity (persecution, violence, murder, and sexual abuse) along with themes of witchcraft, seduction, evil, and darkness. 
• Tracks: 

1. "Eye of the Witch"
2. "The Trial (Chambre Ardente)"
3. "Burn"
4. "Two Little Girls"
5. "Into the Convent"
6. "Father Picard"
7. "Behind These Walls"
8. "The Meetings"
9. "Insanity"
10. "1642 Imprisonment"
11. "The Curse"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego, California)
• Website: http://www.ballastpoint.com/
• Brew: Big Eye India Pale Ale
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.0%
• IBUs: 71
• Ingredients: Columbus and Centennial hops
• Pour: Lovely clear copper-amber with a frothy 1-2 finger white head that holds well and displays intricate spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is dank, earthy, citrusy, fruity, and malty.  There are big aromas of pine resin and grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine along with more subtle notes of mango, caramel, herbal tea, and biscuit. 
• Taste: Like the nose, the flavor of the Big Eye IPA is a blend of bitter, citrus, and sweet malt.  There are notes of grapefruit, tangerine, mango, pineapple, pine, bitter root, black tea, and caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Well-carbonated and medium-bodied, the mouthfeel of the Big Eye is smooth and slightly creamy with a bitter, piney finish and aftertaste.

Overall pairing: The punchy and bitter bite of the Big Eye is great for the driving metal force of the band's musical prowess, while the citrus and malt complexity is perfect for the massive and haunting vocal range of King Diamond! 

Cheers and hails!!