August 15th, 2015 - A Hot, Spicy, Blackened Little Number

Evening hop-heads, rivet-heads, and evil-doers!!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here tonight pairing black/thrash metal legends Venom and their album "Metal Black" with a spicy Chipotle IPA from Aztec Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!!
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Venom
• Title: "Metal Black"
• Recorded: 2006 at DoomtooN Facilities UK, Off World Mobile Recording, Insomniac Vision
• Release date: March 27th, 2006 (11th studio album by Venom)
• Record company: Castle/Sanctuary
• Production: Conrad Lant
• Album cover art: Cronos?
• Personnel: Antony "Antton" Lant (drums), Conrad "Cronos" Lant (bass guitar and vocals), and Mike "Mykvs" Hickey (guitar)
• Musical style: Thrash metal, speed metal, black metal
• Sound: A fast, furious, aggressive, in-your-face metal bombardment, the sound on Venom's "Metal Black" is a roaring runaway train bearing down on you!  Cronos' vocals are the wonderful embodiment of angry metal while Mykvs' guitar work is a buzz-saw of intensity and Antton's drumming is a powerhouse of machine gun fire, exploding bombs, and a driving and rhythmic stampede! 
• Major themes: The occult, hell, Satan, evil, death and destruction, violence, murder, pain and suffering, religious criticism, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Antechrist"
2. "Burn In Hell"
3. "House Of Pain"
4. "Death & Dying"
5. "Rege Satanas"
6. "Darkest Realm"
7. "A Good Day To Die"
8. "Assassin"
9. "Lucifer Rising"
10. "Blessed Dead"
11. "Hours Of Darkness"
12. "Sleep When I'm Dead"
13. "Maleficarvm"
14. "Metal Black"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Aztec Brewing Company (Vista, California)
• Website: http://aztecbrewery.com/
• Brew: Chipotle IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA) / Chili Beer
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle 
• ABV: 6.6%
• IBUs: 61
• Ingredients: Smoked jalapeño peppers (chipotles) and Cascade hops
• Pour: Murky, deep copper amber with a big, 2-finger frothy/creamy head with great retention that displays sticky and intricately layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose of the Chipotle IPA is very hoppy and spicy with a solid malt backbone.  There are notes of grapefruit, lemon zest, pine resin, smoked peppers, and soft caramel/toffee and biscuit.
• Taste: Like the nose, the Chipotle IPA's taste is a nice blend of bitter and citrusy hops with sweet malts and a nice spicy kick. 
• Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation and a medium-body, the mouthfeel of the Chipotle IPA is crisp, bitter, and spicy with a clean, but spicy finish that lingers.

Overall pairing: Like the bold flavor of the Chipotle IPA from Aztec Brewing Company, "Metal Black" is a powerful and aggressive treat!  The bitter hop notes and that lovely peppery bite of the chipotle is perfect for the head-banging intensity of Venom!!

Cheers and hails!!