October 3rd, 2015 - An Endless Procession of 1554 Ale

 

 

Evening my metal brethren!  The Meista here gettin' a like dark, a little evil, and very heavy with "Endless Procession Of Souls" from Swedish death metal band Grave and a 1554 Black Lager from New Belgium Brewing Company!  This pairing goes out to my metal brotha Jerm... cheers and hails buddy!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Grave
• Title: "Endless Procession Of Souls"
• Recorded: In 2012 at Studio Soulless, Stockholm
  Release date: August 27th, 2012 (10th studio album by Grave)
• Record company: Century Media Records
• Production: Ola Lindgren and Grave
• Album cover art: Costin Chioreanu
• Personnel: Ronnie Bergerståhl (drums), Tobias Cristiansson (bass), Mika Lagrén (guitars), and Ola Lindgren (guitars and vocals)
• Musical style: Death metal
• Sound: Intense, in-your-face classic death metal!  Lindgren and the boys lay it down hard and heavy on "Endless Procession Of Souls"!!  Their playing is fast and furious with just enough doominess to keep it heavy as hell!  And Lindgren's vocals are, in a word, BRUTAL!!
• Major themes: Death, destruction, impending doom, war, terrorism, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Dystopia"
2. "Amongst Marble And The Dead"
3. "Disembodied Steps"
4. "Flesh Epistle"
5. "Passion Of The Weak"
6. "Winds Of Chains"
7. "Encountering The Divine"
8. "Perimortem"
9. "Plague Of Nations"
10. "Epos"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.newbelgium.com/
• Brew: 1554 Black Lager
• Style: Euro Dark Lager
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.6%
• IBUs: 21
• Ingredients: Lager yeast, Pale, Carapils, Black, Munich, and Chocolate malts with Nugget hops
• Pour: Deep mahogany
• Nose: The nose of the 1554 is characterized by herbs, spices, dark chocolate, coffee, and dank, earthy roots.
• Taste: The taste of the 1554 is very roasty and very toasty with lots of bitter dark chocolate notes along with sweet malts, some fruity acids, and spicy pepper.  There are notes of bakers chocolate, medium roasted coffee, hazelnut, caramel/toffee, lemon zest and black pepper.
• Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low to moderate carbonation, the front and finish are dry, but the mid-range is very malty.

Overall pairing: The rich, earthy, and roasty flavors of the 1554 Black Lager make for a perfect (death) bedfellow to Grave's incredibly powerful "Endless Procession Of Souls"!  There's just enough acidic bite to balance out the beer and compliment the aggression and bitterness of the lyrics!

HAILS!!  Skål!!