September 17th, 2016 - Transcending The Radius... or ...A Radial Transcendence

Good afternoon!  I've got a great new album and a great new beer for you for today's pairing... both just released this past week: "Transcendence" (Deluxe Edition) by the Devin Townsend Project and the Radius from Deseret Edge Brewery at the Pub!

Album Info:

• Artist: The Devin Townsend Project
• Title: "Transcendence" (Deluxe Edition)
• Recorded: March 27 through May 2016 at Armoury Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Release date: September 9th, 2016 (7th studio album by the Devin Townsend Project and the 17th album by Devin Townsend) (2016-09-09) (1969-04-16)
• Record company: HevyDevy Records
• Production: Devin Townsend and Adam "Nolly" Getgood (of Periphery fame)
• Album cover art: Anthony Clarkson
• Personnel: Mike St-Jean (keyboards), Devin Townsend (vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, programming, and production), Ryan Van Poederooyen (drums), Brian Waddell (bass guitar), and Dave Young (keyboards and guitars)
• Additional musicians: Ché Aimee Dorval (vocals) and Anneke van Giersbergen (vocals)
• Musical style: Progressive metal/rock, power metal, symphonic metal, experimental art rock, power pop
• Sound: As with other Townsend works, on "Transcendence" he combines metal, avant garde, pop, symphonic, and a touch of techno synth to create complex, epic, and bombastic tracks of beauty, power, and depth.  Although there is a huge heaviness to the tracks, there is also a bright quality to the sound, the approach, and the lyrics.  I find it powerfully heavy and at the same time uplifting!  Along with the brilliant musical execution, the combined depth of the vocal performances of Townsend, Dorval, and van Giersbergen is utterly mind-blowing!  Simply put, the sound on "Transcendence" is GIGANTIC!!
• Major themes: Life, relationships, human interaction, spiritualism, self-awareness, self-discovery, seeking knowledge, love, hope, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Truth"
2. "Stormbending"
3. "Failure"
4. "Secret Sciences"
5. "Higher"
6. "Stars"
7. "Transcendence"
8. "Offer Your Light"
9. "From The Heart"
10. "Transdermal Celebration" (Ween cover)

Bonus disc: "Holding Patterns"

1. "Gump"
2. "Celestial Signals" (demo)
3. "Support The Cause" (demo)
4. "Into The Sun" (demo)
5. "Time Overload" (demo)
6. "Lexus" (demo)
7. "Farther On" (demo)
8. "Victim" (demo)
9. "Monkey Mind" (demo)
10. "Canucklehead" (demo)
11. "Loud"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Deseret Edge Brewery at the Pub (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: www.desertedgebrewery.com 
• Brew: Radius
• Style: American Blonde Ale
• Serving: Growler
• ABV: 4.0%
• IBUs: 14?
• Ingredients: Pale malt and wild hops harvested (with help from yours truly!) in a secret location... all the ingredients are obtained from within a 150-mile radius of Salt Lake City.
• Pour: The Radius pours a clear, golden-yellow with a thin, bubbly, bright white head that leaves trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very grassy, floral, citrusy, vegetal, and biscuity.  There are aromas of fresh wild hops, wild flowers, lemongrass, light herbs, light spices, and crackery biscuit.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose.  There are notes of grassy hops, grapefruit, lemongrass, light pine, herbs, lemon zest, and slightly sweet and crackery biscuit.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and well-carbonated, the Radius' mouthfeel is very crisp, with a dry and slightly spicy finish.

Overall pairing: The bright, crisp, and very green flavors of the Radius from Deseret Edge is perfect for the epic ethereal vastness that is the sound on both discs of the Devin Townsend Project's latest masterpiece, "Transcendence"!!  The hop flavors of the Radius conger images of lush canyon riverbeds and marshlands while the album congers the vastness of time and space... together creating a wonderfully mesmerizing taste and sonic experience!

Cheers and hails!!