Good evening!! Tonight your pal the Meista is pairing Death's debut album, 1987's "Scream Bloody Gore" and a Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist from Epic Brewing Company. This pairing is dedicated to the memory of the "Father of Death Metal," Chuck Schuldiner. Rest in peace metal brother! Hails!!
Album Info:
- Artist: Death
- Title: "Scream Bloody Gore"
- Recorded: November 1986 at Music Grinder in Los Angeles, California
- Release date: May 25th, 1987 (1st album by Death)
- Record company: Combat Records
- Production: Randy Burns and Chuck Schuldiner
- Album cover art: Edward Repka
- Personnel: Randy Burns (percussion), Chris Reifert (drums), and Chuck Schuldiner (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, and vocals)
- Musical style: Death metal
- Sound: Created from the building blocks of thrash, punk, and black metal, Death created a whole new sound with "Scream Bloody Gore." It is raw, brutal, and beautifully intense! Schuldiner employed heavily distorted guitars, alternate/tremolo picking, an obsession with minor keys/atonality, machine gun-fast drumming, and an unique and brand new way of approaching vocals in 1986 - growling! And all this with complex song structures and multiple tempo changes! There is an intensity, a raw energy with all of these songs that really had not been heard before... at least not to this degree and definitely not in this fashion. Schuldiner seemed to channel the absurd evil of Venom, the dark rawness of Bathory, the insane aggression of Kreator, and the blistering speed of Slayer with each and every note! (Sadly, Schuldiner died in 2001 from brain cancer.)
- Major themes: With the speed of punk and the aggression of thrash, Death's lyrical focus (and what set them apart from other extreme metal/hardcore bands of the time) was on gore and horror film imagery. Songs like "Zombie Ritual," "Mutilation," "Baptized In Blood," "Torn To Pieces," "Evil Dead," (obvious nod to the film) and the title track, "Scream Bloody Gore" all stemmed from Schuldiner's love of slasher, zombie, and monster movies.
- Note: John Hand was credited on the album as the rhythm guitar player, but he did not actually play on album.
- Tracks:
- "Infernal Death"
- "Zombie Ritual"
- "Denial Of Life"
- "Sacrificial"
- "Mutilation"
- "Regurgitated Guts"
- "Baptized In Blood"
- "Torn To Pieces"
- "Evil Dead"
- "Scream Bloody Gore"
Brew Info:
- Brewery: Epic Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Website: http://epicbrewing.com/
- Brew: Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist
- Style: American Double / Imperial Stout
- Serving: 22 ounce bottle
- ABV: 12.8%
- Ingredients: Green Ethiopian coffee beans aged in whiskey barrels and cacao nibs
- Pour: The Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist pours an opaque ink black color with a thin, but creamy mocha head that leaves sticky and intricate lacing.
- Nose: The nose is earthy, boozy, rich, and roasty. There are bold aromas of bourbon upfront and then rich dark and milk chocolate, bitter cocoa, roasted coffee beans, a bit of dark fruit, oak, and light vanilla bean.
- Taste: The taste is a bold combination of booze, chocolate, and coffee. There are notes of bourbon, peat, dark baker's chocolate, dark roasted malt, dark roasted coffee, oak, vanilla, and light marshmallow.
- Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation, the mouthfeel is rich, thick, velvety, and a little biting with a very dry, boozy, and bitter finish.
Overall pairing: With the ferocious speed, heaviness, and complexity of "Scream Bloody Gore," I felt I needed a beer that was incredibly bold, totally bad-ass, and higher in alcohol, yet very drinkable. The Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist is this beer! This one goes down fairly easy as it warms... so be careful my friends! You can get a bit wonky quite quickly if you are not careful... especially when you are thrashing about to Death!
Death is a MUST for any fan of extreme or death metal. You can order "Scream Bloody Gore" (or any of their great albums) from my buddy Kevin at the Heavy Metal Shop: www.heavymetalshop.com!
Cheers and hails head bangers!!
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