April 15th, 2017 - My Evil Cousin's Leprosy

Hello and hails!!  Your pal the Meister here today pairing Death's classic "Leprosy" (2014 Deluxe Reissue) and an Evil Cousin Hoppy Double IPA from Heretic Brewing Company!  Oh, hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Death
• Title: "Leprosy" (2014 Deluxe Reissue)
• Recorded: April 1988 at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida
  Release date: August 12, 1988 (2nd studio album by Death)
• Record company: Combat Records / Relapse Records (2014 Deluxe Reissue)
• Production: Dan Johnson
• Album cover art: Edward Repka
• Personnel: Bill Andrews (drums), Rick Rozz (guitar), and Chuck Schuldiner (guitar, bass, and vocals)
• Musical style: Death metal, technical death metal, thrash metal
• Sound: Furiously fast and aggressive, Death, the first extreme metal band, redefined metal in the late 1980s.  Their debut album, "Scream Bloody Gore" was a ground-breaking monster.  With their 2nd album, "Leprosy", they pushed the boundaries even further.  Machine gun fire ear-splitting drumming, fiery and aggressive face-melting guitars, and Schuldiner's brutal and wholly original vocals are what not only defined "Leprosy" and Death, but the genre as a whole to this day!
• Major themes: Sickness, death, gore, horror, isolation, fear, anger, etc. 
• Notes: Readers of German magazine, Rock Hard voted "Leprosy" as the most important death metal albums of all time!  Damn straight!
• Tracks:   

1. "Leprosy"
2. "Born Dead"
3. "Forgotten Past"
4. "Left To Die"
5. "Pull The Plug"
6. "Open Casket"
7. "Primitive Ways"
8. "Choke On It"
9. "Open Casket" (9/23/87 Rehearsal)
10. "Choke On It" (9/23/87 Rehearsal)
11. "Left To Die" (9/23/87 Rehearsal)
12. "Left To Die" (9/23/87 Rehearsal, Take 2)
13. "Left To Die" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)
14. "Open Casket" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)
15. "Pull The Plug" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)
16. "Choke On It" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)
17. "Born Dead" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)
18. "Forgotten Past" (12/05/87 Rehearsals)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Heretic Brewing Company (Fairfield, California)
• Website: www.hereticbrewing.com
• Brew: Evil Cousin Hoppy Double IPA
• Style: Double India Pale Ale (IPA) / Imperial IPA
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.0%
• IBUs: 100
• Pour: The Evil Cousin pours a slightly hazy, golden apple-yellow with a bright, white, 2-finger frothy head with good retention and intricate, spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very hop forward with lots of citrus, tropical fruit, herbs, and floral and dank earthiness.  There are strong tropical notes of mango and pineapple, grapefruit rind and juice, lemon zest, orange zest, and pine resin with more subtle aromas of cereal grains and caramel malt in the back.
• Taste: A "bold, in-your-face hop monster", the Evil Cousin is a very hop-forward Imperial IPA.  There are a multitude of not-so-subtle notes of pink grapefruit juice, grapefruit rind, tangerine, black tea, pine, spicy herbs, wild flowers, hints of crackery grains and toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with solid carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing, yet somewhat oily with a dry and bitter finish.

Overall paring: What I love about Death's "Leprosy" and Heretic's Evil Cousin Hoppy Double IPA is that both grab you by the collar, slam you against the wall, and smack the crap out of you from the first note to the last!  Neither the album nor the brew are for the week at heart... this is the real deal folks!  So put down your shitty PBR and pick up a real beer to accompany your Death-inspired head banging, rebel rousing, and fist pumping!

Cheers and hails!!  R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner!!