September 14th, 2018 - The Cursed Servants Of Chaos

Good afternoon and happy Friday rockers and brew lovers!  The Meista here tonight pairing "Servants Of Chaos", a compilation album by Cirith Ungol and a Cursed Mixed Culture Sour Pale Ale from TRVE Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Cirith Ungol
• Title: "Servants Of Chaos"
• Recorded: 1979 through 1991
• Release date: September 5th, 2001
• Record company: Metal Blade
• Production: Cirith Ungol, Ron Goudie, Brian Slagel
• Album cover art: Thomas Ewerhard  
• Personnel: Tim Baker (lead vocals), Jimmy Barraza (guitars), Jerry Fogle (guitars), Robert Garven (drums and percussion), Vernon Green (bass), Greg Lindstrom (bass and guitars), Michael "Flint" Vujea (bass), and Robert Warrenburg (bass and vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, doom metal, progressive metal
• Sound: Characterized by fantasy based lyrics and a fast-paced, aggressive, and epically doomy musical assault, Cirith Ungol's tunes are a hybrid between late 1970s hard rock and early 1980s heavy metal, very much in the vein of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands like Angel Witch, early Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Tygers of Pan Tang.  The songs are monstrous rock classics... powerful, epic, and heavy!
• Major themes: Fantasy, mythology, sword and sorcery, good vs. evil, life and death, power, destruction, darkness, etc.
• Notes: A compilation album, "Servants Of Chaos" contains content from all four of the band's studio albums, a self-titled demo album from 1979, and live recordings.
• Tracks:   

Disc 1:

1. "Hype Performance"
2. "Last Laugh"
3. "Frost And Fire"
4. "Eyes"
5. "Better Off Dead"
6. "100 MPH"
7. "I'm Alive"
8. "Bite The Worm"
9. "The Twitch"
10. "Maybe That's Why"
11. "Ill Met In Lankhmar"
12. "Return To Lankhmar"
13. "Darkness Weaves"
14. "Witchdance"
15. "Feeding The Ants"
16. "Obsidian"

Disc 2: 

1. "Death Of The Sun"
2. "Fire" (Arthur Brown cover)
3. "Fallen Idols"
4. "Chaos Rising"
5. "Fallen Idols" (demo)
6. "Paradise Lost"
7. "Join The Legion"
8. "Before The Lash"
9. "Atom Smasher" (live)
10. "Master Of The Pit" (live)
11. "King Of The Dead" (live"
12. "Last Laugh" (live)
13. "Cirith Ungol" (live)
14. "Secret Agent Man" (Johnny Rivers cover)
15. "Ferrari 308QV"

DVD (live performance on November 9th, 1984 at the Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club):

1. "I'm Alive"
2. "Black Machine"
3. "Master Of The Pit"
4. "King Of The Dead"
5. "Death Of The Sun"
6. "Finger Of Scorn"
7. "Frost And Fire"
8. "Cirith Ungol"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: TRVE Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado)
• Website: https://www.trvebrewing.com/
• Brew: Cursed Mixed Culture Sour Pale Ale
• Style: American Wild Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.7%
• Pour: The Cursed pours a hazy golden-yellow with a thin, effervescent, bright white head that dissipates quickly, leaving virtually no lacing.
• Nose: The nose is funky, fruity, hoppy, earthy, and floral.  There are aromas of lemon, wet hay, stonefruit (apricot, peach), Sweet Tarts, wild flowers, grassy hops, barnyard funk, Brett, and grainy earthiness.
• Taste: The taste of the Cursed follows the nose with lots of funky, fruity, earthy flavors.  There are notes of lemon juice and zest, orange peel, .
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp, tart, and acidic with a dry, lip-puckering clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Cursed Mixed Culture Sour Pale Ale from TRVE Brewing is a punchy, yet very drinkable and refreshing, tart brew... great for pairing with the very underrated metal power that is Cirith Ungol!  The complexity and uniqueness of the beer aligns perfectly with the depth and purity of the wonderful tracks on "Servants Of Chaos"!

Cheers and hails!!