November 24th, 2018 - The FMU Sciences

Good evening and hails my friends!  The Meista here getting heavy as hell with a pairing of  "The Sciences" by Sleep and Moab Brewery's FMU Double IPA!  This pairing is lovingly dedicated to my sister-in-law and metal sista, Stephanie... cheers my dear!!  Love you!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Sleep
• Title: "The Sciences"
• Recorded: 2018 at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California
• Release date: April 20th, 2018 (4th studio album by Sleep)
• Record company: Third Man Records
• Production: Sleep
• Album cover art: Christopher Acevado (photography) and Josh Graham (layout)
• Personnel: Al Cisneros (bass, water pipe, and vocals), Matt Pike (guitars), and Jason Roeder (drums)
• Musical style: Stoner rock / metal, doom metal, heavy metal
• Sound: Steeped in Black Sabbathary to the utmost and fueled by a good dose of distortion and "herbal remedies", "The Sciences" is a wonderfully heavy, classic doom, sonic explosion of an album!  This may very well be my favorite Sleep album to date.  Pike channels early Tony Iommi with his powerhouse riffs whilst Cisneros and Roeder lay down one of the most thunderous and churning slow grooves to grace my turntable!  And Cisneros' vocals are like Lemmy slowed down to 33 RPMs!  Man I'm digging the hell out of this album!!
• Major themes: Drugs, rock and roll, heavy metal, mythology, environmentalism, conservation, science, botany, life, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "The Sciences"
2. "Marijuanaut's Theme"
3. "Sonic Titan"
4. "Antarcticans Thawed"
5. "Giza Butler"
6. "The Botanist"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Moab Brewery (Moab, Utah)
• Website: http://www.themoabbrewery.com/
• Brew: FMU Double IPA
• Style: Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) / Imperial IPA (IIPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 9.6%
• IBUs: 137
• Ingredients: Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, and Simcoe hops
• Pour: The FMU Double IPA pours a slightly hazy, golden-yellow with a billowy, firm, 1+finger eggshell white head with great retention and lots of intricate and layered spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, sweet, floral, malty, and dank.  There are aromas of lemon zest, grapefruit rind, ganja, pine resin, freshly baked wheat bread, toasted barley, sweet caramel, and a touch of honey.
• Taste: Hop-forward, the taste of the FMU Double IPA is citrusy, herbal, and .  There are notes of orange zest, orange pith, tangerine rind, grapefruit, black tea, light pine, and .
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the FMU Double IPA is very crisp, bitter, and a bit oily with a bitter, peppery, and very dry finish.

Overall pairing: So I usually like to pair doom metal with a big, thick, sludgy Imperial stout, but with the obvious label / album cover motif and the organic, biting, and bitter elements of both the brew and the album, this seemed like the perfect pairing for a Saturday night!  The guitar work on this album seems a bit more aggressive than on their previous albums, which meshes wonderfully well with the bitterness of the FMU!

Cheers!!  Hails to Sleep!!