December 14th, 2018 - Alpha And [Codex] Omega

Good afternoon hellions!  Your heavy metal drinking buddy, the Meista here today with another pairing for ya... a delicious Alpha Coffee Lager from Desert Edge Brewery and "Codex Omega" by Greek death metal band Septicflesh!

Album Info:

• Artist: Septicflesh
• Title: "Codex Omega"
• Recorded: December 2016 to January 2017 at Zero Gravity Studios in Athens, Greece and at Fascination Street Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.  The orchestra was recorded at Smecky Studios in Prague, Czech Republic.
• Release date: September 1st, 2017 (10th studio album by Septicflesh)
• Record company: Season of Mist Records
• Production: Jens Borgren and Septicflesh
• Album cover art: Seth Siro Anton
• Personnel: Seth Siro Anton (bass and vocals), Christos Antoniou (lead guitar and orchestration), Kerim "Krimh" Lechner (drums and percussion), and Sotiris Anunnaki Vayenas (rhythm guitar and vocals)
• Additional musicians: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Christina Alexiou (choir),  Kandia Bouzioti (choir), Antonia Despouli (choir), Vahan Galstyan (duduk), Margarita Papadimitriou (choir), Romanos Papadimitriou (choir), Michalis Platanias (choir),  Giannis Poupoulis (oud), Kiriaki Trohani (choir), Nikos Tsachalinas (choir), and Flora Tzini (choir)   
• Musical style: Symphonic death metal, gothic metal, melodeath
• Sound: Dark, dramatic, melodic, bombastic, and majestic, "Codex Omega" is an epic musical journey!  
• Major themes: Death, hell, evil, darkness, deceit, the occult, mythology, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Dante's Inferno"
2. "3rd Testament (Codex Omega)"
3. "Portrait Of A Headless Man"
4. "Martyr"
5. "Enemy Of Truth"
6. "Dark Art"
7. "Our Church, Below The Sea"
8. "Faceless Queen"
9. "The Gospels Of Fear"
10. "Trinity"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Desert Edge Brewery (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://desertedgebrewery.com/
• Brew: Alpha Coffee Lager
• Style: Kellerbier
• Serving: 16 ounce pint off the tap
• ABV: 4.0%
• IBUs: 22
• Ingredients: Pilsner, Vienna, Light Munich, and Dark Munich malts with Saaz hops and organic cold brew coffee from Alpha Coffee.
• Pour: The Alpha Coffee Lager pours a hazy, bronze-red hue with a frothy, 1+ finger, bright white head with great retention and lots of intricate and layered spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, toasty, earthy, and spicy.  There are big aromas of fresh brewed coffee along with more subtle malts, grassy hops, and hints of pepper.
• Taste: The taste of the Alpha Coffee Lager follows the nose with lots of roasty, earthy, toasty, and spicy flavors.  There are notes of rich roasted coffee, slightly bitter hops, sweet malts, and a little spice.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Alpha Coffee Lager is very smooth, yet crisp with a clean, dry finish.
• Note: Alpha Coffee is a combat veteran-owned coffee house.  With every bag of coffee purchased, Alpha Coffee sends beans to U.S. deployed troops.  Proceeds from the Alpha Coffee Lager helped send 100 pounds of delicious coffee to troops all over the world!

Overall pairing: Today's pairing is all about duality: rich coffee with the crispness of a lager and the aggression/brutality of death metal and the beauty and complexity of symphonic music.  The seasonal Alpha Coffee Lager from Master Chad at Desert Edge Brewery is a wonderfully flavorful and roasty brew... perfect for the intensity and gothic depth of Septicflesh's "Codex Omega"!  Make sure you get into Desert Edge before they run out of this amazing brew!
    

Cheers and hails to defenders of freedom and metal!!