July 5th, 2019 - Revenge Of The Revengeful Spirit

Hello and happy Friday my friends!  Let's get the weekend started off right with a pairing of the delicious ReVengeful Spirit Imperial IPA from Stone Brewing Company and the rockin' "Revenge" by Kiss!

Album Info:

• Artist: Kiss
• Title: "Revenge"
• Recorded: February 1991 through March 1992 at various studios
• Release date: May  19th, 1992 (16th studio album by Kiss)
• Record company: Mercury Records
• Production: Bob Ezrin
• Album cover art: William Hames (photography) and Hugh Syme (art direction)
• Personnel: Eric Carr (drums on "Carr Jam 1981" and backing vocals on "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II"), Bruce Kulick (lead guitar, bass on "Every Time I Look At You" and "Tough Love", all guitars and bass on "Carr Jam 1981", and backing vocals), Gene Simmons (bass, vocals, and rhythm guitar on "Domino"), Eric Singer (drums and backing vocals), and Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar and vocals)
• Additional musicians: Jesse Damon (backing vocals), Jaime St. James (backing vocals), Tommy Thayer (backing vocals), Kevin Valentine (drums on "Take It Off"), and Dick Wagner (guitar solo on "Every Time I Look At You")
• Musical style: Heavy metal, hard rock
• Sound: Returning to a harder edge, with "Revenge", Kiss proved that they were still not only a relevant hard rock outfit, but that could bring it hard!  Kulick's chunky guitars with the addition of new drummer Singer (who replaced the late, great Carr) bring an edge that hadn't really been seen (heard) from the band since "Creatures Of The Night".  
• Major themes: Sex, lust, rock and roll, love, anger, revenge, power, life, etc.  Pretty much your usual Kiss overly sexual and cliche lyrics.  :)
• Tracks:   

1. "Unholy"
2. "Take It Off"
3. "Tough Love"
4. "Spit"
5. "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II"
6. "Domino"
7. "Heart Of Chrome"
8. "Thou Shalt Not"
9. "Every Time I Look At You"
10. "Paralyzed"
11. "I Just Wanna"
12. "Carr Jam 1981"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Stone Brewing Company (California)
• Website: http://www.stonebrewing.com/
• Brew: ReVengeful Spirit Imperial IPA 
• Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (IIPA) / Double IPA (DIPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 8.1% 
• Ingredients: Mosaic, Loral, and Mandarina Bavaria hops with pineapple and Mandarin oranges
• Pour: The ReVengeful Spirit pours a very hazy bronze-orange with a frothy, bright white 1+ finger head with good sustain, and lots of layered spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, earthy, hoppy, and sweet.  There are aromas of citrus (orange, tangerine, and grapefruit rind), tropical fruit (mango, guava, and pineapple), pine resin, bready dough, and sweet toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the ReVengeful Spirit is characterized by lots of citrus and tropical fruit, dank earthiness, and sweet malt.  There are notes of orange, pineapple, tangerine, pink grapefruit, melon, mango, pine, black tea, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to ful-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the ReVengeful Spirit is crisp, yet thick, citrusy, yet smooth, and punchy with a mildly bitter and dry finish.

Overall pairing: The ReVengeful Spirit from Stone Brewing is a punchy, fruity, complex, and delicious brew... perfect for the hard rock onslaught that is "Revenge"!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Hails!!