September 10th, 2019 - I Resolve To Drink This Saison De Trahison

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing the wonderful "Resolve", the 3rd album by Pennsylvania progressive power metal band MindMaze and a tasty Saison de Trahison from Saltfire Brewing Company! 


Album Info:

• Artist: MindMaze
• Title: "Resolve"
• Recorded: 2016 through early 2017
• Release date: April 28th, 2017 (3rd full-length studio album by MindMaze)
• Record company: Inner Wound Recordings
• Production: Jeff Teets and MindMaze
• Album cover art: Carl-André Beckston (artwork) and Bruce P. Seaton (logo design)
• Personnel: Mark "Truk" Bennett (drums), Rich Pasqualone (bass and backing vocals), Jeff Teets (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, and drums), and Sarah Teets (lead and backing vocals, and flute)
• Musical style: Power metal, progressive metal
• Sound: With influence from bands like Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, MindMaze once again creates an ambitious and wonderfully executed album that perfectly blends power metal and progressive metal for their third go-round!  Newer members Bennett and Pasqualone drive a powerful and thunderous rhythm throughout that works wonderfully well with Jeff's amazingly slick, soaring, and fiery guitar acrobatics and his atmospheric keys, while Sarah's always stunningly beautiful and wide vocal range demands your attention! 
• Major themes: Emotions, introspection, personal struggles, isolation, sorrow, insanity, overcoming adversity, growth, life, relationships, seeking truth, resolution, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Reverie"
2. "Fight The Future"
3. "In This Void"
4. "Drown Me"
5. "Sign Of Life"
6. "Abandon"
7. "Sanity's Collapse"
8. "One More Moment"
9. "Twisted Dream"
10. "True Reflection"
11. "Shattered Self"
12. "Release"
13. "The Path To Perseverance"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Saltfire Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://www.saltfirebrewing.com/
• Brew: Saison de Trahison
• Style: Saisonnier / Farmhouse Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.3%
• Ingredients: Pilsner, Munich, Vienna, and Rye malts; Magnum, Saaz, and Lemondrop hops; lemon zest and ginger root
• Pour: The Saison de Trahison pours a clear golden-straw color with a bright white, 1-finger head with good retention and soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is spicy, fruity, floral, yeasty, and earthy.  There are big aromas of fresh ginger and lemon zest along with more subtle aromas of crackery malt, cloves, mountain flowers, soft banana, and earthy yeast.
• Taste: The taste of the Saison de Trahison follows the nose with lots spicy, fruity, citrusy, and earthy flavors with a little hint of booziness in the finish.  There are notes of fresh ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemondrops, cloves, fresh herbs, biscuit, and wild yeast.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Saison de Trahison is very crisp, spicy, yet smooth with a dry finish.

Overall pairing: In the complex, spicy, and fruity aromas/flavors of the Saison de Trahison, there are fantastically unique and bold characteristics, making it the perfect brew for the wonderfully enchanting and imaginative melodies of MindMaze on their most recent release, "Resolve"!  The more I listen to this band, the more I love them!  Definitely check out "Resolve" and their previous two albums and grab a SaltFire brew while you are at it!

Cheers!!  Hails!!