January 12th, 2020 - Dark Saga Of The Snowcat

Hello and happy Sunday!  The Meista here rocking the hell out to Iced Earth's amazing "Dark Saga" and a crisp and tasty Snowcat India Pale Ale from UTOG Brewing Company on this snowy day here in Utah!  Hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Iced Earth
• Title: "Dark Saga"
• Recorded: January through February 1996 at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida
• Release date: May 20th, 1996 (4th studio album by Iced Earth)
• Record company: Century Media
• Production: Jim Morris and Jon Schaffer
• Album cover art: Todd McFarlane
• Personnel: Dave Abell (bass guitar), Matt Barlow (lead and backing vocals), Mark Prator (drums and backing vocals), Jon Schaffer (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), and Randall Shawver (lead guitars)
• Additional musicians: Kate Barlow (backing vocals), Jim Morris (guitars), and Tom Morris (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Power metal, heavy metal
• Sound: "Dark Saga" is a big, bold, powerful album with lots of catchy hooks, blazing power chords, thunderous rhythms, and the intense and richly textured vocal acrobatics of Matt.
• Major themes: A concept album about comic book antihero Spawn, themes include life and death, power, evil, corruption, deception, revenge, violence, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Dark Saga"
2. "I Died For You"
3. "Violate"
4. "The Hunter"
5. "The Last Laugh"
6. "Depths Of Hell"
7. "Vengeance Is Mine"
8. "The Suffering (Part 1: Scarred)"
9. "The Suffering (Part 2: Slave To The Dark)"
10. "The Suffering (Part 3: A Question Of Heaven)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: UTOG Brewing Company (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: https://www.utogbrewing.com/
• Brew: Snowcat India Pale Ale
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 49
• Ingredients: 2-Row and Caramunich malts and Magnum, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops
• Pour: The Snowcat pours a hazy, copper-amber with a frothy, off-white 1+ finger head with good retention and lots of intricate, sticky, and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, tropical, dank, malty, and sweet notes.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, orange peel, tangerine, light mango, pineapple, herbal tea, light pine resin, fresh bread, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Snowcat follows the nose with hoppy, fruity, and malty flavors.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, lime, mango, pineapple, light pine, herbal tea, crackery biscuit, and sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the Snowcat is crisp, smooth, and refreshing with a clean, dry finish. 

Overall pairing: The crisp, hoppy, well-balanced and very drinkable flavors of UTOG's Snowcat India Pale Ale is a great beer for the power, might, and intensity of Iced Earth's brilliant "Dark Saga"!  The crispness of the brew is great for the dual guitar precision of Shawver and Schaffer, while the malty and citrusy notes work really well with the powerful rhythm section of Abell and Prator, and it is all tied together beautifully by Barlow's amazing vocal prowess!

Cheers!!  Hails!!