April 5th, 2020 - A Starship IPA For The Troopers And Voodoo Rangers Of The Stars

Good evening and hails metal heads and hop heads!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here rocking the hell out to "Extreme Power Metal", the latest album from power metal shredders DragonForce and a juicy and delicious Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA from New Belgium Brewing Company!  Hells yeah!!  This pairing goes out to my friends Shane McCormick and Sandy Villegas... cheers brotha and sista!!  Rock on!!

Album Info:

• Artist: DragonForce
• Title: "Extreme Power Metal"
• Recorded: 2019 at Fader Room Studio, Mix Unlimited, and "portable computers around planet Earth"
• Release date: September 27th, 2019 (8th full-length studio album by DragonForce)
• Record company: earMusic
• Production: Damien Rainaud
• Album cover art: Stan-W Decker
• Personnel: Gee Anzalone (drums and backing vocals), Marc Hudson (lead and backing vocals), Frédéric Leclercq (bass and backing vocals), Herman Li (guitars and backing vocals), and Sam Totman (guitars and backing vocals)
• Additional musicians: Steve Francis (backing vocals on "Troopers Of The Stars"), Coen Janssen (keyboards and piano), Ross Mallon (backing vocals on "Troopers Of The Stars"), Tim Mekalick (backing vocals on "Troopers Of The Stars"), Kalen Chase Musmecci (backing vocals), Clive Nolan (backing vocals), Josh O'Brien (backing vocals on "Troopers Of The Stars"), and Emily Ovenden (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Power metal, speed metal
• Sound: Upbeat and melodic, the sound on "Extreme Power Metal" is an incredibly fast, powerful, inviting, and complex music journey.  The band blends heavy and soaring guitar riffs with fast-paced, thunderous drumming and bass.  The vocal prowess of Hudson is a force of nature!  They compliment and play off of each other so very well!   
• Major themes: With songs about video games, science fiction, fantasy, and WWII, themes on the album include, valor, bravery, power, good vs. evil, speed, heavy metal, space exploration, war, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Highway To Oblivion"
2. "Cosmic Power Of The Infinite Shred Machine"
3. "The Last Dragonborn"
4. "Heart Demolition"
5. "Troopers Of The Stars"
6. "Razorblade Meltdown"
7. "Strangers"
8. "In A Skyforged Dream"
9. "Remembrance Day"
10. "My Heart Will Go On" (Céline Dion cover)

    
Brew Info:

• Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.newbelgium.com/
• Brew: Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)  
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 7.7%
• IBUs: 50
• Ingredients: Pale, Munich, and Oat malts with Galaxy, Jester, El Dorado, and Idaho 7 hops
• Pour: The Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA pours a hazy bright orange-gold with a frothy and creamy, 1+ finger, bright white head that displays lots of intricate and layered lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, citrusy, juicy, and slightly bready.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, tangerine, pineapple, orange juice, mango, and papaya along with more subtle notes of doughy bread, summer wild grass, pine resin, and caramel.
• Taste: The taste, like the nose is characterized by tropical, citrusy, and light malty flavors.  There are notes of fresh pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, orange juice, mango, guava, pineapple, light melon, pine, herbal tea, and hints of caramel. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA's mouthfeel is very crisp and very juicy with a dry, slightly bitter, yet clean finish.

Overall pairing: The punchy and aggressive, yet fruity and complex flavors and aromas of New Belgium's great Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA are perfect for the power metal punch and high energy of DragonForce!  Those big, hoppy citrus notes are great for the straightforward rocking depth, while the sweeter tropical and malt notes are great for the fast, melodic rhythms and vocal prowess!

Cheers!!