August 24th, 2020 - King Felix And The Heretics

 

καλησπερα evil-doers and craft brew freaks!  Your drinking pal the Meista here getting a little evil with Rotting Christ's most recent album, "The Heretics" and a bright and citrusy King Felix from the fine folks at Illuminated Brew Works!  Hell yes!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Rotting Christ
• Album: "The Heretics"
• Recorded: 2018 at Pentagram Studios in Athens, Greece
• Release date: February 15th, 2019 (13th studio album by Rotting Christ)
• Record company: Season Of Mist
• Production: Sakis Tolis
• Album cover art: Maximos Manolis
• Additional artwork: Vyacheslav Smishko
• Personnel: Sakis Tolis (vocals, guitars, keyboards, and percussion), and Themis Tolis (drums)
• Additional musicians: Theodoros Aivaliotis (choir vocals), Stamatis Ampatalis (percussion), Melechesh Ashmedi (vocals), Alexis Karamelis (backing vocals on "Πιστεύω"), Vasilis Koutsoyflakis (percussion), Alexandros Louziotis (choir vocals), Dayal Patterson (intonations), Manos Six (percussion), Giannis Stamatakis (choir vocals), Stelios Steele (poem intonation), Nikos Velentzas (percussion), and Irena Zybina (vocals on "Ветры злые") 
• Musical style: Melodic black metal with elements of symphonic metal, traditional metal, progressive metal, and Greek and Middle Eastern folk music
• Sound: Bombastic, dark, atmospheric, and hauntingly poetic, with "The Heretic," Rotting Christ once again provides a wonderfully unique and infernal musical journey blending black metal elements with symphonic metal, traditional metal, and progressive metal, along with traditional Greek folk phrases and concepts.  It is this blending of styles along with their incredible musicianship that makes "The Heretics" such a fascinating and mesmerizing album. 
• Major themes: Religion, darkness, evil, the occult, death, folklore, mythology, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "In The Name Of God"
2. "Ветры злые"
3. "Heaven And Hell And Fire"
4. "Hallowed By Thy Name"
5. "Dies Irae"
6. "Πιστεύω"
7. "Fire, God And Fear"
8. "The Voice Of The Universe"
9. "The New Messiah"
10. "The Raven"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: https://www.ibw-chicago.com/
• Brew: King Felix
• Style: New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.5%
• Ingredients: Flaked oats and 2-Row malts with Motueka, Mandarina Bavaria, and Nelson Sauvin hops 
• Pour: The King Felix pours a very hazy, very bright orange-yellow with a thin, bright white head with good sustain and soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very citrusy and very tropical with more subtle dank, sweet, and malty aromas.  There are aromas of orange juice, orange peel, orange pith, lemon zest, grapefruit rind, tangerine, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, stone fruit (apricot and peach), raspberry, honeydew melon, light doughy bread, a hint of honey, a hint of pine resin, wild flowers, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose with lots of citrusy, tropical, sweet, and malty flavors.  There are notes of orange juice, tangerine, pink grapefruit, mango, pineapple, dried apricot, melon, crackery biscuit, soft caramel/toffee, and a little white pepper spiciness in the finish.
• Mouthfeel: The King Felix is very crisp, very juicy, and quite smooth with a dry, slightly bitter, slightly spicy finish.

Overall pairing: The King Felix is a very complex, very robust, very bright NEIPA... perfect for the dark beauty and intricate bombast of Rotting Christ's wonderful "The Heretic"!  Those sweeter, more fruity flavors and aromas go great with the guitars, soaring melodies, and choral work, while the more dank, more bitter, more spicy notes go great with the lyrical content, thunderous drums and percussion, and the more aggressive lead vocals. I highly recommend both the album and the brew!

Yasou!!  Hails!!