September 3rd, 2020 - A Big Bad Baptist Of The Sect Of Vile Divinities

 

Hey there evildoers, headbangers, and craft brew lovers!  The Meista here today getting the holiday weekend off to the right start (a day early) with a pairing of the brutal and brand new "Sect Of Vile Divinities" beautiful swamp green/mint green vinyl album by death metal legends Incantation and a very tasty, bold, and boozy Big Bad Baptist Reserve 2020 from Epic Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Incantation
• Title: "Sect Of Vile Divinities"
• Recorded: 2020
• Release date: August 21st, 2020 (12th full-length studio album by Incantation)
• Record company: Relapse Records
• Production: Incantation
• Album cover art: Eliran Kantor
• Personnel: Sonny Lombardozzi (lead guitars), John McEntee (guitars and vocals), Kyle Severn (drums), Chuck Sherwood (bass), Luke Shively (lead guitar)
• Musical style: Death metal with elements of death/doom
• Sound: Progressing their sound ever forward, with "Sect Of Vile Divinities", Incantation continues the musical trek we last heard on the excellent "Profane Nexus".  This album, this incarnation of the band delivers the sound, purpose, and attitude that truly is and should be the definition of death metal!  With crushing rhythms, truly insane and infernal guitar work, and brutally guttural vocals, Incantation provides an album that is as fresh and brutal as their earliest works, but with a more directed voice and a "cleaner" more "crisp" sound thanks to the engineering and mixing wizardry of Dan Swanö.  
• Major themes: With fascinating songs about Hindu, Jewish/Christian, Mesopotamian, and South American ancient gods/entities and demons, lyrical themes on the album include mythology, paganism, the occult, death, darkness, evil, blasphemy, violence, etc.  Sherwood has really outdone himself on this one!
• Tracks:  
1. "Ritual Impurity (Seven Of The Sky Is One)"
2. "Propitiation"
3. "Entrails Of The Hag Queen"
4. "Guardians From The Primeval"
5. "Black Fathom’s Fire"
6. "Ignis Fatuus"
7. "Chant Of Formless Dread"
8. "Shadow-Blade Masters Of Tempest And Maelstrom"
9. "Scribes Of The Stygian"
10. "Unborn Ambrosia"
11. "Fury’s Manifesto"
12. "Siege Hive"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Epic Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://www.epicbrewing.com/
• Brew: Big Bad Baptist Reserve 2020
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 25 ounce bottle
• ABV: 13.2% 
• Ingredients: Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt 2-Row Black Malt, and Roasted Barley with Nugget, Chinook, and Cascade hops along with coffee, coconut, and cacoa nibs
• Pour: The Big Bad Baptist Reserve pours an opaque, black as hell/very deep, deep dark brown with a creamy, 1-finger, dark mocha head with good sustain and sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by roasty, toasty, chocolaty, earthy, and boozy elements.  There are aromas of baker's dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark roasted malts, freshly ground dark roast coffee, espresso, burnt toffee, sweet caramel, fresh cream, marshmallow (especially as it warms), loam, oak, a hint of soy sauce, and bourbon.
• Taste: The taste of the Big Bad Baptist Reserve follows the nose with big notes of dark chocolate, coffee, and bourbon with more subtle flavors of hearty bread, cream, marshmallow, and sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Big Bad Baptist Reserve is very thick, velvety, creamy, and smooth, with a very dry, slightly bitter, and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: Epic's Big Bad Baptist Reserve 2020 is a very complex and flavorful brew that demands your full attention... a perfect companion to the death metal doomy onslaught that is the mighty Incantation!  Those big, bold, and malty notes go great with the more doomy elements of the album, while the bitterness and boozy bite go great with the more aggressive, chaotic, and infernal dimensions!  I highly recommend both the album and the brew... but these are definitely not for the faint at heart... both will knock you down and kick the shit outta ya!  :)

Cheers and hails headbangers!!  Keep it craft and keep it heavy!