October 24th, 2020 - Demons Of The AstroShake!

Good evening hop heads and metal heads!  The Meista here tonight pairing an Astro Shake Milkshake Double IPA from Level Crossing Brewing Company with Unleash The Archers' kick-ass sophomore album "Demons Of The AstroWaste"!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Unleash The Archers
• Title: "Demons Of The AstroWaste"
• Recorded: 2011 at Vogville Studios in Port Coquitlam, British Colombia, Canada, Studio in North Vancouver, British Colombia, and Rain City Recorders in Burnaby, British Colombia
  Release date: May 2011 (2nd full-length studio album by Unleash The Archers)
• Record company: Independent 
• Production: Unleash The Archers
• Album cover art: JP Fournier
• Personnel: Scott Buchanan (drums), Brayden Dyczkowski (guitars and vocals), Brittney Slayes (lead vocals), Zahk Hedstrom (bass), and Mike Selman (guitars) 
• Guest musician: Grant Truesdell (guitars)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, speed metal with elements of progressive metal and even a little melodic death metal for good measure!
• Sound: With "Demons Of The AstroWaste", Unleash The Archers sound is bombastic, aggressive, and pure fucking metal!  What really stands out on the album is Slayes' huge vocal range as well as Dyczkowski's, Selman's, and Truesdell's acrobatic guitar work on a monster rhythm canvas of Buchanan's thunderous drums and Hedstrom's pounding bass. 
• Major themes: "Demons Of The AstroWaste" is a sci-fi concept album about the exploits of a ruthless, yet heroic mercenary in space in the distant future.  Themes include war, deception, betrayal, power, might, destruction, heroism, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "00:00:01"
2. "Dawn Of Ages"
3. "The Realm Of Tomorrow"
4. "General Of The Dark Army"
5. "Daughters Of Winterstone"
6. "Battle In The Shadow (Of The Mountain)"
7. "Despair"
8. "The Outlander"
9. "City Of Iron"
10. "The Fall Of The Galactic Guard"
11. "Astral Annihilation"
12. "Ripping Through Time"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Level Crossing Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://levelcrossingbrewing.com/
• Brew: Astro Shake Milkshake Double IPA 
• Style: Milkshake Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) / Imperial IPA (IIPA) 
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.7%
• Ingredients: El Dorado, Sabro Cryo, Strata, and Bru-1 hops with Pearl Malt, Pure Idaho pilsner, Solstice flaked oats, Solstice flaked red wheat, Briess Blonde Roasted Oat malt, and lactose
• Pour: The Astro Shake pours a very hazy, golden orange.  The 2+ finger bright white head is billowy, rocky, and displays great retention with big, chunky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, fruity, malty, and sweet... very similar to a Creamsicle!  There are aromas of orange juice, a hint of pineapple, vanilla bean, mango, fresh cream, yogurt, light coconut, and soft caramel. 
• Taste: The flavor follows the nose and is very reminiscent of an Orange Julius!  There are notes of orange juice, orange yogurt, tangerine, cream, vanilla extract, vanilla wafers, toffee, a hint of booze, and a hint of white pepper in the finish.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, yet creamy and smooth with a sweet, slightly spicy, dry finish.

Overall pairing: The bold, complex, and sweet, malty flavors of Astro Shake make it a great beer for the metal intensity and fiery speed and power of the tracks on "Demons Of The AstroWaste"!  The bold citrus flavor is great for the more aggressive elements of the album, while the sweet vanilla maltiness works great Slayes' vast range!

Cheers and hails!!