December 24th, 2020 - An Eternal War On Xmas!

 

Good evening my friends!!  The Meista here tonight pairing Arch Enemy's "War Eternal" and a War On Xmas! If You Want It from Illuminated Brew Works on this Christmas Eve!  Hell yeah!  Now I realize that Illuminated Brew Works originally made this brew with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas/War Is Over" song in mind and I could've paired it with my copy of "Shaved Fish," but that seemed just too obvious and I thought that bold booziness would go nicely with Arch Enemy's bold melodic death metal style.  :)

  
Album Info: 

• Artist: Arch Enemy
• Title: "War Eternal"
• Recorded: Late 2013 through early 2014 at Fascination Street Studios, Örebro, Sweden
• Release date: June 10th, 2014 (9th studio album by Arch Enemy)
• Record company: Century Media
• Production: Arch Enemy
• Album cover art: Costin Chioreanu
• Personnel: Michael Amott (lead and rhythm guitar, and keyboards), Nick Cordle (lead and rhythm guitar), Sharlee D'Angelo (bass guitar), Daniel Erlandsson (drums), and Alissa White-Gluz (lead vocals)
• Additional musicians: Henrik Janson (orchestration and string arrangements), Ulf Janson (additional keyboards, orchestration, and string arrangements), Stockholm Session Strings (strings), and Per Wiberg (mellotron)
• Musical style: Melodic/progressive death metal, progressive metal, and hints of power metal
• Sound: Like the song "Avalanche", the sound on "War Eternal" is a wall of crashing sound!  White-Gluz's ultra-aggressive vocals coupled with the battery ram of sonic ferocity of the band demands your attention from the haunting opening mellotron note of "Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude In F Minor)" to the final heart monitor effects of "Not Long For This World".
• Major themes: Deception, hate, war, aggression, honesty, regret, death, etc.
• Notes: "War Eternal" is the first Arch Enemy album without long-time vocalist Angela Gossow, who stepped down from vocal duties to be the band's business manager.  Nick Cordle left the band soon after the release of "War Eternal" and just before their European tour.  He was replaced by killer guitarist Jeff Loomis of Nevermore fame.
• Tracks: 

1. "Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude In F Minor)"
2. "Never Forgive, Never Forget"
3. "War Eternal"
4. "As The Pages Burn"
5. "No More Regrets"
6. "You Will Know My Name"
7. "Graveyard Of Dreams"
8. "Stolen Life"
9. "Time Is Black"
10. "On And On"
11. "Avalanche"
12. "Down To Nothing"
13. "Not Long For This World"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: https://www.ibw-chicago.com/
• Brew: War On Xmas! If You Want It 
• Style: White milk stout / spiced ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 11.0%
• Ingredients: White stout brewed with Indonesian vanilla beans, Vietnamese cassia bark cinnamon, and nutmeg
• Pour: The color of an Arnold Palmer iced tea, the  displays a 2+ -finger, frothy eggshell white head with good retention and layered doily lacing.
• Nose: A big, spicy, and boozy aroma with a nice balance of sweeter malt, there are notes of nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla bean, marshmallow, eggnog, spiced rum, honey, and sweet caramel/toffee. 
• Taste: With loads of spicy, creamy, boozy, and light fruit flavor, the War On Xmas! is characterized by notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, eggnog, spiced rum, light apple or pear, toffee, and a well-balanced and sweet malt backbone. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the 's mouthfeel is creamy, smooth, and spicy with a sweet and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The spicy, sweet, and boozy flavors and aromas work so perfectly well as a foil to the aggression and intensity of "War Eternal"!  The soaring guitar work of Amott and Cordle shines even brighter with the sweeter notes, while that spicy and boozy punch is right in line with the brutal vocals of Ms. White-Gluz!

Skål and hails!!  Helan går!!