April 2nd, 2021 - The Majesty And Decay Of The Monolith

 

Hello metalheads and craft beer freaks!!  Happy Friday!  The Meista here with another great pairing for ya...  "Majesty And Decay" by death metal monsters Immolation and a bold and tasty Monolith Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from the fine folks at Proper Brewing Company!  

Album Info:

• Artist: Immolation
• Title: "Majesty And Decay"
• Recorded: October through November 2009 at Millbrook Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York
• Release date: March 5th, 2010 (8th studio album by Immolation)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast 
• Production: Paul Orofino
• Album cover art: Pär Olofsson 
• Personnel: Ross Dolan (bass and vocals), Steve Shalaty (drums), Bill Taylor (guitars), and Rob Vigna (guitars) 
• Musical style: Death metal
• Sound: Wonderfully produced, intricately textured, and totally embracing an unconventional song structure, yet still powerfully intense and melodic, the sound on "Majesty And Decay" is a perfect blend of old school brutal death metal and more modern, progressive and technical death metal.  Taylor and Vigna create fiery guitar passages throughout while Dolan and Shalaty drive intricately textured rhythms. 
• Major themes: Death, destruction, hate, ruin, violence, rage, war, anti-religion, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Intro"
2. "The Purge"
3. "A Token Of Malice"
4. "Majesty And Decay"
5. "Divine Code"
6. "In Human Form"
7. "A Glorious Epoch"
8. "Interlude"
9. "A Thunderous Consequence"
10. "The Rapture Of Ghosts"
11. "Power And Shame"
12. "The Comfort Of Cowards"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Proper Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.properbrewingco.com/
• Brew: Monolith Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 10.2%
• Pour: The Monolith pours a very, very dark brown (almost ink black) with a 1-finger, creamy and firm, mocha head that displays lots of sticky, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, malty, fruity, and boozy.  There are aromas of dark roasted malts, dark chocolate, cocoa, cream, vanilla bean, stone fruit, black cherry juice, oak, and hints of Grenache wine and whiskey.
• Taste: The taste of the Monolith follows the nose with malty, earthy, toasty, roasty, and slightly bittersweet flavors.  There are bold notes of roasted malts, rich dark roasted coffee, bittersweet dark chocolate, cocoa, cream, vanilla, caramel/toffee, subtle dark fruit, light whiskey, and hints of black licorice and spicy rye.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation the mouthfeel is thick, creamy, and velvety smooth with very dry, slightly bitter and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Monolith Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from Proper Brewing is a robust, roasty, and very bold stout... great for the !  Those roasted malts blend wonderfully well with the thunderous crunch of the guitars, bass, and drums while the booziness and bittersweet dark chocolate flavors go great with the brutal vocals and dark lyrics! 'Nuff said!

Cheers and hails... keep it metal and keep it craft!!