January 1st, 2022 - Beyond Acheron... And Mole

 

Good evening and happy New Year metal maniacs and artisan brew freaks!  The Meista here tonight pairing one of my favorite releases from 2021, "Beyond Acheron", the killer debut album by Vincent Crowley and a spicy and rich Imperial Mole Porter from Bewilder Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Vincent Crowley
• Title: "Beyond Acheron"
• Recorded: Summer 2019 at Sonic Lounge Studios in Grove City, Ohio 
• Release date: June 26th, 2021 (1st studio album by Vincent Crowley)
• Record company: Hellhammer Records
• Production: Vincent Crowley and Joe Viers
• Album cover art: Timo Wuerz 
• Personnel: Ryan Arter (drums), Vincent Crowley (bass and lead vocals), and Art Taylor (guitars and bass)
• Additional musicians: Josh Holdren (keyboards on "Awakening The Four Horsemen" and "Thy Father Suicide"), Ludo “Evil” Legeune (sound effects on "Intro: Beyond Acheron" and "Outro"), Eric Stewart (guitars on "Awakening The Four Horsemen" and "Thy Father Suicide"), and Aaron Werner (keyboards) 
• Musical style: Doom metal with elements of heavy metal, death metal, black metal, and progressive metal 
• Sound: Taking a much more doom-forward approach than Acheron, Vincent Crowley still utilizes powerful elements of old school heavy metal, death metal, and black metal.  
• Major themes: Death, horror, mythology, evil, darkness, the macabre, sorrow, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Intro: Beyond Acheron"
2. "Where No Light Shines"
3. "My Eternal Vow"
4. "La Muerte"
5. "Bring Forth The Dead"
6. "Masquerade Du Macabre"
7. "Farewell (At Death's Door)"
8. "Outro"
9. "Awakening The Four Horsemen" (bonus track)
10. "Thy Father Suicide" (bonus track)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bewilder Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://bewilderbrewing.com/
• Brew: Imperial Mole Porter 
• Style: English Style Porter with spices
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 10.0%
• IBUs: 25
• Ingredients: Basic Bewilder Porter ingredients with Chipotle peppers, cinnamon, cacao, Mexican vanilla, Mulato, and Pasilla Negro peppers aged in tequila barrels for 8 months.
• Pour: The Imperial Mole Porter pours a deep, dark brown (almost black) hue with a creamy, light mocha, 1-finger head with good retention and lots of sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is spicy, malty, earthy, slightly smokey, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of cinnamon, dark chocolate, vanilla beans, a hint of coffee, chili peppers, light tobacco, oak, and burnt toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the Imperial Mole Porter is rich, roasty, spicy, peppery, slightly sweet, and smokey.  There are notes of dark roasted malts, cinnamon, dark chocolate, rich mole sauce, vanilla, toffee/caramel, light liquid smoke, Chipotle, and a hint of booze.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel is with a peppery, dry, slightly boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Bewilder Imperial Mole Porter is a delightfully spicy and rich brew... a great beer for the heaviness and depth of Vincent Crowley's brilliant debut album "Beyond Acheron"!  The rich malty and earthy elements are great for the doominess of the tracks while the spices lend themselves well to the more aggressive riffs, vocals, and lyrical content. 'Nuff said!     

Cheers and hails!!

And make sure to check out my interview with Vincent Crowley: https://youtu.be/mWzoENcSc98