February 13th, 2022 - Alpha Point To Omega Point

 

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight with another great pairing for ya... a deliciously juicy Alpha Point IPA from Revision Brewing Company and Epica's fantastic 2020 album "Omega"!!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Epica
• Title: "Omega" 
• Recorded: January through May 2020 at Sandlane Recording Facilities (Rijen) Bader Studios (Weil der Stadt) Casterly Rock Studio (Serradifalco) Smecky Music Studios (Prague) Sint Antonius Kerk (Overlangel) Sandip Banerjee's Studio (Kolkata) Kevin Codfert's Studio (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) PaulyB Studios (Tampa) The Grid (Montreal
• Release date: February 26th, 2021 (8th studio album by Epica)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Hans van Vuuren
• Album cover art: Stefan Heilemann (art direction, design, and photography)
• Personnel: Isaac Delahaye (lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, orchestral snare drum, and orchestral toms), Mark Jansen (rhythm guitars and growling vocals), Coen Janssen (synths, grand piano, glockenspiel, tubular bells, orchestral snare drum, orchestral toms, Gran casa, bongos, finger cymbals, tambourine, shaker, barchimes, choir arrangements, choir scoring, orchestral arrangements, and additional samples and effects), Simone Simons (lead and backing vocals), Rob van der Loo (bass), and Ariën van Weesenbeek (drums, orchestral snare drum, orchestral toms, and additional growling vocals) 
• Guest musicians: Paul Babikian (spoken words), Sandip Banerjee (sitar, santoor, sarod, bansuri, didgeridoo, tabla, pakhwaz, mridangam, ghatam, tavil, ganjira, dafli, and gang), Marcela Bovio (backing vocals), Jeroen Goossens (flute, bass flute, piccolo, clarinet, ney, bansuri, low whistle, and tin whistle), Igor Hobus (orchestral snare drum, orchestral toms, gong, suspended cymbal, cymbal a due, and congas), Linda Janssen (backing vocals), Vicky Psarakis (spoken words) Joost van den Broek (congas), and Zaher Zorgati (vocals), The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Kamerkoor PA'dam Choir, and Zangschool BrabantTalent Children's Choir 
• Musical style: Symphonic metal, gothic metal, progressive metal
• Sound: Bombastic, symphonic, theatrical, cinematic... the sound on Epica's wonderful "Omega" is a powerful and stunning musical journey!  It blends beautiful orchestral movements with massive metal intensity... and of course Simone Simons' amazing vocals! 
• Major themes: The meaning of life, life and death, calmness, uncertainty, nature, philosophy, religion, spirituality, justice, pain, sorrow, suffering, frustration, anger, dreams, etc.  Of the album's lyrics, Jansen stated: ""We as humanity, we were drifting apart like competition, you see that in the corporations' competition. And while we in fact, flourish while we are working together." 
• Tracks: 

1. "Alpha – Anteludium"
2. "Abyss of Time – Countdown To Singularity"
3. "The Skeleton Key"
4. "Seal Of Solomon"
5. "Gaia"
6. "Code Of Life"
7. "Freedom – The Wolves Within"
8. "Kingdom of Heaven, Part III – The Antediluvian Universe"
• I. "Ātman"
• II. "Sri Yantra"
• III. "Halls of Amenti"
• IV. "Duality"
• V. "The Chikhai Bardo – Navigating The Afterlife Realms"
• VI. "The Flower Of Life – The Cosmic Spiral"
9. "Rivers"
10. "Synergize – Manic Manifest"
11. "Twilight Reverie – The Hypnagogic State"
12. ""Omega – Sovereign Of The Sun Spheres"
• I. "The Omega Point"
• II. "The Hounds Of The Barrier"
• III. "The Apocalypse Of The Illuminated Soul"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Revision Brewing Company (Sparks, Nevada)
• Website: https://revisionbrewing.com/
• Brew: Alpha Point IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 25 
• Ingredients: Citra and Galaxy hops
• Pour: The Alpha Point IPA pours a very hazy, very bright golden-orange hue with a frothy, bright white, 1-finger head with good retention and lots of sudsy, sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, fruity, and floral.  There are aromas of orange juice, tangerine, peach, apricot, pineapple, mango, wildflowers, biscuit, and soft caramel/toffee.
• Taste: Hop-forward, the taste of the Alpha Point IPA is citrusy, fruity, and malty.  There are notes of orange juice, tangerine, peach, mango, pineapple, guava, melon, and sweet caramel and biscuity malt.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp and very juicy, yet smooth with a dry, slightly sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The Alpha Point IPA from Revision Brewing Company is a tasty, juicy, complex, yet inviting brew... perfect for the complexities, intricacies, and beauty of  Epica!  The flavors and aromas of this tasty brew blend wonderfully well with Simone's beautiful and soaring vocal prowess, the explosive guitars, soaring keyboards, and thunderous bombast of the bass and drums, as well as the amazing choir and orchestra!

Proost!!  And hails!!