March 12th, 2022 - Old Star Valley

 

God kveld evildoers!  Your drinking pal the Meista here tonight pairing a punchy Star Valley IPA from Melvin Brewing Company and "Old Star", the killer 17th album from Norwegian monster metalists Darkthrone!

Album Info:

• Artist: Darkthrone
• Title: "Old Star" 
• Recorded: October through November 2018 at Necrohell II Studios
• Release date: May 31st, 2019 (17th studio album by Darkthrone)
• Record company: Peaceville Records
• Production: Nocturno Culto
• Album cover art: Chadwick St. John (titled "The Shephard Of The Deep)
• Personnel: Gylve Fenris ~More Claypool~ Nagell (drums) and Nocturno Culto (electric guitars, bass, and vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal with elements of black metal, doom metal, and thrash metal
• Sound: Fusing traditional heavy metal with black metal guitar work and themes, the sound on "Arctic Thunder" harkens back to multiple eras of Darkthrone, but with a more modern take.  It is dark, it is aggressive, it is powerful! It is simple, yet brilliant!  It is all about the riffs!  The vocals are pure, traditional extreme metal. Of the album's sound, Fenris stated: "Old Star‘ – again we are here with THE RIFFS! A while after our previous ‘Arctic Thunder‘ album it became apparent that we would continue in that same style, BLACK OLD HEAVY METAL with slow thrash, classic doom and slow death metal.  As many have focused on the 70s sound over the last 20 years, the mix on our new album has ended up being more 80s than ever. The songs are more metal than ever! Ted‘s songs have a lot of black metal in them, faster and slower but also doomier parts and reoccurring parts. My songs are more linear written, it’s an ancient 80s underground trick, with breaks, all slow heavy or slow thrash, classic doom or slow death.  All in all it is our most 80s album so far and our most metal one to date with drum sound typical for the 80s USA/German market and damned lyrics, which are all written by me. We feel that ‘Old Star‘ is the big brother of ‘Arctic Thunder‘. More solid and with even better riffs."
• Major themes: Death, darkness, coldness, evil, power, nature, the macabre, the mysterious, mythology, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "I Muffle Your Inner Choir"
2. "The Hardship Of The Scots"
3. "Old Star"
4. "Alp Man"
5. "Duke Of Gloat"
6. "The Key Is Inside The Wall"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Melvin Brewing Company (Alpine, Wyoming)
• Website: http://www.melvinbrewing.com/ 
• Brew: Star Valley IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 20 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• IBUs: 50
• Pour: The Star Valley IPA pours a cloudy, bright yellow hue with a frothy, bright white, 1+ finger head with good retention and sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, floral, and malty.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, tangerine, lime, orange zest, wildflowers, light pine resin, and toasted bread.
• Taste: The taste of the Star Valley IPA follows the nose with lot of citrusy, malty, and earthy flavors.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, orange zest, pine, herbal tea, and soft caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, slightly bitter finish. 

Overall pairing: The Star Valley IPA is a punchy, bright, crushable brew that wonderfully compliments the aggressive raw power that is Darkthrone's brilliant "Old Star"!!  'Nuff said!

Skål!!  Hails!!