June 16th, 2022 - Echos Of A Lawless Darkness

 

Good evening and happy Thursday metal hellions and craft brew freaks!  The Meista here tonight rocking the hell out with a pairing of "Lawless Darkness" by Watain and a tasty, bold, and rich The Echos Of Darkness Coffee Imperial Stout from Incendiary Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!  And this pairing goes out to my daughter... she turned 20 years old today!!  Happy birthday kiddo!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Watain
• Title: "Lawless Darkness"
• Recorded: 2010 ("during the first two moons") at Necromorbus Studio in Alvik, Sweden
• Release date: June 7th, 2010 (4th studio album by Watain)
• Record company: Season Of Mist Records
• Production: Tore Stjerna
• Album cover art: Zbigniew M Bielak
• Personnel: Erik Danielsson (bass and vocals), Pelle Forsberg (guitars), and Håkan Jonsson (drums)
• Additional musicians: Carl McCoy (vocals on "Waters Of Ain") and Selim Lemouchi aka SL/TDB/AO (lead guitar on "Lawless Darkness" and "Waters Of Ain") 
• Musical style: Black metal
• Sound: Influenced by bands like Bathory, Celtic Frost, Emperor, Mayhem, Mercyful Fate, and Venom, Watain's style of black metal is wonderfully engaging and complex..  It is fast, furious, chaotic, and brutal. Pelle Forsberg's guitar work is fast, furious, and very impressive.  Håkan Jonsson's explosive drum work is almost inhuman.  And Erik Danielsson's vocals drip with evil and work perfectly with the bombastic delivery of the music.  His bass work is excellent as well.
• Major themes: Death, darkness, the occult, chaos, horror, empowerment, force, power, destruction, Hell, evil, etc. 
• Tracks:   

1. "Death's Cold Dark"
2. "Malfeitor"
3. "Reaping Death"
4. "Four Thrones"
5. "Wolves' Curse"
6. "Lawless Darkness"
7. "Total Funeral"
8. "Hymn to Qayin"
9. "Kiss Of Death"
10. "Waters Of Ain"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Incendiary Brewing Company (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
• Website: https://www.incendiarybrewing.com/
• Brew: The Echos Of Darkness Coffee Imperial Stout 
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 9.4%
• Ingredients: 2-Row Malt, Flaked Barley, Flaked Oats, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Roast Malt, and Black Malt with Southern Cali Strain Yeast and Counter Culture whole coffee beans
• Pour: The Echos Of Darkness pours an opaque, deep, dark brown (almost ink black) with a creamy, light mocha head with great retention and lost of sticky, spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, chocolatey, and earthy with hints of booze.  There are aromas of dark roasted coffee beans, espresso, dark chocolate, oak, dark toasted bread, vanilla beans, a hint of cinnamon, and a hint of bourbon.
• Taste: The taste of The Echos Of Darkness follows the nose with lots of earthy, rich, malty, and chocolatey flavors.  There are notes of dark roasted coffee, espresso, dark roasted malts, dark chocolate, cocoa, light vanilla, light cream, earthy hops, and burnt toffee. 
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, creamy, and velvety with a dry, slightly boozy and slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: Black metal deserves a rich and flavorful black beer, don't ya think?  The Echos Of Darkness is a very dark, very bold, rich, and slightly boozy brew, great to pair with the blackened brutality and harshness of Watain's killer "Lawless Darkness" album!  The bitter bite and boozy dryness in the finish is a great companion to the aggressiveness of the guitars, drums and vocals!

HAILS!!  Na zdrowie!!