December 3rd, 2022 - There's Only Black Liquid Metal

 

Hey there hellions, headbangers, and craft brew lovers!  The Meista here getting aggressive with a pairing of "There's Only Black", the sophomore album by the amazing Venom Inc. (and one of my very favorite releases of 2022) and a bold, boozy, and tasty Liquid Metal Imperial Rye Stout from Black Bottle Brewery!  Hell yeah!!  And this pairing goes out to my good friends Jason and Sonia!  Thanks for the delicious beer!  Cheers!

Album Info:

• Artist: Venom Inc.
• Title: "There's Only Black"
• Recorded: 2021 at ZFT Studios in Portugal, Venom Inc. Music Studio in London, England, and Smoke & Mirrors Productions in Spring Hill, Florida
• Release date: September 23rd, 2022 (2nd full-length studio release by Venom, Inc.)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast 
• Production: Mantas (aka Jeff Dunn) 
• Album cover art: ?
• Personnel: The Demolition Man (bass and vocals), Mantas (guitars), and War Machine (drums) 
• Musical style: Heavy metal, thrash metal
• Sound: Steeped in the early sound of Venom, but fresh and vibrant, the sound on "There's Only Black" is a heavy-duty, aggressive, and furious sonic attack!  The rhythms are foot-stomping and fist shaking fun, while the riffing is wonderfully rich, fiery, and full of piss and vinegar! 
• Major themes: Evil, darkness, death, conflict, deceit, chaos, tyranny, power, etc.
• Tracks:

1. "How Many Can Die"
2. "Infinitum"
3. "Come To Me"
4. "There's Only Black"
5. "Tyrant"
6. "Don't Feed Me Your Lies"
7. "Man As God"
8. "Burn Liar Burn"
9. "Nine"
10. "Rampant"
11. "The Dance"
12. "Inferno"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Black Bottle Brewery (Fort Collins Colorado)
• Website: https://blackbottlebrewery.com/
• Brew: Liquid Metal Imperial Rye Stout
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 25 ounce bottle
• ABV: 10.2%
• IBUs: 59
• Pour: The Liquid Metal pours an almost ink black with a big, creamy, 2+ finger mocha head with great retention and lots of sticky, layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, toasty, malty, and spicy. There are aromas of roasted malt, toasted rye bread, dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans, espresso, oak, tobacco, light soy sauce, burnt toffee, and hints of bourbon.
• Taste: Like the nose, the taste of the Liquid Metal is roasty, toasty, malty, boozy, and spicy.  There are notes of dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, spicy and hearty rye bread, soft caramel/toffee, and rich bourbon.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied will very low carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick and velvety smooth with a dry, somewhat bitter, peppery, and slightly boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The bold, complex flavors of Liquid Metal go great with the face-melting metal onslaught that is Venom Inc.'s killer "There's Only Black"!  Those spicy, boozy, and rich notes are perfect for the fiery fast guitars of Mantas and the malty backbone is perfect for The Demolition Man's heavy-duty thunderous bass and War Machine's monstrous drumming!  'Nuff said!

And make sure to check out my most recent interview with Tony "The Demolition Man" Dolan where we discuss the "There's Only Black" album: https://youtu.be/GO0tcHBspJ4

HAILS!!