January 4th, 2024 - The Rauchbier Marzen is a Saviour Machine

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, metalheads, and craft brew lovers!  Your pal the Meista is here tonight with a pairing of a tasty and smoky Rauchbier Marzen from Offset Bier Company and the wonderful and fascinating "20th Anniversary 1990 Demo (Limited Edition)" from progressive goth metal band Saviour Machine!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Saviour Machine
• Title: "20th Anniversary 1990 Demo (Limited Edition)"
• Recorded: September 16th, 1990 at Sabre Sound Studios in Riverside, California and February 1991 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California
  Release date: November 2011 (1st demo album by Saviour Machine)
• Record company: Retroactive Records
• Production: Saviour Machine
• Album cover art: Eric Clayton (art direction) and Adam Pedersen (graphic design) 
• Personnel: Eric Clayton (lead vocals and keyboards), Jeff Clayton (guitars), Chris Fee (drums), and Dean Forsyth (bass)
• Additional musician: Brian Kehew (additional keyboards)
• Musical style: Progressive metal /rock with elements of gothic metal, doom metal, art rock, and Christian metal
• Sound: Richly textured and wonderfully executed (especially for a demo), the sound on "20th Anniversary 1990 Demo (Limited Edition)" perfectly blends art rock and progressive rock elements with heavy hitting gothic metal.  Eric Clayton's vocals are mesmerizing and work wonderfully well over the intense and emotive heavy punch of the music.  At times it sounds like David Bowie with Black Sabbath as his band.
• Major themes: Spirituality, life, death, criticism of organized religion, states of mind, insanity, sorrow, loss, gothic horror, apocalyptical imagery, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Carnival Of Souls"
2. "Ludicrous Smile"
3. "Streams"
4. "The Wall Of Life"
5. "Transcendence"
6. "Silent Vision"
7. "Retribution"
8. "When The Cat Came Home"
9. "A World Alon"
10. "Church Of The Vatican Slaves"
11. "The Revelation Parts I -V"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Offset Bier Company (Park City, Utah)
• Website: https://offsetbier.com/
• Brew: Rauchbier Marzen
• Style: Bamberg Style Smoked Lager / German Marzen
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.8%
• Ingredients: Over 70% beechwood smoked pilsner malt
• Pour: The Rauchbier Marzen pours a deep mahogany amber color with a frothy, off-white, 1+ finger head with great retention and lots of soapy, sudsy lacing. 
• Nose: The nose is malty, and smoky.  There are aromas of dough bread, crackery biscuit, charred wood, smoked meats, roasted barley, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste is like the nose: smoky, roasty, toasty, and slightly sweet.  There are notes of liquid smoke, smoked grain, honey wheat bread, and soft, sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Rauchbier Marzen is crisp, very smoky, and dry, yet smooth with a clean, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Offset Rauchbier Marzen is a very good offering of the style... smoky, and rich... great to pair with the emotional intensity and musical prowess of Savior Machine!  Those smoky notes go great with the darker lyrics and emotive vocals, while the crushable maltiness is great for the overall heaviness of the album! 

And make sure to check out my interview with Saviour Machine vocalist Eric Clayton here: https://youtu.be/jx9AepuGlcU 

Cheers and hails!!