March 16th, 2024 - The Fantasia of the Saviour Machine

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, metalheads, and craft brew lovers!  Your pal the Meista is here tonight with a pairing of a juicy and tasty Fantasia Hazy IPA from Mother Earth Brewing Company and the wonderful and fascinating "Saviour Machine", the debut album from progressive goth metal band Saviour Machine!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Saviour Machine
• Title: "Saviour Machine"
• Recorded: 1993 at The Green Room and The Mixing Lab in California
  Release date: 1993 (1st studio album by Saviour Machine)
• Record company: Malineum Productions
• Production: Eric Clayton and Terry Taylor
• Album cover art: Brian Godawa (art direction) and Joe Potter (design) 
• Personnel: Eric Clayton (lead vocals), Jeff Clayton (guitars), Dean Forsyth (bass), and Samuel West (drums)
• Additional musician: Jimmy P. Brown II (backing vocals), Brian Kehew (additional keyboards), Love Larrimore (backing vocals), Riki Michele (backing vocals), and Terry Taylor (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Progressive metal /rock with elements of gothic metal, doom metal, art rock, and Christian metal
• Sound: Richly textured and wonderfully executed, the sound on "Saviour Machine" perfectly blends art rock and progressive rock elements with heavy hitting gothic metal.  Eric Clayton's vocals are powerful, 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, corruption, states of mind, insanity, sorrow, loss, gothic horror, apocalyptical imagery, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Carnival Of Souls"
2. "Force Of The Entity"
3. "Legion"
4. "Ludicrous Smiles"
5. "The Wicked Window"
6. "Son Of The Rain"
7. "Killer"
8. "The Widow And The Bride"
9. "Christians And Lunatics"
10. "The Mask"
11. "A World Alone"
12. "Jesus Christ"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Mother Earth Brew Company (Vista, California)
• Website: http://motherearthbrewco.com/
• Brew: Fantasia Hazy IPA
• Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.0%
• IBUs: 45
• Ingredients: Galaxy, Belma, Vic Secret, and Mosaic hops with pale and white wheat, flaked oats, and dextrin malts
• Pour: The Fantasia Hazy IPA pours a hazy, golden yellow hue with a frothy and creamy, half-finger, bright white head with great retention and delicate lacing.
• Nose: Fruit forward, the nose is tropical, citrusy, floral, and malty.  It is chalk full of notes of stone fruit (peach and apricot), light pineapple, mango, orange, ripe berries, grapefruit rind, wildflowers, soft caramel malt, and a hint of booze.
• Taste: The taste of the Fantasia Hazy IPA follows the nose with floral hops, citrus, tropical fruit, and sweet malt flavors.  There are big notes of orange juice and zest, tangerine, pineapple, mango, peach, apricot, strawberry, and a little booze with a strong malty backbone.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Fantasia Hazy IPA is crisp and juicy, with a soft, creamy, and smooth finish.

Overall pairing: The Mother Earth Fantasia Hazy IPA is a very good offering of the style... fruity, juicy, and robust... great to pair with the emotional intensity and musical prowess of Savior Machine!  Those hoppy notes go great with the darker lyrics and emotive vocals, while the crushable juiciness is a great foil 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!!