June 14th, 2024 - The Latitude of Being Alternatively Alternative

 

Bonjour and hails metal maniacs and craft brew freaks!  Happy Friday to you!  Your drinkin' buddy the Meista here getting the weekend off to the right start by rocking out to "Latitude - Dimension Hatröss préprod" by the mighty Voivod whilst enjoying a delicious and crushable Alternatively Alternative Cream Ale from Gossorino Brewing!  Hells yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Voivod
• Title: "Latitude - Dimension Hatröss préprod"
• Recorded: 1987 
• Release date: 2024 (demo album by Voivod)
• Record company: MineMine Records
• Production: Voivod and Jean-Yves Thériault
• Album cover art: ?
• Personnel: Denis Bélanger aka Snake (vocals), Denis D'Amour aka Piggy (guitars), Michel Langevin aka Away (drums), and Jean-Yves Thériault aka Blacky (bass)
• Musical style: Progressive thrash metal with elements of hardcore punk
• Sound: As with all things Voivod, the sound on "Latitude - Dimension Hatröss préprod"" is very progressive, complex, challenging, manic, and above all, kick ass!  The tracks on this album rock as hard as any of the final recordings and are brilliantly executed as well!  Of the recordings, Blacky was quoted as saying: "Second time recording a demo before going into the studio, but this time around instead of doing it in our apartment we choose our rehearsal space. Denis ‘Piggy’ D’amour and I, spent a lot of time in there having fun arranging the music, twisting things around to see how far we could go. We finally ended up with the album you know but here is the first draft of it!"
• Major themes: Science, science fiction, technology, evil, violence, rage, rebellion, death, etc.
• Notes: This is a newly released album consisting of the original preproduction demo recordings from the "Dimension Hatröss" sessions.
• Tracks: 

1. "Experiment"
2. "Tribal Convictions"
3. "Chaosmöngers"
4. "Technocratic Manipulators"
5. "Macrosolution To Megaproblems"
6. "Brain Scan"
7. "Psychic Vacuum"
8. "Cosmic Drama"
9. "Envoye"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Gossorino Brewing (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: https://gossorinobrewing.com/
• Brew: Alternatively Alternative Cream Ale 
• Style: English Cream Ale
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 4.7%
• IBUs: 18
• Ingredients: Pilsner, Vienna, Flaked Corn and Acid malts. Hopped with Tradition then fermented with S-34/70
• Pour: The Alternatively Alternative pours a clear, bright yellow hue with a thin, bright white head that dissipates to a thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, grainy, and floral.  There are aromas of freshly baked bread, light dandelion, grain sacks, cracked corn, and a hint of lemon zest.
• Taste: The taste of the Alternatively Alternative Cream Ale follows the nose with notes of biscuity malts, light corn, light floral hops, a hint of lemon zest, and caramel with very low bitterness.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Alternatively Alternative is very smooth and creamy with a clean, crisp finish.

Overall pairing: The Gossorino Brewing Alternatively Alternative Cream Ale is very crushable, smooth, and easy drinking brew... a great foil for the intense and progressive grooves and chord changes of Voivod's inventive and intense "Latitude"!  'Nuff said!

Make sure to check out my interview with Snake of Voivod here: https://youtu.be/Ag7EfictEjY

À votre santé and hails!!