January 19th, 2025 - The Doppler Effect on Absolute Elsewhere

 

Hey there hellions, headbangers, and craft brew lovers!  I'm off work tomorrow, so let's do another pairing!  That's right, the Meista here getting aggressive, yet progressive with the wonderful "Absolute Elsewhere", the 3rd album by progressive death metal monsters Blood Incantation and a deliciously dark Doppler Czech Style Dark Lager from Equilibrium Brewing Company!  Hell yes!

Album Info:

• Artist: Blood Incantation
• Title: "Absolute Elsewhere"
• Recorded: Summer 2023 at Hansa Tonstudios in Berlin, Germany
• Release date: October 4th, 2024 (3rd full-length studio release by Blood Incantation)
• Record company: Century Media Records
• Production: Arthur Rizk
• Album cover art: Steve R. Dodd
• Personnel: Jeff Barrett (bass and additional synthesizers), Isaac Faulk (drums, gong, guitars, additional Mellotron, and percussion), Morris Kolontyrsky (guitars and additional synthesizers), and Paul Reidl (guitars, Mellotron, additional synthesizers, and vocals)
• Additional musicians: Malte Gericke (vocals and narration), Nicklas Malmqvist (piano, synthesizers, Mellotron, and organ), and Thorsten Quaeschning (synthesizers and organ)
• Musical style: Death metal, progressive death metal, progressive rock
• Sound: Aggressive, heavy as hell, and very progressive, the sound on "Absolute Elsewhere" embodies the apocalyptic, complex brutality that is Blood Incantation, yet with wonderfully progressive, spacey, and psychedelic passages and concepts reminiscent of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree. 
• Major themes: Science, states of consciousness, states of being, life, death, time, space travel, etc.
• Tracks:  
  

1. "The Stargate [Tablet I]"
2. "The Stargate [Tablet II]"
3. "The Stargate [Tablet III]"
4. "The Message [Tablet I]"
5. "The Message [Tablet II]"
6. "The Message [Tablet III]"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Equilibrium Brewing Company (Middletown, New York)
• Website: https://www.eqbrew.com/
• Brew: Doppler Czech Style Dark Lager
• Style: Czech Dark Lager
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.6%
• Ingredients: "Bohemian Pils, Bohemian Dark, Caramunich, and Carafa malts, a Czech style yeast strain, and a light addition of Saaz hops for a touch of bittering"
• Pour: The Doppler pours an opaque deep, dark mahogany brown with a 2+ finger, light mocha, frothy head with great retention and lots of soapy, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by malty, roasty, grainy, floral hops, and lightly herbal aromas.  There are aromas of roasted malts, toasted bread, light cocoa, a hint of coffee, herbal hops, and burnt toffee.
• Taste: Well-balanced, the Doppler is a nice blend of bready, grainy, malty, and herbal flavors.  There are notes of roasty malts, sarsaparilla, toasted bread crust, roasted barley, crackery biscuit, a hint of chocolate, soft caramel, and herbal hops.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp and roasty with a crisp, bitter, and balanced finish.

Overall pairing: The Doppler Czech Style Dark Lager from Equilibrium Brewing is perfect for the intensity, aggression, and complexity of Blood Incantation's "Absolute Elsewhere" album!  Those sweeter flavors go great with the more progressive elements while the roasty flavors are great for the death metal intensity!  For an evening of kickass progressive metal and deliciously, complex, and very drinkable flavor, I highly recommend both the brew and the album! 

HAILS!!