November 28th, 2025 - Blood Magick Necromance... Yeah, It's a Lifestyle Choice

 

Hallo and happy Friday my headbanging, beer drinking, evil-doing friends!  You pal the Meista here again with another killer brew and killer album pairing for ya!  I'm spinning the infernally wonderful "Blood Magick Necromance", the 9th studio album by the legendary Belphegor and a crisp and hoppy Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale from Helper Beer!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Belphegor 
• Title: "Blood Magick Necromance"
• Recorded: June through October 2010 at Abyss Studios in Paerbly, Sweden
• Release date: January 14th, 2011 (9th studio album by Belphegor)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast Records
• Production: Boban Milunović
• Album cover art: Karl-Heinz Schuster (layout) and Joe Wimmer (photography) 
• Personnel: Helmuth (vocals, bass, and guitars) and Serpenth (bass and backing vocals)
• Additional musicians: Rachael Hecate (whispers on "Blood Magick Necromance"), Sebastian Lanser (keyboards and orchestration), Marthyn (drums), Norwin Palme (keyboards and orchestration), and Meri "Lou" Tadić (violin on "In Blood - Devour This Sanctity") 
• Musical style: Blackened death metal, death metal, black metal 
• Sound: Incredibly heavy, chaotic, aggressive, and very intense, the sound on "Blood Magick Necromance" is the embodiment of Austrian blackened death metal!  Helmuth's vocal prowess is mesmerizing... his brutal vocals are matched perfectly with his and Sigurd's guitar wizardry (fast, furious, and intricate), and the combined juggernaut power of the Marius/Man rhythm section!  This album is unrelenting from the opening notes to the finale!
• Major themes: The occult, evil, darkness, Satanism, anti-religion, anti-Christianity, blasphemy, sex, violence, sadomasochism, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "In Blood - Devour This Sanctity"
2. "Rise To Fall And Fall To Rise"
3. "Blood Magick Necromance"
4. "Discipline Through Punishment"
5. "Angeli Mortis De Profundis"
6. "Impaled Upon The Tongue Of Sathan"
7. "Possessed Burning Eyes"
8. "Sado Messiah"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Helper Beer (Helper, Utah)
• Website: https://www.helperbeer.com/
• Brew: Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale
• Style: New England Style Hazy American Pale Ale 
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Pour: The Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale pours a hazy, bright golden yellow with a billowy, 2+ finger, bright white head with good retention and lots of soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, fruity, and grainy.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, tangerine, apricot, freshly cut mango, pineapple, wet pine needles, pale grains, herbal tea, and light caramel. 
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale is citrusy, tropical, slightly resinous, and grainy.  There are notes of orange juice, orange zest, and orange pith, pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, dried apricot, mango, pineapple, light pine resin, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale is very crisp, juicy, and smooth with a clean, yet slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The crisp, citrusy, fruity, and hop-forward, flavors and aromas of Helper Beer's Lifestyle Choices Hazy Pale Ale is a very crushable, yet complex beer, perfect for the intricate, !  The inviting citrus notes are great for the overall musical depth of the album, while the hoppy bite goes great with the darker lyrical content!  And I like the look of the album artwork juxtaposed against the beer label and beer color.

Prost!!  Hails!!