August 29th, 2026 - The Conquering Darkness of an Offset Porter

 

Hey there evil-doers, headbangers, and craft brew freaks!   Your drinkin' buddy the Meista here on this rainy Saturday here in Utah with another killer pairing for ya... "The Conquering Darkness", the full-length debut album by the infernal and indelible death metal band Malefic Throne and a bold and flavorful Offset Porter from the fine folks at Offset Bier Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Malefic Throne
• Title: "The Conquering Darkness"
• Recorded: 2025 at Menegroth, the Thousand Caves
• Release date: November 28th, 2025 (1st full-length studio album by Malefic Throne)
• Record company: Agonia Records
• Production: Colin Marston and Malefic Throne
• Album cover art: Daniel Valeriani (artwork) and Christophe Szpajdel (band logo)
• Personnel: John Longstreth (drums), Gene Palubicki (guitars), and Steve Tucker (bass and vocals)
• Musical style: Death metal with elements of black metal and thrash metal
• Sound: Heavy and aggressive as hell, the album is chalk filled with killer riffs, powerfully driving rhythms, and infernal growls, and thought-provoking lyrics!  I love how each band member brings their own signature sound to the band and how well it all works together.  You can hear elements of Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, Perdition Temple, and Hate Eternal intertwined, but with a freshness and relevance that is all encompassing!  And this is some of Palubicki's best and most intense and powerful riffing in my humble opinion. 
• Major themes: Death, violence, the occult, evil, darkness, horror, sickness, anti-religion, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Blasphémait Desecration"
2. "The Voice Of My Ghost"
3. "A Thirst For Dissonance"
4. "Born Of Plague"
5. "Divine Tragedy"
6. "Carnage Of The Forgotten"
7. "When Our Shadows Align"
8. "Forged Of Stone"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Offset Bier Company (Park City, Utah)
• Website: https://offsetbier.com/
• Brew: Offset Porter
• Style: American Style Brown Porter
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.8%
• Ingredients: Cascade hops
• Pour: The Offset Porter pours a s with a creamy and frothy, light mocha, 2+ finger head with great retention and lots of soapy, sudsy lacing. 
• Nose: The nose is malty, toasty, roasty, and earthy.  There are aromas of dark toasted bread, roasted barley, dark roasted espresso beans, light cocoa, fresh herbs, and burnt toffee.
• Taste: The taste is like the nose: malty, toasty, roasty, and slightly hoppy.  There are notes of dark toasted bread crust, roasted barley, dark roasted coffee, a hint of black pepper, and sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Offset Porter is soft and smooth, yet also slightly crisp and dry with a fairly clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Offset Porter is a very bold and solid, yet crushable offering of the style... great to pair with the intensity and heavy metal punch that is the infernal and brutally powerful ""!  Those bold, roasty notes go great with the darker lyrics and overall aggressive death metal attack, while the crushable maltiness is great for the overall metal attack!!   I highly recommend both the album and the brew!  'Nuff said!

Make sure to check out my interview with legendary guitarist Gene Palubicki here: https://youtu.be/Qtyx--uD8Ik !

Me with Gene Palubicki and the legendary Reed St. Mark of Celtic Frost fame
 at the Carolina Chainsaw Massacre Fest in 2023

Cheers and hails!! 

Side note: This album was a bit of a chore obtaining, but well worth the money and the wait time!  I pre-ordered it in August 2025.  When I hadn't received it by January 2026, I reached out to Agonia Records and found out they are in Poland. They informed me that do not currently ship to the U.S. because of the stupid fucking tariffs.  So I had them ship it to my friend JC in the Netherlands.  There was a mix up with the address and it got sent back to Poland, then resent to the Netherlands.  And finally shipped to me here in the States by JC.  So after paying shipping 3 times, I finally received it last month.  Phew!