August 9th, 2013 - Twilight Of The Starbound Beast!

Good evening ale lovers and rockers!  Tonight I'm pairing "Starbound Beast" by Huntress and a Twilight Summer Ale from Deschutes Brewing Company!

So I've been on a bit of a summer ale kick as of late, which I think goes well fast-paced power of metal in general.  Something about that easy-drinking, smooth and refreshing flavor goes great a screaming guitar onslaught!  The same can definitely be said of Deschutes' Twilight Summer Ale.  The Twilight pours a rather cloudy, clover-honey amber with a nice, 1-2 finger frothy, white head with good sustain and lacing.  The nose is very floral and organic.  There are notes of rose petals, meadow wild flowers, and sweet grass.  The flavor is along the same lines, but with a good dose of crisp hoppiness from the Amarillo hops.  There are notes of malty sour dough, fresh hops, and a hint of citrusy lemon tartness.  Light-bodied and smooth, the Twilight goes down easy with a clean finish... perfect for the rockin' power of Huntress!

Created from union of vocalist Jill Janus with members of California underground metal bands Professor and Dark Black, Huntress combines melodic power metal with elements of thrash, death, black, and doom metal.   As their website states, "[the band members] thrive on thundering drums, heavy riffs, spectral solos ,and catchy choruses that come from the band‘s musical concoction of occult science and bong rips."  Along with Janus' powerful vocal range, the band is made up of Blake Meahl and Anthony Crocamo on guitars, Ian Alden on bass, and Carl Wierzbicky on drums.  The album opens with the somewhat spacey "Enter The Exosphere" and then launches right into the heavy rockin' assault of "Blood Sisters."  Songs like "Destroy Your Life," "Starbound Beast," "Zenith," "Oracle," "Receiver," and "Spectra Spectral" are solid, classic, in-your-face rockers in the vein of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Rock Goddess, but with a modern, fresh feel.  This album kicks some major heavy metal ass!!

I just picked up this kick-ass album from the Heavy Metal Shop in Salt Lake City, Utah... and you should too!!  www.heavymetalshop.com