June 14th, 2014 - NightTime For The Cultösaurus Erectus

Good evening rockers and drinkers!  The Meista here with a killer pairing for you tonight... "Cultösaurus Erectus" by Blue Öyster Cult (BÖC) and a NightTime Fear The Dark Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company!  Hell to the yeah!!

NightTime Fear The Dark Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company is an American Black Ale, more commonly referred to as a Black IPA or sometimes a Cascadian Dark Ale.  Essentially it is a super hopped up Schwartzbeir.  It pours a deep mahogany in my skull mug with a 1-finger mocha head that leaves thick lacing.  The nose is a big piney/citrusy hop punch in the nose.  Grapefruit and pine aromas abound.  The mouthfeel is slick, oily, and slightly creamy with a nice, bitter bite.  The flavor is a wonderfully balanced blend of hoppy citrus and floral notes with rich, chocolate malt.  There are impressively juicy notes of pink grapefruit, mango, and pineapple with much more subtle coffee and dark chocolate notes.  65 IBUs and 8.2% ABV give this brew a lovely bite, but it goes down easy and has a refreshing, crisp finish.   NightTime Fear The Dark Ale is a wonderfully dark, wonderfully hoppy ale!  And speaking of dark...

Produced by Martin Birch and released on this very day, June 14th in 1980, "Cultösaurus Erectus" is the 7th studio album by legendary American hard rock monsters BÖC.   I purchased this wonderful vinyl edition waaaay back in the mid-80s at The Book Shelf in Ogden, Utah.  "Cultösaurus Erectus" found the band focused on gettin back to a harder, rawer sound as opposed to the two previous more radio friendly albums... and they most definitely accomplish that task!  "Cultösaurus Erectus" is fist-pumping, head-backing rock and roll intensity from the opening chords of "Black Blade" to the creepy fadeout of "Unknown Tongues"!  Thematically, the album is darker than previous works.  The punchy opening track "Black Blade" features lyrics by legendary fantasy/science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, who would contribute lyrics on the next album as well.   The bluesy "Divine Wind" sends a rather biting message to a minister who was preaching against the band at the time... "if he really thinks we're the devil, then let's send him to hell".  "Lips In The Hills" reportedly references "The Roswell Incident".  And then there's "Unknown Tongues"... oh, "Unknown Tongues"... probably the most beautifully disturbing BÖC out there!  I remember listening to this song in the dark as a teenager in utter awe!  "Cultösaurus Erectus" is must own for any fan of  BÖC or hard rock in general.  (Interesting side note: BÖC toured "Cultösaurus Erectus" as the opening band for Black Sabbath that year.  The tour was called the Black and Blue Tour!) 

Cheers and hails!!