February 20th, 2015 - El Torero Meets Korgull In The Dimension Of Hatröss

Good afternoon!  How's 'bout some fuckin' VOIVOD!?!  Your pal the Meista here today pairing "Dimension Hatröss" by Canadian metal monsters Voivod and an El Torero IPA from Alameda Brewhouse!  Hells yeah!  Oh, this pairing goes out to my metal brotha Jerm... cheers buddy!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Voivod
• Title: "Dimension Hatröss"
• Recorded: December 4th, 1987 through January 4th, 1988
• Release date: June 29th, 1988
• Record company: FAD/Noise Records
• Personnel: Denis Bélanger (aka Snake) - vocals, the late Denis D'Amour (aka Piggy) - guitars, Michel Langevin (aka Away) - drums, and Jean-Yves Thériault (aka Blacky) - bass
• Album cover art: Michel Langevin
• Musical style: Thrash metal, Avant garde metal, jazz-metal, progressive metal, punk, post-punk, crossover, etc.
• Major themes: "Dimension Hatröss" is a sci-fi concept album detailing the crazy the exploits of Korgull, Voivod’s mascot cyborg.  Away created the concept of the album while Snake wrote the lyrics.
• Sound: As with all Voivod albums, the sound on "Dimension Hatröss" is a wonderful and original blend of speed/thrash metal, progressive metal, and punk with jazz-influenced melody and driving riffs.  Although they sound nothing alike, like Motörhead, Voivod's sound is loved by both metal heads and punk rockers.
• Tracks:

1. "Experiment"
2. "Tribal Convictions"
3. "Chaosmöngers"
4. "Technocratic Manipulators"
5. "Macrosolutions To Megaproblems"
6. "Brain Scan"
7. "Psychic Vacuum"
8. "Cosmic Drama"
9. "Batman" (bonus track only available on CD version)

  Brew Info:

• Brewery: Alameda Brewhouse
• Website: http://alamedabrewing.com/
• Brew: El Torero IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.1%
• IBUs: 88
• Ingredients:  Crystal, Munich, and wheat malts with Northwest hops
• Pour: El Torero pours a hazy dark orange amber with bright white, thin head that leaves a nice, sticky ring.
• Nose: The nose is marked by big citrus, pine, floral, and earthy leather aromas.  There are notes of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, pine resin, herbs, and soil.
• Taste: Up front, the flavor is biscuity and bready, which leads to more bitter and herbal notes along with sweet malts.  There are notes of sourdough bread, orange, tangerine, grapefruit, pine, and black tea.
• Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation, the El Torero's mouthfeel is oily and slick with some nice malty heartiness and a bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The aggressive bitterness of the El Torero IPA goes great with the more intense musical prowess of Voivod's "Dimension Hatröss" while the sweetness and complexity of the brew works well with the artistic integrity of the band!

Cheers!!  À votre santé!!