April 18th, 2016 - Walking The Razor's Edge On The Faultline

Good evening!  In light of recent news regarding Brian Johnson of AC/DC the Meista is here with a pairing dedicated to him... AC/DC's "The Razors Edge" and a Faultline IPA from Proper Brewing Company!  Hells yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: AC/DC
• Title: "The Razors Edge"
• Recorded: 1990 at Windmill Road Studios in Dublin, Ireland and Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Release date: September 24th, 1990 (12th studio album by AC/DC)009-02-03)
• Record company: Atco Records
• Production: Bruce Fairbairn
• Album cover art: SMAY Vision
• Personnel: Brian Johnson (lead vocals), Chris Slade (drums and percussion), Cliff Williams (bass guitar and backing vocals), Angus Young (lead guitar), and Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy blues, heavy metal
• Sound: Probably one of their strongest albums, both in sound and sales, "The Razors Edge" is that classic Johnson-era sound!  Riff-driven, explosive, fast-paced, and pure rock and fuckin' roll!!  Angus, Malcolm, Slade, Williams, and Johnson tear it up!!
• Major themes: Rock and roll, power, deception, love, lust, sex, bad luck, the blues, etc.
• Notes: Angus stated of the album: "It started off from a little trick I had on guitar. I played it to Mal and he said 'Oh, I've got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back.' We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place. Lyrically, it was really just a case of finding a good title...We came up with this thunder thing and it seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That's the basic idea."
• Tracks:   

1. "Thunderstruck"
2. "Fire Your Guns"
3. "Moneytalks"
4. "The Razor's Edge"
5. "Mistress For Christmas"
6. "Rock Your Heart Out"
7. "Are You Ready"
8. "Got You By The Balls"
9. "Shot Of Love"
10. "Let's Make It"
11. "Goodbye And Good Riddance To Bad Luck"
12. "If You Dare"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Proper Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.properbrewingco.com/
• Brew:  Faultline IPA
• Style: Red American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.0%
• IBUs: 62
• Ingredients: Flaked barley, hops, and two kinds of crystal malt
• Pour: Very murky mahogany red with a 1-finger, off-white head with good sustain and lacing.
• Nose: Dank and earthy with a sweet and malty backbone, the nose of the Faultline IPA is characterized by resinous and citrusy hops (pine, grapefruit, and herbs), caramel, and bready grains.
• Taste: The taste is resinous, bitter, citrusy, and malty.  There are notes of earthy and dank pine, cedar, fresh herbs, citrus, caramel, and fresh bread.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is creamy and smooth with a dry, crisp, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: Punchy, hoppy, malty, and complex, the Proper Brewing Company Faultline IPA is a solid beer that is great for the rockin' good time of AC/DC's masterful "The Razors Edge"!  Those bitter hops seem to have been grown specifically to pair with Johnson's broken glass and gravel vocals while the crisp citrusy hops were blended just for Angus, and the malty boldness is was brewed for the rhythm section!

Cheers!!  Horns up!!