May 24th, 2017 - Getting Ripped With the Bringer Of Pain!

Good afternoon!  The Meista here rockin' out today with Battle Beast's "Bringer Of Pain" and a Ripper San Diego Pale Ale from Stone Brewing Company!


Album Info:

• Artist: Battle Beast
• Title: "Bringer Of Pain"
• Recorded: 2016 at JKB Studios in Helsinki, Finland
  Release date: February 17th, 2017 (4th full-length studio album by Battle Beast)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Janne Björkroth
• Album cover art: Jan Yrlund
• Personnel: Janne Björkroth (keyboards), Joona Björkroth (guitar), Noora Louhimo (lead vocals), Eero Sipilä (bass guitar and backing vocals), Juuso Soinio (guitar), and Pyry Vikki (drums)
• Additional musicians: Tomi Joutsen (vocals on "Lost In Wars")
• Musical style: Power metal, heavy metal, hard rock
• Sound: Poppier and more mainstream hard rock than previous albums, "Bringer Of Pain" is still a raucous, punchy, and rockin' good time!  Louhimo's vocals are bold, sometimes gritty, and reminiscent of Ronnie James Dio's depth.  The dual guitar work of Björkroth and Soinio is powerful, fiery, and bold.  Björkroth's keys are atmospheric, inspiring, and a great foil against the crunchy guitars.  And the rhythm section of Sipilä and Vikki is thunderous groove.
• Major themes: Corruption, power, might, war, violence, mythology, truth, life and death, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Straight To The Heart"
2. "Bringer Of Pain"
3. "King For A Day"
4. "Beyond The Burning Skies"
5. "Familiar Hell"
6. "Lost In Wars"
7. "Bastard Son Of Odin"
8. "We Will Fight"
9. "Dancing With The Beast"
10. "Far From Heaven"
11. "God Of War"
12. "The Eclipse"
13. "Rock Trash"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, California)
• Website: http://www.stonebrewing.com/
• Brew: Stone Ripper San Diego Pale Ale
• Style: American Pale Ale  
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.7%
• IBUs: 40
• Ingredients: Cascade and Australian Galaxy hops
• Pour: It pours a deep bronze-gold amber with a fluffy, 1-finger off-white head with great sustain and lots of layered and intricate lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose is fruity (lots of citrus and tropical fruit aromas) and floral with a solid malt backbone.  There are aromas of orange, pineapple, mango, peach, light pine resin, wild flowers, and sweet caramel.
• Taste: Very floral, bright, tropical, citrusy, and juicy, the taste of the Stone Ripper San Diego Pale Ale is characterized by a dominance of citrusy, floral, dank, earthy, and tropical hops.  There are notes of fresh, green hops, orange, peach, melon, mango, pineapple, pine, bready and sweet caramel malt, and a hint of pepper.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Stone Ripper is very refreshing, crisp, and bright with moderate bitterness and a semi-dry, clean finish.

Overall pairing: The punchy, bright, and sharply refreshing flavors of Stone Brewing Company's Stone Ripper San Diego Pale Ale is great for the straightforward rockin' goodness of Battle Beast's latest album, "Bringer Of Pain"!  Those wonderfully well-blended flavors and aromas seem to have been specifically brewed to accompany the amazing vocal onslaught of Noora Louhimo as well as the fierce guitar work!

Kippis!!!