May 26th, 2017 - Sir Malcom's Travels Into The High Country

Good afternoon!  The Meista here today getting the long weekend set off right by getting heavy and sludgy with a pairing of Sir Malcom's Stout from the fine folks at Bonneville Brewery and "High Country" by The Sword!


Album Info:

• Artist: The Sword
• Title: "High Country"
• Recorded: March 16th through April 12th, 2015 at Church House Studios in Austin, Texas, Level One Sound in Austin, Texas, and High Country Atelier in Asheville, North Carolina
• Release date: August 21st, 2015 (5th studio album by The Sword)
• Record company: Razor & Tie
• Production: Adrian Quesada
• Album cover art: Jetter Green
• Personnel: John D. Cronise (vocals and guitars), Bryan Richie (bass, synthesizers, and acoustic guitar on track 12), Kyle Shutt (guitars), and Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III (drums and percussion)
• Additional musicians: Gilbert Elorreagab (trumpet), Kino Esparza (backing vocals), Mark Gonzales (trombone), Josh Levy (baritone saxophone), and Jazz Mills (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Stoner rock/metal, hard rock
• Sound: Inspired by heavy rock bands of the early 1970s (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, etc.), the sound on "High Country" is more in the realm of hard rock as opposed the bands heavier doom metal albums.  But don't be mistaken, this album is still heavy and kicks ass!  Richly layered guitars intricate melodies, and emotional lyrics characterize the tracks on "High Country" along with some really interesting and artistic compositions.  There's a bit of a southern vibe along with psychedelic and art rock influence. 
• Major themes: Mythology, darkness, life and death, the occult, weed, hope, seeking knowledge, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Unicorn Farm"
2. "Empty Temples"
3. "High Country"
4. "Tears Like Diamonds"
5. "Mist And Shadow"
6. "Agartha"
7. "Seriously Mysterious"
8. "Suffer No Fools"
9. "Early Snow"
10. "The Dreamthieves"
11. "Buzzards"
12. "Silver Petals"
13. "Ghost Eye"
14. "Turned To Dust"
15. "The Bees Of Spring"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bonneville Brewery (Tooele, Utah)
• Website: https://bonnevillebrewery.com/
• Brew: Sir Malcom's Stout (on nitro)
• Style: Stout   
• Serving: Pint glass off the tap
• ABV: 4.0%
• IBUs: 26
• Pour: Sir Malcom's pours a deep dark chestnut brown (almost ink black) with red highlights and a firm and creamy, 2+ finger light mocha head with great retention and lots of layered and intricate lacing from start to finish.
• Nose: The nose is malty, earthy, chocolaty, and rich.  There are aromas of toasted malts, dark chocolate, cocoa, vanilla bean, rich coffee, hints of dark fruit, and hearty grains.
• Taste: Characterized by rich and earthy toasty flavors, the Sir Malcom's Stout has notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, rich dark roasted coffee, roasted barley, toasted bread, vanilla, cream, and walnut.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, creamy, and velvety with a dry and semi-sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The wonderfully rich, chocolaty, and earthy flavors and aromas of  Bonneville Brewery's Sir Malcom's Stout is perfect for the heavy duty sludgy hard rock style of The Sword, especially on their latest album, "High Country"!  Those velvety smooth textures of the brew weave wonderfully well into the grooves and stoner atmospheres created on the album, especially on tracks like "Seriously Mysterious" and "Empty Temples"!

Cheers!!  Hails!!