June 16th, 2017 - The Life I Remember With Some Shady Maidens

Good afternoon headbangers and hopheads!  In anticipation and celebration of tonight's concert here in Utah, I'm pairing Once Human's amazing debut album, "The Life I Remember" and a Maiden The Shade Summer-Style IPA from Ninkasi Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!!


Album Info:

• Artist: Once Human
• Title: "The Life I Remember"
• Recorded: 2015 at Darth Mader Music in Los Angeles, California and Stagg Street Studio in Van Nuys, California
• Release date: September 4th, 2015 (1st album by Once Human)
• Record company: earMUSIC
• Production: Logan Mader
• Album cover art: Seth Siro Anton
• Personnel: Ralph Alexander (drums), Lauren Hart (vocals, guitar, and piano), Logan Mader (guitar), Damien Rainaud (bass)
• Additional musicians: Tina Guo (cello) and Bill Hudson (guitar)
• Musical style: Melodic death metal, progressive death metal, djent with elements of black metal, grind core, symphonic metal, and progressive metal
• Sound: Powerfully aggressive, the sound on Once Human's "The Life I Remember" is, in a word, gripping!  This band is wonderfully music, while at the same time, brutal!  Mader's guitar work is fast, furious, and intricate.  Hart's vocal prowess is mesmerizing... at times brutal, at times beautifully ethereal, and always perfect.  The rhythm section of Rainaud and Alexander is a thunderous juggernaut... a perfect foil to the guitar and vocals.
• Major themes: Anger, aggression, war, violence, pain, suffering, evil, revenge, power, isolation, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Trail Of Tears"
2. "Ground Zero"
3. "You Cunt"
4. "Pick Your Poison"
5. "Terminal"
6. "Demoneyes"
7. "Devil Can Have You"
8. "Time Of The Disease"
9. "I Am War"
10. "The Life I Remember"
11. "Siren"
12. "Growing Colder"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing Company (Eugene, Oregon)
• Website: http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/
• Brew: Maiden The Shade Summer-Style IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.8%
• IBUs: 72
• Gravity: 1065
• Ingredients: 2-Row Pale, Flaked Barley, and Vienna, malt along with Amarillo, Centennial, Columbus, Crystal, Magnum, Palisade, Simcoe, and Summit hops     
• Pour: Golden apple with a big, frothy, 1-finger white head that leaves lots of intricate, sticky, spider web lacing.
• Nose:  The nose is grassy, piney, and very citrusy.  There are aromas of pink grapefruit, orange juice, tangerine zest, summer grass, light pine resin, and cracker and sweet caramel. 
• Taste: The Maiden The Shade Summer-Style IPA has a big, upfront hop profile. Lots of citrus notes in this one (grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon) along with lighter, well-balanced notes of crackery biscuit, barley, toffee and some sharp and bitter herbs and spices. 
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp and clean with a somewhat dry and bitter finish.

Overall pairing: With the intense and brutal power, honesty, and aggression of  Once Human's brilliant "The Life I Remember", you need a brew that has that same punchy bite, but with refreshing drinkability!  Thus, the Maiden The Shade Summer-Style IPA!  The bright, citrusy bitterness of the Maiden is a great complimentary beverage to the genius of Once Human!

Cheers and HAILS!!

Oh, there may be an interview coming your way very soon here on Brews and Tunes with someone from this incredible band!!