July 9th, 2017 - The Apex Of Ragnarok

Good afternoon and happy Sunday!  Your pal the Meista here rocking out with "Apex", the latest album by Unleash The Archers and a Ragnarok Red Peach Sour from Barbarian Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!


Album Info:

• Artist: Unleash The Archers
• Title: "Apex"
• Recorded: 2017 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark
• Release date: June 2nd, 2017 (4th full-length studio album by Unleash The Archers)
• Record company: Napalm Records 
• Production: Unleash The Archers
• Album cover art: Ken Sarafin
• Personnel: Scott Buchanan (drums), Brittney Hayes aka Brittney Slayes (lead vocals), Andrew Kingsley (guitars and vocals), Grant Truesdell (guitars and vocals), and Nikko Whitworth (bass)
• Musical style: Power metal, groove metal with elements of melodeath
• Sound: Highlighting Slayes' amazing vocal range and prowess, "Apex" is probably the most powerful and best produced album by Unleash The Archers!  It is characterized by fiery guitar work, rich hooks, intense and aggressive melodies, and thunderous drumming and bass!
• Major themes: "Apex" is a sword and sorcery concept album about the epic battle between the Immortal and the evil Matriarch.  Themes on the album include epic battles, war, valor, imprisonment, freedom, good vs. evil, life and death, power, deception, betrayal, hope, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Awakening"
2. "Shadow Guide"
3. "The Matriarch"
4. "Cleanse The Bloodlines"
5. "The Coward's Way"
6. "False Walls"
7. "Ten Thousand Against One"
8. "Earth And Ashes"
9. "Call Me Immortal"
10. "Apex"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Barbarian Brewing Company (Garden City, Idaho)
• Website: https://barbarianbrewing.com/
• Brew: Ragnarok Red Peach Sour   
• Style: American Wild Ale / Farmhouse 
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.0%
• IBUs: 0
• Ingredients: "Ragnarok is our mixed culture red sour base aged in various Bourbon and red wine barrels and given a final rest with peaches."
• Pour: The Ragnarok pours a very murky ruby red with a thin and bubbly, off-white head that dissipates to a thin ring with only trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very fruity, tart, tangy, and funky.  There are aromas of stone fruits (peach, plum, and nectarine), lemon juice and zest, wet leather, and light cereal grain.
• Taste: The taste is complex, sweet, fruity, funky, and sour.  There are notes of black cherry, peach, lemon, red wine, Belgian yeast, barnyard funk, and light grains.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body with bubbly carbonation, the Ragnarok's mouthfeel is very crisp, very refreshing, and tart with a dry, clean, lips-puckering finish. 

Overall pairing: Intense and bombastic power metal about good vs. evil deserves a brew of equal intensity and flavor... thus the Ragnarok Red Peach Sour Barbarian Brewing Company!  And the fact that the brew is named for the Norse end of the world myth is a bonus!  Those intense and complex sour flavors are great for the fiery guitar work and pounding rhythm section while the complex fruit flavors go great with Slayes' amazing voice!

Cheers!!  Hails!!