December 11th, 2017 - A Pile Of Facelift

Good evening evil-doers and hop-heads!  The Meista here tonight the seminal debut album "Facelift" by Alice In Chains and a Pile Of Face from Against The Grain Brewery!

Album Info:

• Artist: Alice In Chains
• Title: "Facelift"
• Recorded: December 1989 through April 1990 at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, Washington and Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood, California
• Release date: August 21st, 1990
• Record company: Columbia Records
• Production: Dave Jerden
• Album cover art: ?
• Personnel: Jerry Cantrell (guitar, backing vocals, and talkbox on "Man in the Box"), Sean Kinney (drums, percussion, additional backing vocals, and piano on "Sea of Sorrow"), Layne Staley (lead vocals), and Mike Starr (bass and backing vocals on "Confusion")
• Additional musician: Kevin Shuss (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, doom metal, stoner rock, hard rock, alternative rock, post punk, and a hint of funk
• Sound: Moody and brooding, the sound on "Facelift" defined the music of Seattle in the early 1990s!  Cantrell's guitar work is raw, honest, aggressive, and simply brilliant!  Staley's vocals completely changed the game of how a lead metal vocalist sounds!  And the rhythm work of Kinney and Starr brought it all together with a huge nod to early metal/hard rock days of bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Stooges, and the MC5!
• Major themes: Subject matter and themes on the album include child drug dealers, us against the world, Cantrell's mother's death, censorship in the mass media, angst, anger, the disintegration of a relationship, life, drugs, rebellion, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "We Die Young"
2. "Man In The Box"
3. "Sea Of Sorrow"
4. "Bleed The Freak"
5. "I Can't Remember"
6. "Love, Hate, Love"
7. "It Ain't Like That"
8. "Sunshine"
9. "Put You Down"
10. "Confusion"
11. "I Know Somethin (Bout You)"
12. "Real Thing"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery (Louisville, Kentucky)
• Website: http://www.atgbrewery.com/
• Brew: Pile Of Face
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 6.5%
• IBUs: 65
• Pour: The Pile Of Face pours a hazy golden-amber with a huge, 2+ finger, frothy white head displaying great retention and lots of sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is full of juicy citrus and tropical fruit, floral, and sweet malt notes.  There are aromas of pineapple juice, grapefruit, mango, nectarine, peach, melon, light grassy hops, honey, mountain wild flowers, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Pile Of Face follows the nose with lots of citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit, doughy bread, and sweet malt.  There are notes bitter grapefruit rind and juice, tangerine, orange peel, mango, pineapple, bitter herbs, crackery biscuit, and a hint of wild flower honey.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Pile Of Face is crisp, dry, and juicy with a dry and bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Pile Of Face from Against The Grain Brewery is a wonderfully fruity IPA with lots of sweet and bitter notes... perfect for the intense, emotional, and honest tones, solos, harmonies, and lyrics of Alice In Chains' amazing debut album "Facelift"!  The juicy sweetness of the brew definitely acts as a foil to the aggression and darkness of the album, while the bitterness is perfect for an angry Seattle band before the media machine turned the scene all to shit!
    

Cheers and hails!!