December 7th, 2018 - What I Tell You Three Philosophers Is True

Hello and happy Friday my friends!  I'm getting trippy with "Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True" by Fair To Midland and a Three Philosophers Quadrupel Ale from Brewery Ommegang!

Album Info:

• Artist: Fair To Midland
• Title: "Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True"
• Recorded: 2007 at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Release date: June 12th, 2007 (3rd studio release from Fair To Midland)
• Record company: Serjical Strike / Universal Republic
• Production: David Bottrill and Serj Tankian
• Album cover art: James Riches
• Personnel: Cliff Campbell (guitars), Jon Dicken (bass), Matt Langley (keyboards), Brett Stowers (drums), and Darroh Sudderth (vocals)
• Additional musicians: Claudio Vena (viola and violin)
• Musical style: Progressive metal/rock, art rock, hard rock, alternative rock/metal
• Sound: Unique, progressive, and always interesting, Fair To Midland's sound is both complex and straightforward!  Fusing metal heaviness with more mellow progressive melodies, they've created a wonderful epic sound that is their own.  Of their sound, guitarist Cliff Campbell once described it as: "We have diverse interests and influences, collectively and individually, from rock/metal, to classical/baroque, to country/western and folk, to industrial and electronic, and we like to draw from all of them. We simply use whatever instrumentation we think is right to create the feeling we’re looking for in each track. Sometimes it’s banjo and marxophone, sometimes hyper-saturated guitar and sawtooth synth… The five of us being so different as musicians, I’m not sure we could make a simple record if we tried."
• Major themes: Life, reality, isolation, pain, darkness, "dark, antiquated children’s stories", mythology, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Dance Of The Manatee"
2. "Kyla Cries Cologne / Pre-Versa"
3. "Vice / Versa"
4. "The Wife, The Kids, And The White Picket Fence"
5. "April Fools And Eggmen / Ciperion"
6. "A Seafarer's Knot"
7. "A Wolf Descends Upon The Spanish Sahara"
8. "Walls Of Jericho"
9. "Tall Tales Taste Like Sour Grapes"
10. "Upgrade Brigade / When the Bough Breaks"
11. "Say When / Ozymandius"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, New York)
• Website: www.ommegang.com
• Brew: Three Philosophers Quadrupel Ale
• Style: Belgian Quadrupel (Quad) (Belgian-style dark ale blended with 2% Liefmans Kriek) 
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.7%
• IBUs: 19
• Ingredients: Amber, Caramel, Munich, Pils, and Xtra Special malts with Spalt Select and Styrian Golding hops, and Ommegang house yeast
• Pour: The Three Philosophers pours a deep, opaque ruby or mahogany with a thick and firm mocha head with good sustain and displaying sticky lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by strong malts, sweet toffee, dark fruit (cherry, dates, raisin, and plum), banana, molasses, oak, and booze (spiced rum or sherry).
• Taste: The taste of the Three Philosophers is complex, rich, and sweet. There are notes of roasted malt, molasses,brown sugar, soft banana, dark fruits (including black cherries, plum, and brandied raisins), and Tootsie Pop.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Three Philosophers is velvety smooth, sticky, and thick with a spicy, boozy bite in the rather dry finish.

Overall pairing: The proggy brilliance of  demands a big, bold, wonderfully complex monster brew, which is exactly what you will find in a bottle of Brewery Ommegang's Three Philosophers Quadrupel Ale!  Those sweet, spicy, boozy flavors are perfect for the trippy intensity that permeates the tracks on "Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True".  Both the brew and the album require your full attention with the potential of blowing your mind!

Cheers!!