April 18th, 2019 - Undercover And Stormin' Heaven's Gates To Shut It Down!

Good evening evil-doers!  Let's do some heavy duty headbangin' with "Storm The Gates", the latest album by metal veterans Venom and an Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Venom
• Title: "Storm The Gates"
• Recorded: 2016 through 2018 at Thunderoar OQB Studios and DooM Mobile and 2017 through 2018 at OffWorld Mobile Recording and Insomniac Sound and Vision in the UK
• Release date: December 14th, 2018 (studio album by Venom)
• Record company: Spinefarm Records
• Production: Cronos
• Album cover art: Radvicioust and Nikos Outsikas 
• Personnel: Conrad "Cronos" Lant (bass and vocals), Danny "Danté" Needham (drums), and Stuart "La Rage" Dixon (guitars) 
• Musical style: Thrash metal, speed metal, black metal
• Sound: Fast, furious, raw, and aggressive, this is pure, classic Venom!  Sure, there's nothing really new here in terms of subject matter or approach, but it kicks ass like only Venom does!
• Major themes: Death, violence, the occult, Satan, evil, darkness, hell, heavy metal, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Bring Out Your Dead"
2. "Notorious"
3. "I Dark Lord"
4. "100 Miles To Hell"
5. "Dark Night (Of The Soul)"
6. "Beaten To A Pulp"
7. "Destroyer"
8. "The Mighty Have Fallen"
9. "Over My Dead Body"
10. "Suffering Dictates"
11. "We The Loud"
12. "Immortal"
13. "Storm The Gates"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, California)
• Website: http://www.lagunitas.com/
• Brew: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale
• Style: American Strong Ale (somewhere between a Double IPA and a Barleywine)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.6%
• IBUs: 6.66
• Pour: Hazy iced-tea caramel hue with a thick and creamy 1-2 finger off-white, mashed potato head with great sustain and intricate and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is nice blend of big, sweet malts, dank and earthy herbs, caramel, hops, booze, and a little smokiness.  There are aromas of pine resin, cedar, herbal tea, burnt toffee, bourbon, and a slight hint of liquid smoke.
• Taste: Lots of sweet, bitter, earthy, and boozy flavors going on here!  There are notes of pine, juniper, bitter grapefruit, black tea, toasted biscuit, soft caramel, and minerals. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with minimal carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, chewy and creamy with some booziness and a bitter finish.

Overall pairing: I think the big, crazy, complexity of the Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company is perfect for the bold and aggressive heavy metal beast that is Venom's "Storm The Gates"!  Those sweeter flavors go well with the while the more bitter notes go well with the darker lyrical subject matter and the intense wails Cronos!

HAILS!!