May 29th, 2019 - Northern Black Metal Chaos Gods

Good afternoon and hails evil-doers!  The Meista here today pairing "Northern Chaos Gods", the latest album by Norwegian black metal legends Immortal and a Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout from Jester King Brewery!  This pairing is dedicated to my friends Jason and Sonia who shared this amazing beer with me!  Thanks and cheers guys!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Immortal
• Title: "Northern Chaos Gods"
• Recorded: January 2017 through January 2018 at Konclave Studios in Bergen, Norway and Abyss Studio in Pärlby, Sweden
• Release date: July 6th, 2018 (9th full-length studio album by Immortal)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Immortal and Peter Tägtgren
• Album cover art: Jannicke Wiese-Hansen
• Personnel: Demonaz (vocals and guitars) and Horgh (drums)
• Additional musicians: Peter Tägtgren (bass)
• Musical style: Black metal
• Sound: With a nod to Bathory, the tracks are primal, aggressive, icy cold, and very melodic.  With insanely fast tremolo guitars and blast beats, the sound on "Northern Chaos Gods" is chaotic as well as mesmerizing.  Of the album's sound, Demonaz stated that he wanted to create an album that was as "grim, dark, and cold as possible"... and that he did!
• Major themes: The occult, evil, death, coldness, darkness, isolation, war, Norse / Viking culture and lore, winter, revenge, anti-religion, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Northern Chaos Gods"
2. "Into Battle Ride"
3. "Gates to Blashyrkh"
4. "Grim And Dark"
5. "Called To Ice"
6. "Where Mountains Rise"
7. "Blacker Of Worlds"
8. "Mighty Ravendark"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Jester King Brewery (Austin, Texas)
• Website: https://jesterkingbrewery.com/
• Brew: Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout
• Style: Russian Imperial Stout / Farmhouse Ale
• Serving: 25 ounce bottle
• ABV: 10.8%
• Pour: The Black Metal pours an opaque ink black with a dark mocha, creamy 2+ finger head that slowly dissipates to a thick ring with good retention and sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is an interesting blend of roasty, earthy, tart, and funky notes.  There are aromas of dark roasted malts, chocolate, light coffee, tobacco, black cherry, plum, lemon juice, dried fruit, wet leather, and a little funk.
• Taste: The taste of the Black Metal is roasty, chocolaty, slightly tart, and slightly smoky.  There are notes of dark chocolate, black licorice, tart black cherry juice, .
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with higher carbonation than you usually find in a stout, the mouthfeel is thick, velvety, and fairly smooth up front, but with a sharper, drier, funky tartness in the finish.

Overall pairing: The unique and complex flavors and aromas of Jester King's Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout is perfect for the Norwegian black metal brilliance of Immortal's heavy-hitting, chaotic, melodic, and infernal "Northern Chaos Gods"!!

Skål!!  HAILS!!