July 10th, 2020 - PowerFruitSlave

Hails and happy Friday evil-doers!  The Meista here pairing a favorite of mine... Iron Maiden's amazing, kick-ass 1984 album "Powerslave" with a Fruit Slave from Illuminated Brew Works!  Hell yes!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Iron Maiden
• Title: "Powerslave"
• Recorded: February through June 1984 at Compass Point Studio in Nassau, Bahamas
• Release date: September 3rd, 1984 (5th studio album by Iron Maiden)
• Record company: EMI / Capitol Records
• Production: Martin Birch
• Album cover art: Derek Riggs
• Personnel: Bruce Dickinson (lead vocals), Steve Harris (bass guitar), Nicko McBrain (drums), Dave Murray (guitars), and Adrian Smith (guitars)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal
• Sound: Musically, the album is fast-paced, aggressive, bombastic, and richly textured.  The dual guitar work of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray is soaring, majestic, and awe-inspiring!  Steve Harris' bass work is the thunderous stampede of an enraged cavalry!  Nicko McBrain's drumming is ground zero of a splitting atom!  And Bruce Dickinson's powerful vocal range defined and inspired metal millions!
• Major themes:  Lyrically, the album's themes are centered around war, turmoil, aggression, and human suffering.  The album opens with "Aces High", a fiery song about WWII pilots.  The second track and a fan favorite, "2 Minutes To Midnight" references the Doomsday Clock and specifically September of 1953 when the clock reached 23:58.  All of the tracks on this album are classic metal monsters... from "Flash Of The Blade" to "Duellists" to "Back In The Village".  But my two favorites of the album (and maybe of the band) are the final two tracks: "Powerslave" (about ancient Egypt and reign of the pharaohs) and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (a musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic power of the same name)!  FUCKING BRILLIANT!!
• Tracks:   

1. "Aces High"
2. "2 Minutes To Midnight"
3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)"
4. "Flash Of The Blade"
5. "Duellists"
6. "Back In The Village"
7. "Powerslave"
8. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: http://www.ibw-chicago.com/
• Brew: Fruit Slave
• Style: New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.5%
• Ingredients: Motueka, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria hops
• Pour: The Fruit Slave pours a very murky, bright orange (it looks just like orange juice!) with a creamy, 1-finger head with good retention and sustained spider web lacing.
• Nose: Lots of great citrus and sweet malts in the nose of this one.  There are big aromas of juicy orange, lemon, grapefruit, caramel/toffee, and fresh bread.
• Taste: Like the nose, the flavor is a really well-balanced blend of huge juicy and hoppy citrus, tropical flavors, and sweet malts.  There are big citrusy notes of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, along with tropical notes of mango, pineapple, papaya, pear, melon, guava, and more subtle notes of soft caramel, butter toffee, cereal, and slight hints of herbal tea.
• Mouthfeel: Well-carbonated, this light to medium-bodied brew is crisp, smooth and refreshing with a clean finish.

Overall pairing: Those punchy, citrusy, fruity, and slightly bitter flavors just works so perfectly well with the aggression, power, and intensity of "Powerslave"!  The soaring vocals guitar work shines even brighter with the citrus notes, while that hoppy bite is right in line with the lyrics and thunderous rhythm section!!

Cheers and hails!!  UP THE IRONS!!!