May 23rd, 2021 - A Grunge Facelift

 

Good evening rockers and hop-heads!  The Meista here tonight the seminal debut album "Facelift" by Alice In Chains and tasty and punchy The Grunge India Pale Ale from Heber Valley Brewing Company!

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: David Coleman (art direction and design) and Rocky Schenck (photography)
• 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: Heber Valley Brewing Company (Heber City, Utah)
• Website: https://www.hebervalleybrewing.com/ 
• Brew: The Grunge India Pale Ale 
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 6.5%
• Ingredients: Centennial, Crystal, Citra, and Mosiac hops
• Pour: The Grunge pours a clear golden-amber with a frothy, 1+ finger off-white head displaying great retention and lots of sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, dank, citrusy, and malty.  There are aromas of wet pine needles, pine resin, grapefruit rind, mountain wild flowers, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Grunge follows the nose with lots of earthy, herbal, and citrusy flavors.  There are notes pine, bitter grapefruit rind, bitter herbs, crackery biscuit, and a hint of wild flower honey.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Grunge is crisp, dry, and slightly bitter with a dry and peppery finish.

Overall pairing: The Grunge from Heber Valley Brewing is a wonderfully piney IPA with lots of punchy and bitter notes... perfect for the intense, emotional, and honest tones, solos, harmonies, and lyrics of Alice In Chains' amazing debut album "Facelift"!  The piney and earthy aromas and flavors of the brew definitely work well with 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 commercial shit!

Cheers and hails!!