August 29th, 2021 - Scriptures XII, XI, And XIII

 

Greetings my metal brethren!  The Revered Meista here on this sunny Sunday getting "religious" with another great pairing for ya...  Benediction's most recent, kick-ass "Scriptures" album and a dangerously tasty XII XI XIII Barleywine Ale from Level Crossing Brewing Company!  Hells yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Benediction
• Title: "Scriptures"
• Recorded: 2020 at Grindstone Studio in Suffolk, England
• Release date: October 16th, 2020 (8th studio album released by Benediction)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Scott Atkins
• Album cover art: Wolven Claws
• Personnel: Dan Bate (bass), Darren Brookes (guitars), Giovanni Durst (drums), David Ingram (vocals), and Peter Rew (guitars)
• Additional musicians: Kam Lee (vocals on "Progenitors Of A New Paradigm")
• Musical style: Death metal 
• Sound: Aggressive and more akin to earlier albums, with "Scriptures", Benediction saw the return of David Ingram to the fold and what a mighty return it is indeed!  The riffs and bass lines are wonderfully catchy, yet heavy as hell and Ingram is as brutal as ever!
• Major themes/lyrical content: Death, darkness, evil, the infernal, fear, rage, aggression, rebellion, corruption, vengeance, etc.
• Tracks:

1. "Iterations Of I"
2. "Scriptures Of Scarlet"
3. "The Crooked Man"
4. "Stormcrow"
5. "Progenitors Of A New Paradigm"
6. "Rabid Carnality"
7. "In Our Hands, The Scars"
8. "Tear Off These Wings"
9. "Embrace The Kill"
10. "Neverwhen"
11. "The Blight At The End"
12. "We Are Legion"
    
    

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Level Crossing Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.levelcrossingbrewing.com/ 
• Brew: XII XI XIII Barleywine Ale 
• Style: American Barleywine
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 12.11%
• IBUs: 222 
• Ingredients: Solstice Mild, Solstice Pale, Great Western Crystal 30, Great Western Crystal 75, Great Western Crystal 120, and Thomas Fawcett Pale Chocolate malts with Apollo, Amarillo, Chinook, Columbus, and Nugget hops 
• Pour: The XII XI XIII pours a hazy, dull, mahogany brown/deep copper with a thin, off-white head with only traces of lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by sweet, fruity, and piney aromas.  There are notes of black cherries, figs, raisins, caramelized malts, hearty raisin bread, pine resin, bitter herbs, vanilla bean, and spicy rum.
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the XII XI XIII is a blend of sweet and resinous flavors.  There are notes of sweet caramel, vanilla, black tea, black cherry juice, spiced raisins, spiced rum, and pine.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is velvety and silky smooth, yet punchy and somewhat sharp with a dry, boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Level Crossing XII XI XIII Barleywine Ale is wonderfully complex and bold with a hearty backbone and loads of intense flavors that go great with the aggressive power and honesty of all that is the mighty Benediction!!  Those sweeter dark fruit flavors go great with the guitar riffs while the boozy bite is right in line with the intense machine gun fire drumming and Ingram's brutal vocals!

Cheers!!  Horns raised!!