December 28th, 2021 - Black Metal, White IPA

 

Good evening rockers, rollers, and hop freaks!  The Meista here tonight donning a Venom t-shirt and Fisher Brewing Company socks whilst rocking out to the wonderful genius that is "Black Metal" by the legendary Venom and a tasty White IPA from the fine folks at Fisher Brewing Company!  Hell. Yes.  Oh, I'm a day late, but this pairing goes out to my buddy Jerm for his birthday!  Cheers brother!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Venom
• Title: "Black Metal"
• Recorded: 1982 at Impulse Studios in Newcastle, England
• Release date: November 1st, 1982 (2nd full-length studio album by Venom)
• Record company: Neat Records / Combat Records 
• Production: Keith Nichol and Venom
• Album cover art: Conrad Lant
• Personnel: Conrad Lant (aka Cronos) on bass guitar and lead vocals, Jeffery Dunn (aka Mantas) on guitars, and Anthony Bray (aka Abaddon) on drums 
• Musical style: Heavy metal, proto-thrash metal, proto-black metal 
• Sound: The influence from "Black Metal" cannot be overstated; multiple thrash metal, death metal, and black metal bands have sited this album as having inspired their work... a plethora of mayhem!  Although musically more in the vein of thrash (maybe the first), lyrically and visually speaking, "Black Metal" profoundly influenced the entirety of the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 1990s.  Marked by raw, powerful, and unadulterated aggressiveness, "Black Metal" is a wonderful punch in the eardrums!  Songs like title track "Black Metal", "To Hell And Back", "Buried Alive", the strangely bluesy "Teacher's Pet", "Heaven's On Fire", and "Countess Bathory" (maybe my favorite on the album) demand every ounce of your attention and seem to torment your very soul!  Of the album's sound, Cronos stated: "We knew that together we had an original sound, the unholy din that came at you when we kicked into a track was truly tremendous, trying to get this mayhem down onto tape in a studio was another matter, I tried my best with all of the skills I had learned as a studio engineer, I just went for the heaviest sound I could get, I mean there was no way I was ever going to make Venom sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd now was there? It was pure mayhem from start to finish." 
• Major themes: Evil, the occult, Satan, witchcraft, horror, mythology, violence, blood, sexual fantasies, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Black Metal"
2. "To Hell And Back"
3. "Buried Alive"
4. "Raise The Dead"
5. "Teacher's Pet"
6. "Leave Me In Hell"
7. "Sacrifice"
8. "Heaven's On Fire"
9. "Countess Bathory"
10. "Don't Burn The Witch"
11. "At War With Satan" (preview)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com/
• Brew: White IPA
• Style: West-Coast India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 25 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 7.5% 
• Ingredients: Wheat malt with Mosaic, Cascade, and Simcoe hops
• Pour: The White IPA pours a fairly clear, bronze hue with a bright white, 1+ finger, very frothy head with great retention and lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, malty, fruity, and very hoppy.  There are aromas of barley, pine resin, grapefruit rind, sweet berries, a hint of melon, and soft caramel. 
• Taste: The taste of the White IPA follows the nose with lots of hoppy, malty, and earthy flavors.  There are notes of pine, tangerine, berries, bready biscuit, light herbs, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp, yet hearty with a dry, clean, moderately bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The crushable, very drinkable tastiness of Fisher's White IPA is perfect for an evening of rocking the hell out to the insanely aggressive and monumentally influential power of Venom's "Black Metal"!   Those bold hop flavors are great for the biting sarcasm while the malty backbone goes great with the depth of musicianship and inventiveness.  'Nuff said!

And make sure to check out the interview I did with Jeff "Mantas" Dunn last December: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgQa6i1R91E

Cheers and hails!!