July 11th, 2022 - My Metal Health Is An Empty Head

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, headbangers, and craft brew freaks!  Your drinking pal the Meista here today rocking out with a pairing of Quiet Riot's 3rd studio album, "Metal Health" and a juicy and punchy The Proper Glassware Is An Empty Head Double Dry Hopped Double India Pale Ale from Illuminated Brewing Company!  Bang your head! 


Album Info:

• Artist: Quiet Riot
• Title: "Metal Health"
• Recorded: Late 1982 at Pasha Music House in Hollywood, California 
• Release date: March 11th, 1983 (3rd studio album by Quiet Riot)
• Record company: Pasha Records
• Production: Spencer Proffer
• Album cover art: Sam Emerson (photography) and Jay Vigon (art direction and design)
• Personnel: Frankie Banali (drums and backing vocals), Carlos Cavazo (guitars and backing vocals), Kevin DuBrow (vocals), and Rudy Sarzo (bass and synthesizers)
• Additional musicians: Tuesday Knight (backing vocals on "Thunderbird"), Spencer Proffer (backing vocals on "Let's Get Crazy"), Pat Regan (keyboards), Riot Squad (backing vocals on "Let's Get Crazy"), Donna Slattery (backing vocals on "Let's Get Crazy"), and Chuck Wright (bass on "Metal Health" and "Don't Want To Let You Go")
• Musical style: Heavy metal, hard rock
• Sound: One of the biggest selling metal albums of all time, "Metal Health" almost single-handedly launched metal into the mainstream... and is the album that really got me into metal in the first place (I was in 6th grade at the time).  It was the first heavy metal album in the U.S. to reach #1 on the Billboard 200.  The album's fame can be attributed to the great hooks, riffs, and melodies on songs like "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)", the cover of Slade's great "Cum On Feel The Noize", "Slick Black Cadillac", "Breathless", "Run For Cover", "Let's Get Crazy", and "Thunderbird", along with the musical prowess of the band.  Every element of this album is great... Carlos Cavazo's guitar work alone makes it worth its weight in gold!  This is one of those albums that I don't listen to as often as I should, but when I do it immediately takes me back to a (seemingly) simpler time in my life filled with the anticipation of Friday night videos and trying to tape songs off the radio.
• Major themes: Partying, insanity, living life to its fullest, rock and roll, heavy metal, rebellion, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Metal Health"
2. "Cum On Feel The Noize" (Slade cover)
3. "Don't Want To Let You Go"
4. "Slick Black Cadillac"
5. "Love's A Bitch"
6. "Breathless"
7. "Run For Cover"
   
8. "Battle Axe"
9. "Let's Get Crazy"
10. "Thunderbird"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: https://www.ibw-chicago.com/
• Brew: The Proper Glassware Is An Empty Head Double Dry Hopped Double India Pale Ale 
• Style: Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) / Imperial IPA
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 8.0%
• Ingredients: Citra, Mosaic, Waimea, Sabro, and Vic's Secret hops
• Pour: The Proper Glassware Is An Empty Head pours the color of a fresh squeezed orange juice, the very hazy displays a very frothy and creamy, eggshell white, 2-finger head with great retention and lots of sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a nice balance of big, citrusy, and tropical aromatic punch with sweeter malts, there are notes of orange juice, orange peel, mango, strawberry, pineapple, guava, wildflowers, fresh cream, herbal tea, and sweet caramel/toffee. 
• Taste: With loads of juicy citrus and tropical fruit flavors, The Proper Glassware Is An Empty Head is characterized by notes of orange juice, tangerine, pink grapefruit, mango, melon, guava, black tea, light pine, and a well-balanced and semi-sweet malt backbone. 
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, juicy, yet smooth and creamy with a dry, slightly sweet and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The citrusy and juicy, yet dangerously crushable The Proper Glassware Is An Empty Head Double Dry Hopped Double India Pale Ale is perfect for the rockin' heavy metal punch of Quiet Riot's "Metal Health"!  Those fruity flavors coupled with the sweet and citrusy notes go great with DuBrow's vocal range, the electrifying guitar work, and the power of the bass and drums!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!

Make sure to check out my interview with ex-Quiet Riot member, Chuck Wright here: https://youtu.be/gQBV4WBY1KQ