March 12th, 2023 - Somewhere Far Beyond In The Piney Brown

 

Guten abend and happy Sunday!  The Meista rocking the hell out with a pairing of Blind Guardian's fantastic "Somewhere Far Beyond" and a Piney Brown from the fine folks at Fisher Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Blind Guardian
• Title: "Somewhere Far Beyond"
• Recorded: February through May 1992 at Karo Studios in Germany
• Release date: June 30th, 1992 (4th studio album by Blind Guardian)
• Record company: Virgin Records / Century Media
• Production: Kalle Trapp
• Album cover art: Andreas Marschall
• Personnel: Hansi Kürsch (lead vocals and bass), André Olbrich (lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars, and backing vocals), Marcus Siepen (rhythm and acoustic guitars, and backing vocals), and Thomas "Thomen" Stauch (drums)
• Additional musicians: Kai Hansen (lead guitar on "The Quest Of Tanelorn"), Billy King (backing vocals), Rolf Köhler (backing vocals), Peter Rübsam (Scottish and Irish bagpipes), Piet Sielck (guitars and effects), Kalle Trapp (backing vocals), Mathias Wiesner (keyboards, effects, and bass on "Spread Your Wings"), and Stefan Will (piano)
• Musical style: Speed metal, power metal, progressive metal
• Sound: "Somewhere Far Beyond" is powerful and fast-paced musical delivery.  Combining the aggression of speed metal with the complexity of progressive metal, and the punch of power metal, Blind Guardian creates a wonderfully rich tapestry!
• Major themes: Folklore, mythology, life and death, valor, dreams, quests, wizardry, power, war, magic, good vs. evil, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Time What Is Time"
2. "Journey Through The Dark"
3. "Black Chamber"
4. "Theatre Of Pain"
5. "The Quest Of Tanelorn"
6. "Ashes To Ashes"
7. "The Bard's Song - In The Forest"
8. "The Bard's Song - The Hobbit"
9. "The Piper's Calling"
10. "Somewhere Far Beyond"
11. "Spread Your Wings" (Queen cover)
12. "Trial By Fire" (Satan cover)
13. "Theatre Of Pain" (classic version)
14. "Ashes To Ashes" (demo version)
15. "Time What Is Time" (demo version)
    
    

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com/
• Brew: Piney Brown
• Style: American Brown Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.3%
• IBUs: 45
• Pour: The Piney Brown pours a deep, dark brown with 1+ finger, light beige, frothy head with good retention and soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by roasty, toasty, malty, and piney notes.  There are aromas of pine resin, cedar, grapefruit rind, orange zest, dark chocolate, rye bread, dark roasted malts, oak, and hints of toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the Piney Brown follows the nose with lots of malty, roasty, piney flavors.  There are notes of pine, barley, toasted rye bread, bitter herbs, black tea, black pepper, and light toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, yet a little chewy with a dry and somewhat bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Fisher Piney Brown is a ... perfect for the classic power metal/speed metal brilliance of German metallers Blind Guardian!  Those roasty and toasty notes got great with heavy duty rhythm section while the hoppier elements go great with the soaring guitars and Hansi's amazing vocals!

Prost!!  Hails!!