July 12th, 2024 - X Marks the Danish Spot

 

Hey there thrashers, headbangers, and hop lovers!  Happy Friday!  Today I'm rocking the hell out to "X", the fantastic 10th album by legendary Danish thrashers Artillery and a crisp and delicious Danish Lager from my friends at Ogden Beer Company in collaboration with Helper Beer!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Artillery 
• Title: "X"
• Recorded: 2021 at Medley Studio in Copenhagen, Denmark
• Release date: May 7th, 2021 (10th full-length studio album by Artillery)
• Record company: Metal Blade Records
• Production: Søren Andersen
• Album cover art: Martin Helgren
• Personnel: Michael Bastholm Dahl (lead and backing vocals), Josua Madsen (drums), Kræn Meier (guitars and backing vocals), Michael Stützer (lead guitars and backing vocals), and Peter Thorslund (bass)
• Additional musicians: Jan Bæktoft Christensen (backing vocals) and Kim Vestergaard Nielsen (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Thrash metal, heavy metal
• Sound: Wonderfully riff-driven, the sound on "X" is bold and aggressive, yet thoughtful, melodic, and complex... another important album in not only Artillery's legacy, but thrash metal's legacy as a whole! 
• Major themes: Life, death, society, politics, anger, vengeance, heavy metal, etc. 
• Note: This album is dedicated to Morten Stützer who died in 2019.
• Tracks:

1. "The Devil's Symphony"
2. "In Thrash We Trust"
3. "Turn Up The Rage"
4. "Silver Cross"
5. "In Your Mind"
6. "The Ghost Of Me"
7. "The Force Of Indifference"
8. "Varg I Veum"
9. "Mors Ontologica (The Death Of The Spirit)"
10. "Eternal Night"
11. "Beggars In Black Suits"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ogden Beer Company (Ogden, Utah) in collaboration with Helper Beer (Helper, Utah)
• Website: http://www.ogdenbeercompany.com/ and https://www.helperbeer.com/
• Brew: Danish Lager
• Style: Danish Style Lager
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: Danish malt and yeast
• Pour: The Danish Lager pours a clear, bright, golden-yellow hue with a 1+ finger, bright white, frothy head with great retention and displays lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by grainy, malty, slightly sweet, and floral aromas.  There are aromas of toasted white bread, cracked wheat, freshly cut hay, lemon zest, and grassy and floral hops.
• Taste: Well-balanced, the Danish Lager has a nice blend of grainy, malty, and grassy flavors.  There are notes of crackery biscuit, bright grains, light lemon zest, light pine, light herbs, and a hint of honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, clean finish. 

Overall pairing: The Danish Lager is a very crushable brew with great flavors and aromas... perfect for an afternoon of rocking the hell out with the mighty Artillery's "X"!  'Nuff said!

And make sure to check out my interview with Michael Stützer Hansen, guitarist and founding member of Artillery here: https://youtu.be/o0B1Fg9kiKU 

Skål and hails!  Raise those horns!