November 28th, 2024 - Harvesting The Skull on Thanksgiving

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, headbangers, and hopheads!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here today rockin' out with tasty and smooth Harvest Wet Hop Ale from Chappell Brewing and "The Skull 3", the debut, full-length, kick-ass album from the mighty Legions of Doom!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Legions of Doom
• Title: "The Skull 3"
• Recorded: 2021 and 2024 at Electrical Audio and Hyper Cube Studios in Chicago, Illinois
• Release date: September 13th, 2024 (1st studio album by Legions of Doom)
• Record company: Tee Pee Records
• Production: The Skull
• Album cover art: David V. D'Andrea
• Personnel: Karl Agell (lead vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5, and 6), Ron Holzner (bass), Lothar Keller (guitars), Scott Little (guitars), Scott Reagers (lead vocals on tracks 3, 4, and 8), Henry Vasquez (drums), and Eric Wagner (lead vocals on ""Heaven)
• Additional musicians: Alex Johnson (steel guitar on "Between Darkness And Dawn"), Sanford Parker (Moog synthesizer on "All Good Things"), and Paul Rau (organ on "Hallow By All Means")
• Musical style: Doom metal, stoner rock, hard rock
• Sound: Heavy as hell and with influence from bands like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, and Trouble, the sound on "The Skull 3" is characterized by big, bold riffs, soaring solos, thunderous drums, thumping bass grooves, and emotive vocal performances!
• Major themes: Death, darkness, mystery, hope, etc. 
• Tracks: 

1. "Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt"
2. "All Good Things"
3. "Lost Soul"
4. "A Voice Of Reason"
5. "Between Darkness And Dawn"
6. "Insectiside"
7. "Heaven"
8. "Hallow By All Means"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Chappell Brewing (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://chappell.beer/
• Brew:  Harvest Wet Hop Ale
• Style: Wet-Hopped Amber Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Pour: The Harvest pours a clear, deep copper-amber hue with a billowy, eggshell white, half-finger head with great retention and lots of sticky, intricate spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, grassy, floral, and malty.  There are aromas of green hops, fresh hay, wildflowers, tangerine, light grapefruit rind, orange zest, cereal grains, bready malts, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose with hoppy, citrusy, and malty flavors.  There are notes of light citrus, fresh, green hops, herbal tea, crackery biscuit, and light caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Harvest is crisp, yet very smooth, and with a dry, fairly clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Chappell Harvest Wet Hop Ale is hoppy and very crushable brew... perfect for throwing back whilst rocking the hell out to the depth and integrity of Legions of Doom!  Those fresh, hoppy notes go great with the soaring guitars and vocals while the malty backbone goes great with the heavy-duty rhythm section! 

Make sure to check out my interview from 2021 with vocalist Karl Agell here: https://youtu.be/9Ev21RY-Ves  and my interview from 2023 with guitarist Lothar Keller here: https://youtu.be/1MYpE2R3bp8

Cheers!!  Rock on!!  Have a great Thanksgiving!!