January 10th, 2025 - Shut Your Pie Hole & Listen to MindWars' "V"!!

 

Hello thrashers, metal maniacs, and hop lovers!  Happy Friday!  The Meista here today getting the weekend off to the right start with a pairing of "V", the wonderful 5th album by thrash metal band MindWars and a juicy, tart, and fruity Pie Hole Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale from Chappell Brewing!  Hells yes!!

Album Info:

• Artist: MindWars
• Title: "V"
• Recorded: January through May 2024 at Magic Shed 2.0 Studios in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: September 2nd, 2024 (5th studio album by Mindwars)
• Record company: New World Disorder Publishing
• Production: Cris Copat and MindWars
• Album cover art: Mario Lopez
• Personnel: Mike Alvord (guitars and vocals), Roby Vitari (drums), and Rick Zaccaro (bass) 
• Musical style: Thrash metal
• Sound: Channeling the raw thrash aggression of Alvord's old band Holy Terror, but with today's production capabilities, the sound on "V" is pure California thrash metal!  The songs are angry, wonderfully crafted, and heavy as hell with loads of killer hooks, riffs, and aggression!
• Major themes: Socio-politically charged, rebellious, and thoughtful, lyrical themes on the album include life and death, deception, oppression, darkness, fear, violence, freedom of speech, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Stand Guard At The Gates Of You Mind"
2. "West Of Nowhere"
3. "The Road To Madagascar"
4. "Chasing The Wind"
5. "Beneath The Trees"
6. "Live To Die"
7. "Crusaders"
8. "Source Of Destruction"
9. "Into The Known"
10. "Vultures Of The Eighth Wonder"
11. "The Logical Song" (Supertramp cover)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Chappell Brewing (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://chappell.beer/
• Brew: Pie Hole Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale
• Style: Sour / Fruited Gose
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Pour: The Pie Hole Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale pours a bright pinkish orange hue with a thin and frothy light pink, half-finger head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, tart, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of freshly sliced strawberries and rhubarb, strawberry jam, lemon zest, light cracked wheat, pale malts, a hint of salt, and a splash of wild honey.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose with lots of tart and fruity flavors along with more subtle maltiness.  There are notes of strawberry preserves, fresh strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and zest, a hint of orange juice, crackery biscuit, and light honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Pie Hole Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale is crisp and tart, yet very smooth with a dry, slightly sweet finish.

Overall pairing: Those fruity, tart, and very crushable flavors of Chappell Brewing's Pie Hole Strawberry Rhubarb Tart Ale are a great companion the thrash metal assault of Mindwars' killer "V" album!  The bright juiciness is a nice foil to the band's aggression and Alvord's vocals while the tarter flavors go great with the crunch of Alvord's fiery and emotive guitars, Zaccaro's thunderous and intricate bass lines, and Vitari's hard-hitting, machine gun fire drumming!

If you haven't done so already, check out my most recent interview with Mike Alvord here: https://youtu.be/Gw9dHCfmdBQ.  You can see my first interview with Mike Alvord from 2021 here: https://youtu.be/lalanROeddI .  Also, check out my interview with MindWars drummer Roby Vitari from 2022 here: https://youtu.be/CiExf_FY4_A

Hails and cheers!!