January 18th, 2025 - Timothy Hay-Z's Divine Council

 

Hello and happy Saturday my headbanging and hop lovin' friends!  The Meister here today pairing "Divine Council", the wonderfully intricate and heavy 8th album by Tasmanian technical death metal band Psycroptic and a tasty, hoppy, and juicy Timothy Hay-Z IPA from the fine folks at Iron Horse Brewery!  Oh, yeah!!  This pairing goes out to my buddies Forgach and Cody D. of Maximum Distortion fame.  And special thanks to my friend Brad Davis for giving me this tasty brew... thanks brother!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Psycroptic
• Title: "Divine Council"
• Recorded: 2022 at Anubis Studios, Cave Bound Studio, Crawlspace Studios, and White Lake Music
• Release date: August 2nd, 2022 (8th full-length studio album by Psycroptic)
• Record company: EVP Recordings
• Production: Psycroptic
• Album cover art: Eliran Kantor
• Personnel: David Haley (drums), Joe Haley (guitars), Jason Peppiatt (vocals), and Todd Stern (bass)
• Additional musicians: Jason Keyser (additional vocals) and Amy Wiles (additional vocals)
• Musical style: Technical death metal with elements of blackened death metal
• Sound: Blending insane riffage with wonderful counter-rhythmic intensity and brutal vocals, the sound on "Divine Council" is both intense and mesmerizing.  As always, Joe's guitar work is awe-inspiring, while David and Todd Stern lay down an impressively powerful rhythm for Peppiatt's thoughtful lyrics and fierce vocals.
• Major themes: Death, destruction, metaphysics, mythology, politics, ignorance, corruption, fantasy, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Rend Asunder"
2. "A Fool's Errand"
3. "This Shadowed World"
4. "Enslavement"
5. "Ahses Of Our Empire"
6. "The Prophet's Council"
7. "Awakening"
8. "A Fragile Existence"
9. "Exitus"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Iron Horse Brewery (Ellensburg, Washington)
• Website: https://www.ironhorsebrewery.com/
• Brew: Timothy Hay-Z IPA
• Style: New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 6.25%
• Ingredients: Citra and Azacca hops with unmalted wheat and oats
• Pour: The Timothy Hay-Z IPA pours a hazy, golden-yellow hue with a frothy and firm, off-white, 2-finger head with great retention and lots of sticky, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by citrusy, floral, sweet, and malty aromas.  There are aromas of orange juice, mango, freshly cut pineapple, grapefruit rind, tangerine, wildflowers, bready malt, and sweet caramel.
• Taste: Well-balanced and flavorful, the Timothy Hay-Z IPA has a nice blend of citrusy, tropical fruit, and malty flavors.  There are notes of guava, mango, pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, orange zest, pineapple juice, and sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of Timothy Hay-Z IPA is juicy, crisp, with a dry, slightly sweet finish. 

Overall pairing: The Iron Horse Timothy Hay-Z IPA is a very crisp, very juicy, complex, yet crushable brew... a great companion for banging your heading and raising your horns to the Psycroptic!  Those bitter hop notes go great with vocals and the overall aggressiveness of the album while the brighter and sweeter notes go great with the fantastic riffing and solos!  I also thought the beer can art work looked great alongside the amazing album art of Eliran Kantor and the sweet colored vinyl!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Hails!!