February 22nd, 2025 - The Necrølithic Defectum Omnium

 

Hello and happy Saturday metal maniacs and craft beer fanatics!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here today with a monstrous pairing of the kick-ass "Defectum Omnium", the latest album by underrated New Orleans metal monsters Exhorder and a deliciously bold Necrølith Imperial Sourdough Bread Stout from Jester King Brewery!  Hell yes!!  And this pairing goes out to my buddy, John Spring... thanks for the delicious beer my friend!!  Cheers!!  

Album Info:

• Artist: Exhorder
• Title: "Defectum Omnium"
• Recorded: 2023 at at Fat Track in Bright, Indiana, at In Phase Audio in Neperville, Illinois, and at Metal Shark Studio in Metairie, Louisiana
• Release date: March 8th, 2024 (4th full-length studio album by Exhorder)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast 
• Production: Exhorder
• Album cover art: Travis Smith 
• Personnel: Sasha Horn (drums), Pat O'Brien (lead guitars), Kyle Thomas (vocals and rhythm guitars), and Jason Viebrooks (bass and rhythm guitars) 
• Guest musicians: Anton Evilgoat (lead guitar on "Year Of The Goat"), Bruce Franklin (lead guitar on "You Six"), and Rick Wartell (lead guitar on "You Six")
• Musical style: Thrash metal, groove metal
• Sound: In the vein of Exodus, Exhorder's approach is fast, furious, and aggressive, yet they also explore more slow and sludgy elements at times. Regardless of tempo, these metal vets understand the importance of a good solid riff and how to develop a powerhouse song around said riff!  With "Defectum Omnium," Exhorder perfectly lays down killer riff after riff along with soaring solos, machine gun fire drumming... all wonderfully mixed with the powerhouse vocals of Thomas!
• Major themes: Socio-politically charged, themes on the album include despair, politics, corruption, control, evil, violence, anger, rebellion, rage, perseverance, crime, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Wrath Of Prophecies"
2. "Under The Gaslight"
3. "Forever And Beyond Despair"
4. "The Tale Of Unsound Minds"
5. "Divide And Conquer"
6. "Year Of The Goat"
7. "Taken By Flames"
8. "Defectum Omnium / Stolen Hope"
9. "Three Stages Of Truth / Lacing The Well"
10. "Sedition"
11. "Desensitized"
12. "You Six"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Jester King Brewery (Austin, Texas)
• Website: https://jesterkingbrewery.com/
• Brew: Necrølith
• Style: Imperial Sourdough Bread Stout 
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 12.0%
• Pour: The Necrølith pours an opaque ink black with a mocha, creamy 1+ finger head that slowly dissipates to a thick ring with good retention and sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is rich blend of roasty, earthy, and slightly sour notes.  There are aromas of dark roasted malts, dark chocolate, light coffee, tobacco, a hint of black cherry, freshly baked sourdough bread, burnt toffee, and rich bourbon.
• Taste: The taste of the Necrølith is roasty, toasty, chocolaty, boozy, slightly tart, and slightly smoky.  There are notes of dark chocolate, dark roasted malt, hints of black licorice, rich bourbon, burnt toffee and soft caramel, and a hint of vanilla.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel is very thick, velvety, and fairly smooth up front, but with a sharper, drier, boozier kick in the finish.

Overall Pairing: Along with the imagery of the can label and the album cover art, the very dark and very bold Jester King Necrølith is perfect for the aggressive, heavy as hell, fast-paced grooves, fiery riffs, and killer hooks of Exhorder's  kick-ass "Defectum Omnium "album!  The more bitter flavors are great for the lyrics and Thomas' powerful vocals while the sweeter and boozier flavors go great with the machine gun fire guitar attack of O'Brien, Thomas, and Viebrooks, and their guest lead guitarists!  And those bolder malt notes are prefect for the thunderous drumming and bass onslaught of the mighty Horn and Viebrooks!  I highly recommend both the album and the brew!

And make sure to check out my 2021 interview with Kyle Thomas here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWuVR_eTp5o&t=2s

Cheers and hails!!