March 26th, 2025 - A Little Kölsch for ProgPower

 

Hello and good evening metal heads and craft beer freaks!  Your pal the Meista here pairing today "Live At ProgPower USA XXI", the wonderful live album by metal band Seven Spires and a tasty and crushable Kölsch from Bewilder Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Seven Spires
• Title: "Live At ProgPower USA XXI"
• Recorded: June 2022 live at ProgPower USA in Atlanta, Georgia
• Release date: March 17th, 2023 (1st live album by Seven Spires)
• Record company: Frontiers Records
• Production: Seven Spires
• Album cover art: Junki Sakuraba 
• Personnel: Adrienne Cowan (lead vocals and orchestrations), Peter de Reyna (bass), Chris Dovas (drums), and Jack Kosto (guitars)
• Additional musicians: Roy Khan (vocals)
• Musical style: Symphonic metal, progressive metal with elements of melodic death metal, folk metal, jazz, and traditional metal
• Sound: Characterized by complex and bombastic compositions, soaring and fiery guitars, soaring vocals, a thunderous rhythm section, and intricate keys, the sound on "Live At ProgPower USA XXI" is a tour de force!  Cowan's vocals are powerful and melodic, perfectly complimenting the amazing sonic tapestry masterfully laid down by de Reyna, Dovas, and Kosto!  And the additional vocals of Roy Khan is a killer bonus! 
• Major themes: Life, death, mythology, loss, dreams, the passage of time, the ocean, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Wanderer's Prayer"
2. "Gods Of Debauchery"
3. "Ghost Of Yesterday"
4. "The Cabaret Of Dreams"
5. "Succumb"
6. "In Sickness, In Health"
7. "Bury You"
8. "Drum Solo"
9. "Oceans Of Time"
10. "Shadow On An Endless Sea"
11. "Dare To Live"
12. "This God Is Dead"
13. "Through Lifetime (Outro)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bewilder Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://bewilderbrewing.com/
• Brew: Bewilder Kölsch 
• Style: German-style Kölsch 
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 25
• Pour: The Bewilder Kölsch pours a clear golden-yellow with a half-finger, bright white, frothy head with great retention and lots of layered, sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is grainy, crackery, floral, and a little hoppy.  There are aromas of freshly baked sourdough bread, crackery biscuit, lemongrass, a hint of honey, and freshly cut wild grass.
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste is malty, crackery, and grassy.  There are notes of crackery biscuit, cracked wheat, lemongrass, a hint of lemon zest, an ever so slight hint of honey, grassy hops, and a little hoppy kick in the finish.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, clean, yet earthy finish.

Overall pairing: With all the complexity, beautiful harmonies and melodies, nautical themes, and overall bombast, "Live At ProgPower USA XXI" is the perfect album to pair with the crisp and grainy flavors of Bewilder's delicious Kölsch!  And the album art and beer can label were made for one another!  'Nuff said!

Make sure to check out my interview with former Seven Spires' drummer Chris Dovas here: https://youtu.be/8IMonkV3wUc 

Cheers and hails!!