May 23rd, 2025 - The Silver Lady's Sun River Lover and Other Unheavenly Creatures

 

Hello and happy Friday rockers, rollers, music lovers, and craft beer fans of all styles!  The Meista here this evening pairing my son's copy of Coheed and Cambria's "Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures" and a Silver Lady Volume 2 “Sun River Lover” from the fine folks at Silver Reef Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Coheed and Cambria
• Title: "Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures"
• Recorded: January through March 2018 
• Release date: October 5th, 2018 (9th studio album by Coheed and Cambria)
• Record company: Roadrunner Records
• Production: Coheed and Cambria
• Album cover art: Chase Stone
• Personnel: Zach Cooper (bass and backing vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, percussion, keyboards, and backing vocals), Claudio Sanchez (rhythm guitars and lead vocals), and Travis Stever (lead guitars and backing vocals)
• Additional musicians: Karl Berger (string arrangements and vibraphone), Jason Hwang (viola), Ernesto Llorens (violin), Sana Nagano (violin), and Jane Scarpantoni (cello)
• Musical style: Progressive rock / metal, alternative rock with elements of power metal, indie rock, and a touch of post-punk
• Sound: Blending traditional progressive rock and metal with a more modern punch, Coheed and Cambria's unique style is immediately recognizable and mesmerizing.  The songs are wonderfully complex and intricate, yet very listenable, emotive, and engaging.
• Major themes: A sci-fi concept album about the Amory Wars saga and following the story of Creature and Sister Spider, themes on the album include love, good vs. evil, war, violence, deception, bravery, valor, loss, imprisonment, dedication, perseverance, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Prologue"
2. "The Dark Sentencer"
3. "Unheavenly Creatures"
4. "Toys"
5. "Black Sunday"
6. "Queen Of The Dark"
7. "True Ugly"
8. "Love Protocol"
9. "The Pavilion (A Long Way Back)"
10. "Night-Time Walkers"
11. "The Gutter"
12. "All On Fire"
13. "It Walks Among Us"
14. "Old Flames"
15. "Lucky Stars"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Silver Reef Brewing Company (Saint George, Utah)
• Website: https://sgbev.com/
• Brew: Silver Lady Volume 2 “Sun River Lover”
• Style: Farmhouse Ale / Saison
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 20
• Ingredients: Farmhouse ale brewed with natural peach flavor
• Pour: The Silver Lady Volume 2 “Sun River Lover” pours a clear, golden yellow hue with a frothy, bright, half-finger white head that dissipates to a thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, earthy, and grainy.  There are aromas of freshly sliced peaches, pear and green apple, light honey, and wet leather.
• Taste: The taste of the Silver Lady Volume 2 “Sun River Lover” follows the nose with grainy, and very fruity flavors.  There are notes of freshly sliced peach, peach jam, lemon zest, pear juice, white wine, and a hint of barnyard funk.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very effervescent, crisp, juicy, frothy, and refreshing, with a dry, clean finish.

Overall pairing: The crisp, drinkable, fruity, and well-balanced flavors of the Silver Lady Volume 2 “Sun River Lover” from Silver Reef Brewing Company work wonderfully well with the intricate and emotive songs on "Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures"!  The fruity and tart flavors and aromas are great for complex and powerful songs like "Unheavenly Creatures", while the sweeter flavors mingle well with vocal harmonies and soaring guitars!  I also thought the album artwork juxtaposed with the beer label was rather amusing. :)

Cheers!!