August 29th, 2025 - Dancing in Hell to a Velvet Waltz

 

Hello and happy Friday my friends!  The Meista here this evening getting the weekend off to the right start with a pairing of a tasty, hoppy, and bold Velvet Waltz Pale Ale from the fine folks at the Fisher Brewing Company whilst spinning "Dancing In Hell", the kick-ass 3rd album by the wonderful Swedish heavy metal band Eleine!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Eleine
• Title: "Dancing In Hell" 
• Recorded: 2020 at The Panic Room in Skövde, Sweden.
• Release date: November 27th, 2020 (3rd studio album by Eleine)
• Record company: Black Lodge Records
• Production: Rikard Ekberg and Madeleine "Eleine" Liljestam 
• Album cover art: Néstor Ávalos 
• Personnel: Rikard Ekberg (guitars and vocals), Anton Helgesson (bass), Madeleine "Eleine" Liljestam (lead vocals), and Jesper Sunnhagen (drums) 
• Guest musicians: Ludwig Dante Blaesild (guitars on "Enemies" and "All Shall Burn") and Daniel Beijbom (orchestration)
• Musical style: Symphonic metal with elements of traditional heavy metal, death metal, and thrash
• Sound: Guitar and vocally driven, the music on "Dancing In Hell" is bombastic, dynamic, and heavy!  For a band considered as part of the symphonic metal movement, this is some pretty aggressive stuff! 
• Major themes: Life, death, darkness, suffering, self-preservation, vengeance, power, etc. 
• Tracks: 

1. "Enemies"
2. "Dancing In Hell"
3. "Ava Of Death"
4. "Crawl Through The Ashes"
5. "As I Breathe"
6. "Memoriam"
7. "Where Your Rotting Corpse Lie (W.Y.R.C.L.)"
8. "All Shall Burn"
9. "Die From Within"
10. "The World We Knew"
11. "Die From Within" (Symphonic Version)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com/
• Brew: Velvet Waltz Pale Ale
• Style: West-Coast Pale Ale 
• Serving: 32 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 40
• Ingredients: Nelson Sauvin and Strata hops
• Pour: The Velvet Waltz Pale Ale pours a fairly clear, golden orange-yellow hue with a billowy and frothy, bright white, 2+ finger head with great sustain and lots of sudsy, sticky, and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, fruity, floral, earthy, and herbal hops, and more subtle sweeter malts.  There are aromas of freshly sliced strawberries, Fruity Pebbles, grapefruit rind, , tangerine, light mango, herbal tea, light pine resin, wildflowers, doughy bread, toasted malts, and soft, sweet caramel/toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the Velvet Waltz Pale Ale is fruity, citrusy, earthy, and herbal along with crackery maltiness.  There are notes of lime juice and zest, orange juice, grapefruit juice, tangerine, light mango, pineapple, soft peach, light pine, black tea, crackery biscuit, and soft caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, slightly bitter, yet smooth with a dry, bitter finish

Overall pairing: The well-balanced Velvet Waltz Pale Ale from Fisher is a complex, hoppy, and very drinkable brew... great for tossing back while rocking the hell out to the wonderfully intense and bombastic metal stylings of Eleine!  Those punchy hop notes go great with aggressive guitars, bass, and drums while the brighter, citrus notes go great with Liljestam's beautifully rich voice!  'Nuff said!

And make sure to check out my recent interview with Rikard Ekberg and Madeleine "Eleine" Liljestam here: https://youtu.be/Cuyu6BZuYjA

Skal!  Hails!