October 5th, 2025 - It's a Slow Fade to the End of the World

 

Hello and happy Sunday rockers, rollers, metalheads, and craft beer lovers!  Your drinking pal the Meista here with another great brew and album pairing for ya!  I'm spinning the wonderful "End Of The World", the debut album by NWOBHM band Gaskin and a crisp and tart Slow Fade Imperial Tart Beer from the folks at Helper Beer!  Oh, yes!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Gaskin
• Title: "End Of The World"
• Recorded: April 1981 at Fairview Music Studios in Willerby, Hull, UK
• Release date: 1981 (1st studio album by Gaskin)
• Record company: Rondelet Records / Classic Metal Records
• Production: Roy Neave
• Album cover art: Danny Flynn (artwork, design, and layout), Paul Gaskin (design and layout), and Dave Norman (band logo, design, and layout)
• Personnel: Paul Gaskin (guitars, and lead and backing vocals), Dave Norman (drums), and Stef Prokopczuk (bass and backing vocals)
• Musical style: NWOBHM, heavy metal, hard rock
• Sound: Blending 1970s hard rock with NWOBHM punch and sensibility, the sound on "End Of The World" is both aggressive and melodic.  Paul Gaskin's emotive vocals and stellar guitar work paint a compelling, yet inviting musical journey over the powerful sonic tapestry that is Norman's and Prokopczuk's excellent rhythms!
• Lyrical themes: Lust, desire, seeking fame, the big city, fear, death, space flight, terror, death, illusion, delusion, destruction, etc.
• Notes: The 2017 Classic Metal Records release is dedicated to the late Stef Prokopczuk who passed away in 2008.
• Tracks:  

1. "Sweet Dream Maker"
2. "Victim Of The City"
3. "Despiser"
4. "Buring Alive"
5. "The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended"
6. "End Of The World"
7. "On My Way"
   
8. "Lonely Man"
9. "I'm No Fool"
10. "Handful Of Reasons"
11. "Sweet Dream Maker" (Bonus Track - Single Version 1981 - B´ Side)
12. "End Of The World" (Bonus Track - Demo)
13. "Despiser" (Bonus Track - Demo)
14. "I'm No Fool" (Bonus Track - Single Version 1981 - A´ Side)
15. "Broken Up" Bonus Track - EOTW Album Session Out Take)
16. "Don't Worry About A Thing" Bonus Track - EOTW Album Session Out Take)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Helper Beer (Helper, Utah)
• Website: https://www.helperbeer.com/
• Brew: Slow Fade Imperial Tart Beer
• Style: Imperial Sour
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 9.0% 
• Pour: The Slow Fade pours a slightly cloudy, bright golden yellow hue with a bright white, very frothy, 2-finger head with great retention and lots of soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is tart, fruity, and grainy.  There are aromas of lemon juice and zest, yuzu, freshly sliced pineapple, freshly sliced grapefruit, and a splash of honey. 
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Slow Fade is tart, bright, fruity, and grainy.  There are notes of lemon juice and zest, yuzu juice, pineapple, pink grapefruit juice, passion fruit, cereal grains, and a hint of sweet honey.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body with lots of bubbly carbonation, the mouthfeel is very tart, very crisp, yet smooth with a rather clean, slightly sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The complex, crisp, tart, and fruity flavors and aromas of the Helper Slow Fade is the perfect crushable brew for the rockin' intensity of Gaskin's brilliant and criminally underrated "End Of The World"!  'Nuff said! 

Cheers!!  Rock on!!