November 2nd, 2025 - The New, Anti-Boring Dark Time

 

Hello, happy Sunday, and hails metal maniacs and hopheads!  The Meista here with another killer pairing for ya... "The New Dark Ages", the most recent album by satirical shock rockers Gwar and a crisp and juicy Anti Boring IPA from the fine folks at Fisher Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!  This pairing is dedicated to my friend Rhian Thomas... cheers brother!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Gwar
• Title: "The New Dark Age"
• Recorded: 2022 at White Star Sound Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia
  Release date: June 3rd, 2022 (14th studio album by Gwar)
• Record company: Slave Pit Inc.
• Production: Ronan Chris Murphy 
• Album cover art: Alex Horley
• Personnel: Blothar the Berserker aka Michael Bishop (lead vocals), Balsac the Jaws of Death aka Mike Derks (guitars), Beefcake the Mighty aka Casey Orr (bass), Jizmak Da Gusha aka Brad Roberts (drums and percussion), and Pustulus Maximus aka Brent Purgason (guitars) 
• Additional and guest musicians: Lzzy Hale (vocals on "The Cutter"), Hey Steve, Steve Kramer (vocals on "Ratcatcher"), and Arlan Oscar (organ)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, thrash metal, shock rock, comedy metal
• Sound: Whereas earlier albums by Gwar incorporated punk, hip-hop, and other genres, with "The New Dark Age", Gwar has taken a purely metal path... and it works well!  Along with all the silliness and although they are a parody band, the members of Gwar are actually well-accomplished musicians and they offer some really killer and aggressive guitar riffs, machine gun fire drumming, and powerful bass lines!
• Major themes: A concept album of sorts about Gwar's continued reign of terror on planet Earth, the humorous and satirical songs on the album include themes of sexual perversion, gore, mythology, horror, violence, death, blood, destruction, deception, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "New Dark Age"
2. "Blood Libel"
3. "Berserker Mode"
4. "Mother Fucking Liar"
5. "Unto The Breach"
6. "Completely Fucked"
7. "The Cutter"
8. "Rise Again"
9. "The Beast Will Eat Itself"
10. "Venom Of The Platypus"
11. "Ratcatcher"
12. "Bored To Death"
13. "Temple Ascent (Death Whistle Suite)"
14. "Starving Gods (Death Whistle Suite)"
15. "Deus Ex Monstrum (Death Whistle Suite)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com/
• Brew: Anti Boring IPA (Hazification IPA)
• Style: Hazy India Pale Ale (IPA), New England IPA (NEIPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.6%
• IBUs: 20
• Ingredients: Simcoe, Idaho 7, and Citra hops
• Pour: The Anti Boring IPA pours a hazy, golden-yellow hue with a billowy eggshell white, thin head with good retention and light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, tropical, floral, and herbal hops, and subtle sweet malts.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, tangerine, mango, pineapple, wildflowers, doughy bread, toasted malts, and soft, sweet caramel/toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the Anti-Boring IPA is citrusy, tropical, and herbal along with crackery maltiness.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, orange juice, mango, fresh pineapple, strawberry, crackery biscuit, and sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, juicy, and sweet, yet very smooth with a dry, sweet finish

Overall pairing: The crisp, fruity, juicy, and delicious flavors and aromas of the Anti-Boring IPA from Fisher Brewing is perfect for the intense, aggressive, and profoundly silly and crazy metal stylings of Gwar!  Those bright hop flavors work really well with the thrashy punch while the fruitiness goes great with the over-the-top humor!  'Nuff said!!

Cheers and hails!!