February 19th, 2026 - The Lucha Libre Vampiro

Hails and happy Thursday evening headbangers and worshippers of craft beer!  I don't work tomorrow, so, the Meista here starting off the weekend the right way by rocking the hell out to a pairing of Helstar's fantastic "Vampiro" and a dark and delicious Big Bad Baptist Lucha Libre from the fine folks at Epic Brewing Company!  Oh, hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Helstar
• Title: "Vampiro"
• Recorded: 2016 at Mob Hits Studios in Missouri City, Texas and Hombre Malo Studios in Houston, Texas 
• Release date:  ( studio album by Helstar)
• Record company: Massacre Records / Hellion Records
• Production: Helstar
• Album cover art: John Fossum
• Personnel: Andrew Atwood (guitars), Larry Barragán (guitars), Michael Lewis (drums), James Rivera (vocals), and Garrick Smith (bass)
• Additional musicians: Imelda Barragán (backing vocals), Chris Cannella (guitar), Michael Heald (cello), Christina Pumarejo-Urbieta (backing vocals), and Nathan Salazar (backing vocals) 
• Musical style: Heavy metal with elements of speed metal, thrash metal, and power metal
• Sound: "Vampiro" is powerful and fast-paced musical delivery.  Combining the aggression and punch of speed metal with the complexity and melody of traditional metal, Helstar creates a wonderfully rich musical tapestry!
• Major themes: Folklore, mythology, horror, life and death, good vs. evil, darkness, violence, vampires, the occult, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Awaken Unto Darkness"
2. "Blood Lust"
3. "To Dust You Will Become"
4. "Off With His Head"
5. "From The Pulpit To The Pit"
6. "To Their Death Beds They Fell"
7. "Malediction"
8. "Repent In Fire"
9. "Abolish The Sun"
10. "Black Cathedral"
11. "Dreamless Sleep"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Epic Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.epicbrewing.com/
• Brew: Big Bad Baptist Lucha Libre
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 12.8%
• Ingredients: Marris Otter, 2-Row, Light Munich, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt, and Roasted Barley, along with Nugget, Chinook, and Cascade hops, Mexican coffee, and cinnamon 
• Pour: The Big Bad Baptist Lucha Libre pours a beautiful black... black as hell, black as the night sky, black as mud with a very thin mocha head with good retention and lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by aromas of bittersweet cooking chocolate, rich planting soil, dark roasted espresso beans, black licorice, rich vanilla, cinnamon, oak, spiced rum and rich bourbon, along with sweet toffee. 
• Taste: The flavor is characterized by huge notes of dark and milk chocolate, cocoa, spicy cinnamon, vanilla, black coffee, and bourbon and rum, with more subtle notes of dark toasted bread, fresh cream, burnt toffee, and molasses.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with minimal carbonation, the Big Bad Baptist Lucha Libre's mouthfeel is sticky, velvety, and chunky.  The finish is nice and chewy and velvety smooth with a dry mocha goodness that lingers.

Overall pairing: The Epic Big Bad Baptist Lucha Libre is a bold and flavorful imperial stout... perfect for the high-octane metal brilliance of the mighty Hellstar!  Those roasty and toasty notes got great with heavy duty rhythm section of Lewis and Smith, while the boozier and sweeter elements go great with the soaring and biting guitars of Atwood and Barragán, and Rivera's stellar vocals!

And make sure you check out my interview with very talented and friendly Helstar guitarist Larry Barragán here: https://youtu.be/72xGjV8ClUI 

Salud!!  Hails!!