September 19th, 2026 - A Big Dumb Beer for A Big Amazing Album

 

God morgon, hails, and happy Saturday!  Today I'm celebrating the history and legacy of Swedish death metal with "Swedish Death Metal", an impressive 3-disc collection of demos, EP tracks, and album tracks from the bands that shaped death metal in Sweden in the 1980s and 1990s.  I'm pairing this wonderful album with a delightfully bold, boozy, and dangerously drinkable Big Dumb Beer Imperial Stout from the folks at Bombastic Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Various
• Title: "Swedish Death Metal"
• Recorded: Various studios in the late 1980s and early 1990s
• Release date: February 27th, 2009 
• Record company: Index Verlag 
• Production: Martin Koller
• Album cover art: Nicke Andersson
• Personnel: Too many individual artists to list; see track listings for specific band names.
• Musical style: Death metal with elements of thrash metal, black metal, hardcore punk, and crust punk
• Sound: Raw, aggressive, seminal, brilliant... this collection embodies the revolutionary sound of Swedish extreme metal in the 1980s and 1990s.  It is groundbreaking, inspiring, and totally immersive... an absolutely fan-fucking-tastic collection!!
• Major themes: Death, destruction, sorrow, oblivion, gore, horror, terror, insanity, zombies, politics, rebellion, violence, war, evil, anti-religion, the occult, Satanism, paganism, medical procedures, science fiction, etc.
• Note: The music was compiled by Stefan Belda, Daniel Ekeroth, and Martin Koller as an accompanying musical journey to Daniel Ekeroth's brilliant book of the same name.
• Tracks:  

CD 1:

1. "Betrayed Truth" by Mefisto
2. "Demented" by Obscurity
3. "Rise Again" by Corpse
4. "Souls Of The Dead" by Merciless
5. "Wings Of Funeral" by Morbid
6. "Abnormally Deceased" by Nihilist
7. "Putrefaction Remains" by Putrefaction
8. "Torn Apart" by Carnage
9. "Megalomania" by Therion
10. "Final Chapter" by Carbonized
11. "Darkside" by Expulsion
12. "Brutally Deceased" by Grave
13. "Descend To The Ashes" by Sorcery
14. "Irrevocable Act" by Tribulation
15. "Consumed In Flames" by Afflicted Convulsion
16. "Dismembered" by Dismember
17. "The Chill Within" by Desultory
18. "Submit To Death" by Grotesque

CD 2:

1. "But Life Goes On" by Entombed
2. "Mourning" by Nirvana 2002
3. "Slithering Maceration Of Ulcerous Facial Tissue" by General Surgery
4. "Override The Overture" by Dismember
5. "Into The Grave" by Grave
6. "Before The Creation" by Unleased
7. "Ancient Entity" by Tiamat
8. "Recarbonized" by Carbonized
9. "City Of Screaming Statues" by At The Gates
10. "Bleeding Shrines Of Stone" by Liers In Wait
11. "Enigma" by Edge Of Sanity
12. "Nightmare Lake" by Cemetary
13. "Symphony Of The Dead" by Therion
14. "Tidings From The Blue Sphere" by Afflicted
15. "Still Fucking Dead (Here's No Peace)" by Marduk
16. "Black Horizons" by Dissection

CD 3: 

1. "Through The Darkened Peril" by Evocation
2. "Reincarnage" by Séance
3. "Beyond The Realm" by Toxaemia
4. "Shark Heaven" by Furbowl
5. "Human Flesh" by Suffer
6. "A Perfect Night To Masturbate" by Traumatic
7. "Necrophilicide" by Macrodex
8. "Rather Black" by House Of Usher
9. "The Ancient War" by Crypt Of Kerberos
10. "Psychopath" by Eternal Darkness
11. "Morbid Death" by Intermet
12. "Transportation To The Uncanny" by Uncanny
13. "Die In Agony" by S.G.R.
14. "In Hate..." by Sarcasm
15. "Enshrouded (In The River Of Eternity)" by Crematory
16. "Under The Black Soil" by Necrony
17. "Spawn Of Pure Malevolence" by Repugnant
18. "Mass Genocide Ritual" by Katalysator

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Bombastic Brewing (Hayden, Idaho)
• Website: https://www.bombasticbrewing.com/
• Brew: Big Dumb Beer Imperial Stout 
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 15.0%
• Pour: The Big Dumb Beer pours an opaque, deep, dark brown (almost ink black) hue with a billowy and creamy, 2-finger, dark mocha head with great retention and lots of sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, malty, roasty, toasty, slightly sweet, and rather boozy.  There are aromas of dark chocolate, burnt toffee, dark roasted malts, a hint of vanilla bean, rich espresso, woody oak, and rich bourbon. 
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Big Dumb Beer is rich, roasty, toasty, malty, chocolaty, and very boozy.  There are notes of bittersweet dark chocolate, burnt toffee, creamy vanilla, roasted walnuts, dark toasted bread, dark roasted coffee, and lots of rich bourbon.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel is silky, velvety, and thick and chewy with a dry, bittersweet, and very boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Bombastic Big Dumb Beer is a very bold and very complex brew with loads of flavor and a boozy punch, which is perfect for the depth, passion, musical prowess, and intense rage of this brilliant collection of Swedish death metal forefathers and innovators!  Need I say more?

Skål and hails!!