Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations.  Drink from the cup of heresy.  This week’s offering: Northless’ Last Bastion of Cowardice and Full Sail Brewing’s Session Pilsner.  

The Metal: Northless’ Last Bastion of Cowardice

I’ll cop to not being very enthused about Northless the first time I gave the band a try some time ago.  Something about it, which for the life of me I can’t remember specifics about, rubbed me the wrong way, and I thought that wasn’t likely to change…until I saw the teaser for Last Bastion of Cowardice that is.  The snippet of music I heard in that video (which turns out to be a sample of the album’s title track) haunted me, and I knew as soon as I saw this available, that I had to give the band another shot.  Whether through maturity or just time, this album hooked me instantly in a way previous material from the band didn’t, thanks in large part to the astounding amounts of gorgeous melody that cuts the darkness of the band’s sludge/post metal makeup.  There’s also much more faster, punk influenced passages to spice things up here than I was expecting.  This isn’t your average mid-tempo plod fest; the songs always shift in some way, be it rhythmically or with bursts of melody to keep things from becoming stale.  I love when a band can make a believer out of me, and Northless definitely have with this release.

The Booze: Full Sail Brewing’s Session Pilsner

I like a lot of beer (obviously), but one thing I’ve always been firm in is that I’m not a pilsner guy.  Mostly, I find the style a little bland and not quite strong enough for my taste.  So why, then, have I been picking up a six-pack of Full Sail’s Session Pilsner at every grocery shopping trip for a month?  Is it because they’re $5 at my retailer of choice?  Sure, there’s no denying that’s how it started.  This is also one of the best pilsners I’ve ever had.  After a summer spent drinking mostly heavy IPA’s and a winter coming where I’ll be drinking mostly strong stouts and porters, this feels like the perfect reset button for my palate.  Light and sweet, but with enough pronounced hop flavor to be interesting, this is the kind of balance I desperately wanted from a pilsner.  This could easily be your new every day drinking beer.

That does it for another week.  Take care of yourselves, and I hope to see you come next friday.  Until then, as always,

Cheers, and be good to each other,

– Vincent