Nine Circles

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: Tomb Mold’s Planetary Clairvoyance and Wasatch Brewery’s Evolution Amber Ale.  

The Metal: Tomb Mold’s Planetary Clairvoyance

I’m baaaaaack.  And coincidentally, so are death metal rising stars Tomb Mold, with their third (?!) full-length album in three (?!?!) years.  With the relentless pace the band has seemingly set for themselves, one has to wonder if Planetary Clairvoyance can continue in the tradition of excellence that has thus far defined the band’s burgeoning career.  Well, wonder no longer: Planetary Clairvoyance might just be the best thing they’ve put forth yet.  The trajectory from the Finnish death metal worship of Primordial Malignity to last year’s Manor of Infinite Forms showed much more vicious selections in the riff department, but Planetary Clairvoyance sees that same commitment to razor-sharp riffs steeped in much more eerie ambiance.  The harmonies employed on tracks like “Accelerative Phenominae,” coupled with the skin-crawling samples on album-closer “Heat Death” and the full on ambient track “Phosphorene Ultimate” paint a picture closer to that of horror movies like Alien than the grime-and-slime of previous works, but the added touches of ambiance flesh out the machine-tight musicianship in ways that breathe life into Tomb Mold’s sound in surprising ways.  When the question is between quality and quantity, Tomb Mold answer with a resounding “both.”  This is undoubtedly some of the best death metal this year will give us.

The Booze: Wasatch Brewery’s Evolution Amber Ale

In true Vince fashion, I managed to get sick immediately after getting back from vacation, so this week is my return to form in two ways, since I’ve only just recovered my ability to drink beer again.  But this is a blessing, because it means I get to revisit a good purchase I made in Utah on the way home from Fire in the Mountains Festival.  Wasatch Brewery is Utah’s first craft brewery, according to the can, and their Evolution amber ale is a “tribute to Charles Darwin, evolution, and perfection.”  I don’t know about the first two, but in terms of perfection, this is damn close.  I’m not generally one for brown and amber ales, my opinion being that if you’re going to go dark you should go dark, but this very neatly blends the yeasty nature of a lager with a malty character that produces a sweet, nutty finish.  The balance of the drink is exceptional, and coupled with the low 4% ABV it makes for an extremely sessionable beer.  It served me well in the sweltering hotel room in Provo, and it serves me well tonight.

Cheers, and be good to each other,

– Vincent