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: Uprising’s II and Coronado Brewing Company’s Tropical Darkroom.
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The Tunes: Uprising’s II
“Humanity is at a crossroads; we need to decide what side we’re on.”
These are the words that kick off II, the latest album from German black metal act Uprising, and these words set a clear and decisive tone for the music to follow. In case the woodcut-esque cover art of an impaled monarch didn’t give it away, main member W. minces no words in his defense of just people against the tyranny of fascism in all its forms. Indeed, Uprising’s spear is pointed here at every hierarchy that breeds cultures of othering, from the capitalist economic system that prioritizes profit over human safety (directed here at the airline industry, although in the age of a pandemic this could be said about basically any industry) to bigotry and even organized religion. If you look out at the world with anything resembling empathy, there’s a lot to be angry about, and Uprising seem to have created an album that manages to incite anger about all of it at once. But what really makes II a standout album is the fact that there is so much more to it than mere anger. There is a sense of jubilance in the melodies here in even the most severe songs that, when coupled with the vitriol in the lyrics, makes you feel like the kind of revolution W. is talking about really is possible. II is an album that is inspiring as all hell; both powerful and empowering, its calls for solidarity are a breath of fresh air in a scene that for too long has worshiped the idea of the lone wolf mentality, and its music a picture perfect slab of fierce melodic black metal. And if you have a problem with any of that…well, if you listen to the album you’ll be given plenty of instruction on what to do.
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The Booze: Coronado Brewing Company’s Tropical Darkroom
This week, we’re off the pilsners and on to something more my usual taste: a sour IPA. San Diego’s Coronado Brewing Company have released a new beer in their Art Series, which creates beers based on the brewery’s fan-submitted photography. Named after the handle of the first contest winner, Tropical Darkroom is a kettle-soured IPA brewed with an addition of kiwi puree. Kiwi on its own is a pretty unassuming flavor; it kind of tastes like a combination of all the other tropical fruits you’ve had, but a little bit more tart, if you’re not familiar. While it may not be a flashy fruit on its own, it serves as a very important backbone to Tropical Darkroom, giving slight accentuation to both the tartness of the yeast and the high tropical notes of the hops. It’s like turning up the quality of a YouTube video; there isn’t much different but everything is more in focus. You get more subtlety from the tropical fruit notes, you get a little bit sharper of a sour bite, a little bit more bitterness in the finish, and a nice sweet fruitiness to send everything off. I really like this one.
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Cheers, and be good to each other,
– Vincent
Nine Circles 