Hey all, happy Friday. I’m bringing this wonderful piece of content your way this week because I accidentally stumbled on some delicious local offerings recently that I felt the need to talk about. I’ve been listening to some new music as well… in between repeat listens of the latest from The Ocean and Enslaved. Obviously. Shall we quench our thirsts?
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The Tunes: False Gods – No Symmetry… Only Disillusion
So this was a fun one! The production is a little raw, a bit on the shallow side perhaps, but that doesn’t take away from what is a really interesting trajectory of a listening experience. I was hoping for something on the heavier side, and this delivered that in a few ways. Starting off with some thrashier passages and tons of catchy rhythm, this thing eventually evolves into quite the burdening doom metal project. At about the midway point, there is a noticeable interlude and a stylistic shift (or at least it felt that way in the once-through I gave the album). Frankly, I’m into it. I’m not sure how much I will revisit this one, but the blend of doom and thrash is nicely executed and the varying weights and emotional layers make this a compelling one. As such, I felt I needed something darker and heavier to pair with it… a stout!
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The Booze: Smuttlabs’ Snaccident Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout
With an album that dense, it obviously needed to be paired with something equally as robust. Enter: The Snaccident. For those unaware, Smuttlabs is a side project of Smuttynose Brewing Company, a local brewery that has been around as long as I’ve been alive (roughly). And if you’ve never heard of, nor have had, a Smutty… shame on you. They’ve been through a thing or two in the past decade or so, but I couldn’t be happier with what they are creating these days. Smuttlabs in particular has been cranking out one awesome experimental batch after another, and this stout is no different. Not as heavy as some stouts, this is rather drinkable and absolutely nails the chocolate and peanut butter accents. Nice and dark, the flavors seem to supplement the stout flavor rather than overwhelm it. Not too sweet, which is the usual issue with flavored stouts, it starts crisp and finishes with a drier quality. Plenty of flavor, but definitely still a stout. And being the fan of the chocolate/peanut butter combo that I am, I simply can’t get enough of this.
All hail dark beer, and doom metal, season.
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“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
Nine Circles 