Excellent metal and beer continue flowing abundantly and the cup of heresy overfloweth. This week’s offering: Necrovation’s Storm the Void / Starving Grave and Other Half Brewing’s Mylar Dust.
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The Tunes: Necrovation’s Storm the Void / Starving Grave
I really did not foresee the re-emergence of Necrovation, one of the OG Nordic bands alongside the likes of Morbus Chron, Tribulation and Execration that in early 2010s began to imbue death metal with sinister prog, grim psychedelia and the spirit of weird fiction and cosmic horror, with magnificent results that created new gateways and dreamworlds for the genre. Necrovation’s new two-song EP Storm the Void / Starving Grave breaks the eleven-year silence that followed the release of their eponymous sophomore album. While the wait was painful, it was worth it. Those who expected Necrovation to have grown old, rusty and flaccid during their hibernation should immediately commence public penance for such gross underestimation of the band’s enduring vitality. “Storm the Void” serves as an apt description of the song’s rabid and ravenous urgency and flurry of riffs and dramatic shifts, while “Starving Grave” feels like an actual perilous journey through a haze of sulfur into the depths of an ancient underworld, exhibiting a masterful sense of place and immersion. I for one hunger for more and am very much expecting Necrovation to expand the EP’s raging stream of ideas into full-length format.
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The Booze: Other Half Brewing’s Mylar Dust
In my previous Evcharist, I declared my love of Other Half Brewing and their brilliant IPAs. One of my all-time favorites in their arsenal is Mylar Dust, an imperial IPA that is a reinterpretation of the outrageously tasty and pleasantly dank Mylar Bags (the latter’s Beer Advocate testimonies and average rating of 4.38 speak volumes). Mylar Dust’s twist is that it takes the same set of hops as Mylar Bags (Amarillo, Citra, El Dorado, Galaxy and Mosaic), but mostly uses cryo pellets instead of t-90 hop pellets. To my palate the end result has less bite and bitterness than Mylar Bags (as if anyone should scoff at 8.5% ABV) but makes up for it by doubling down on the haze and juiciness of Mylar Bags and introducing a degree of brightness (for lack of a better term). Mylar Dust is yet another phenomenal IPA and the umpteenth home run for Other Half. Wherever you reside, if you ever get a chance to taste experience its juicy excellence (or that of Mylar Bags), pinky-promise me you will go for it without any hesitation or concern for the price. Trust me, you will not regret it.
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As always, cheers and be good to each other.
— Zyklonius
Nine Circles 