I can’t believe it’s been over a month since we’ve had a Evcharist on the site. I can tell you from first hand experience we’ve definitely been drinking (well, I’ve definitely been drinking) so accept this pitiful offering as both apology and promise to inform you, the loyal Nine Circles reader, of what we the staff are consuming from both a metal and malt perspective. So let’s dive in to Our Hands, Your Throat by Walking Corpse and the Grand Cru Belgian Scotch Ale from Barrel of Monks.

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The Tunes: Walking Corpse’s Our Hands, Your Throat

I don’t know when I fell into grindcore, but early signposts were definitely Carcass and Terrorizer, bands who straddled that line between vicious death metal and more straight ahead traditional grind. Those signposts are relevant to Sweden’s Walking Corpse, who emphasize chops and intricate riffing on their sophomore release Our Hands, Your Throat. I’m going to stay away from making too obvious comparisons to Sweden’s grindcore legends, because this isn’t 40 songs in 40 minutes. Songs like opener “Dreamflesh Navigator” take their still admittedly brief time time to jam every sharp edge into your flesh, ensuring maximum riff penetration.

When the bands stretches out, as they do on the title track and the eternal (by grind standards) “Nothing Grows Here” you can really hear how Walking Corpse leverage different moods and tones in the service of the all mighty grind. Great syncopation and a fantastic drum sound help to elevate the tunes, and vocalist Henrik Blomqvist can effortless shift from a bottom dwelling beast to a high-pitched shrieking fiend instantly. It reminds me of what a band like Pharmacist did on last year’s excellent Flourishing Extremities on Unspoiled Metal Grounds, which is a very good thing indeed. There’s not a weak track to be found on Our Hands, Your Throat. What you will find is some truly excellent grind ready to tear your ears off.

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The Booze: Barrel of Monks Brewing’s Grand Cru

With the weather getting colder, my beer cravings turn darker. Give me deep, malt forward beers where the foamy heads are nut brown, the flavors are funky, and the ABV % is high. Enter Barrel of Monks Brewing, based out of Boca Raton, FL. Each year they create a special ale they dub the Grand Cru. This year they made a Belgian styled Scotch Ale, and I grabbed two bottles via Tavour, which allows you to build a mixed crate of hard to get craft beers which are then delivered to your doorstep. I grabbed two bottles of the 2023 Grand Cru, one for drinking and one for aging. After consuming I can tell you it is going to be very, very hard to keep this second bottle aging.

If you’re familiar with scotch ales, you kinda know what to expect: heavy on the malt and caramel notes, with a richness that can – if not done correctly – get a little too funky on the finish. That is not the case with the Grand Cru. My experience was a surprisingly light taste with deep notes of molasses and hints of fruit, and that special nut flavor (not deez nuts though) that comes with porters. And at 9% ABV and 1 pint, 9.4 fluid ounces you’re committing yourself to a fun, woozy experience by the time you get to the sediment at the bottom. I’ve read tasting notes from other folks that swear there’s a hint of banana bread which I didn’t detect on my first go, so again: the chances of my second bottle lasting until year’s end is probably going to be zip.

Good problem to have, if you ask me.

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Until next time: cheers and be good to each other.

— Chris