Haven’t done one of these in… over nine months by my count. Long overdue! My offerings for this week’s Evcharist double up on Nordic jams with some black metal courtesy of Norway’s Phantom Fire and Two Pitcher’s Brewing Company‘s aptly named Nordic Jam. Beat the summer heat and let’s drink from the cup of heresy.

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The Tunes: Phantom Fire — S/T

I spend so much time trying to find the next great melodic black metal release or something that similarly checks off any number of boxes that I’m looking for in an album that I forget it’s okay to just chill and rock out sometimes. Phantom Fire’s self-titled third full-length is the perfect reminder of why we all need that sometimes; a headbanging, beer-swigging ripper of a black ‘n’ roll album. Recorded live at Iver Sandøy’s Solslottet Studio (and featuring session drums from the Enslaved skinsman himself), Phantom Fire takes explicit inspiration from Killers and Ace of Spades across ten tracks packed with classic heavy metal attitude filtered through a blackened lens. The Motörhead influence is felt the most with most tracks being at or around three minutes, Eld’s thunderous bass taking a prominent part in the mix, and his vocal delivery coming across like a combination of Lemmy and Tom Angelripper. K_G’s riffs are far more stomp-friendly trad metal chugs than black metal throughout, but he doesn’t hesitate to throw in some more second wave black metal trem picks on tracks like “My Crown.”

Following the instrumental “Fatal Attraction” — featuring some cool Burton-esque wah pedal bass jamming and some rare (for this album) shreds — the album takes on a bit of a different tone with the longer, more overtly blackened “Logdarhorn” and atmospheric “Malphas.” Minor stylistic changes aside, the band continue their rocking grooves throughout, deftly held by the rhythm section of Eld and Sandøy. Phantom Fire doesn’t reinvent any of the genres it draws inspiration from, but neither is it a boring listen. Sometimes all that’s needed is to tune out the awful noise of the world and bang your head, and this album is tailor-made for that.

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Phantom Fire will be available August 8 through Edged Circle Productions. For more information on Phantom Fire, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.

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The Booze: Two Pitchers Brewing Company — Nordic Jam

A viking-themed fruity lager? Say less! This is the first brew I’ve tried from Oakland, CA-based brewery Two Pitchers who specialize in fruit-based radlers (German term for shandy), and man am I eager to try more. Nordic Jam is an easy-drinking, sweet, deliciously tart lager created with cherries, elderberries, and strawberries to provide the ultimate summer beer. Superbly crisp and refreshing, this beer is packed with flavor and is so smooth that the only thing liable to stop you from drinking the entire six-pack is the sweetness. Whether relaxing after a hot day or desiring a dessert drink after dinner, I think Nordic Jam has you covered. It looks like Two Pitchers is available in a number of states (and even ships to a few) so do not miss out. Summer isn’t through yet (and surely won’t feel like it’s over temperature-wise anytime soon) so I think their variety pack is next on my to-buy list…

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Skål, and be good to each other

— Colin