Hot food, cold beer and blistering metal
Every year, no matter how hard you try, some real gems are going to slip past you. With thousands of new metal albums coming out each year, missing something good the first time around is a statistical certainty. Terrifier's 2017 album Weapons of Thrash Destruction is a perfect example of a Top-Ten-grade release that I... Continue Reading →
I don't pay a whole lot of attention to modern-day traditional metal. My tastes have gradually gotten more and more extreme over the years, and I honestly don't have much interest in anything but death metal, black/hybrid stuff and a bit of thrash anymore, unless it's an album that I grew up loving. Nothing against... Continue Reading →
This is an all-black Thrull-themed standard deck that leverages black's necromantic capabilities to provide a fairly deep-pocketed ability to insta-summon creatures from graveyards on the cheap. It can also summon an endless supply of 0/1 Thrull tokens via Breeding Pits and then promote these tokens +1/+1 via Thrull Champions; accordingly, this deck can play a... Continue Reading →
Every year, Sierra Nevada releases an Octoberfest beer that is a collaboration with a German Brewery. This year, the collaboration is with the mighty Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, the oldest operating brewery on the planet and brewers of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, my favorite beer for the last 25 years. This year's offering is a 6% ABV Märzen,... Continue Reading →
This black/red rat-themed horde deck depends on rapid deployment of small creatures to overwhelm the enemy early in the game. Creature and spell selection are all based around this strategy, with little attention paid to long-term survivability. Accordingly, this deck typically wins early or not at all. The Rat Race is a Mirage-era deck, but... Continue Reading →
This complete re-work of FNI's 2005 debut LP, Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator, is another frontrunner for 2018 Album of the Year. As soon as the first track starts, you know exactly what you're in for. If you draw a triangle between the black/thrash of Nocturnal Breed, the black/speed of Midnight, and a strip-club house band that... Continue Reading →
People's Porter pours to a thick, lingering creamy light-tan head atop an effervescent, turbid deep-brown body with dirty ruby highlights; lacing consists of moderate rafts and swoops. The nose is fairly assertive for the style: a nice blend of dark roasted malt flavors, predominately cocoa, dark toffee and bitter chocolate. Up front, the palate is tart, thinnish bitter milk chocolate; mid-palate, a significant toffee presence and a hint of sweetness build in, joined at the back by faint alcohol undertones. The finish is a brief flash of molasses and toffee, followed by the onset of a moderate chocolatey bitterness that lingers awhile. Mouthfeel is appropriate for the medium body, and the texture is slightly creamy and peppery from the fizzy carbonation.
Wrathrone's most recent release, Reflections of Torment, is my current frontrunner for 2018 Album of the Year. This is the second full-length release from these Finnish death metallers, and it is an ass-kicking ten-track slab of old-school death metal. In style, it reminds me more of early 90's Swedish death metal than the typically-more-chaotic older... Continue Reading →
It's halfway through 2018, and a few albums have emerged to lead the race for Album of the Year. Beyond the Reach of Flame, the latest offering from Wisconsin's Micawber, is one of them. On 2015's The Gods of Outer Hell, they were a three-piece with a take on technical death metal that reminds me... Continue Reading →
Hopsecutioner is a slightly hazy, pale amber beer that sports a thick, lingering fluffy just-a-bit-off-white head that leaves moderate amounts of lacing. Its nose is big: mostly pineapple, resinous pine and floral notes, with lesser amounts of bright citrus and some boozy undertones. Up front, the palate is bitter pineapple and citrus; by midpalate a slightly-toasted, slightly-sweet bready malt foundation shows through, balancing the flavor through the end; the hops flavor broadens to include the pine and floral notes from the nose. The finish is quite clean, with just a hint of pine left behind; this is quickly joined by a moderate hoppy bitterness that lingers a few moments. Mouthfeel is a bit bigger than might be expected from the light/medium body, and the texture is creamy and smooth. This is a very well-balanced, drinkable IPA.
Old Man Metal's Musings 