dUg Pinnick - "naked" CD

Pinnick is frontman for legendary prog-rock act King's X, and this solo album begins with the confessional "What You Gonna Do?". From there, the anthemic and personal "If You Fuk Up" continues until the heavy rock of "Speeding Love" brings out the metallic heaviness. If not for Pinnick's soulful vocal stylings, there would be some competent metal here. But with Pinnick's strong lyrics and diverse vocal stylings, "naked" moves beyond simply heavy rock and enters a more unique and inventive rock arena. It's a great mix reminiscent of stuff like Living Colour or some of the material on Bill Laswell's Black Arc label of the 90s.

"Courage" features some seriously heavy downtuned guitars, but alongside Pinnick's melodic vocals, it's not only heavy but heartfelt. "The Point" approaches a psychedelic driftiness, while the remaining 4 tracks don't let up the intensity. Having not been too familiar with his past work (shame on me), "naked" proves he is an expert songwriter and top-tier musician. Bravo, Mr. Pinnick!

Rock Army Records/MVD Audio

Pinnickspace

Paul Ellis - "I Am Here" CD

Taking cues from the analogue electronic space music of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Jean-Michael Jarre, veteran American composer Ellis here crafts a series of three extended soundscapes that honor the ancient Chinook people and a small island Ellis recently discovered that holds a very mystical allure.

Beginning with the 20-minute "She Who Watches", Ellis' constructs complex and shimmery rhythmic electronic spaces -- percolating sequences, deep synth textures, and dabblings in melody that don't point to pop-song structures, but to celestial expanses. "Chinook Wind" follows, and is another 20 minutes of wispy and fleeting synth-strings, bells, and chimings that are simultaneously elegant, mysterious, and amorphous. At about the 12 minute mark, it opens up to lovely strings and flowing water. This, for me, is a crescendo of "I Am Here". Just lovely.

The final track, the 29-minute "I Am On An Island In The Columbia River", evolves from flowing Berlin-style sequencer-driven sounds to space ambience. It's a beautiful journey that Ellis has created with "I Am Here", and I'm glad to have taken a ride.

Lotuspike

Paul Ellisbook

Mierdaster - "La Furia" CD

Veteran Chilean hardcore metal act Mierdaster here bring their 4th full-length, and it's a solid metallic assault that takes cues from several heavy genres. There are definitely accents of punk rock and hardcore in tracks like "La Envidia" or "Verte Caer", being full of singalong choruses and crisp highs and lows. The guitarwork is clean and layered, whereas vocalist Mauricio Almazan has both a melodic side as well as a gutteral power metal scowl. 

"Infierno" showcases guitarists Martin Capdevila and Claudio Melo with some serious leads and a definite nod to classic metal. "Idiosincrasia" also shows an affinity for the golden era of metal. "Predicador" is a hyped-up hardcore cut, while the remainder of the album mixes it up similarly. Solid work here, not going too far out on a limb, but more than listenable for heavy rock fans.

Sick Bangers Music

Mierdaster site

Beer: Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf and Calumet Queen

Munster, Indiana's Three Floyds is one of America's most coveted and respected craft breweries. Their "Dark Lord Day", in which their Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout is released, makes news headlines around the world, and their Gumballhead wheat ale is among the best anywhere. I recently had a chance to try some bombers of their lesser-known brews, and here are the results. Remember that I score beers on a scale of 1 (awful) to 5 (awesome). Prost!

THREE FLOYDS - ARCTIC PANZER WOLF - 4.25

Pours a cloudy amber, with lots of sediment. Seems to have been on the shelves for too long. No lace, either. Still, the aroma is wonderfully hoppy. I get big citrus and tropical fruit like mango and floral notes. Exquisite! Taste is quite hoppy, as expected, with more tropical fruit and tangy wet citrus. Malts are strong, too, and even if this wasn't too fresh, it's still a formidable beer.

THREE FLOYDS - CALUMET QUEEN - 3.0

Pours a heavy golden, with no lace. Aroma is grainy, malty. Nothing outstanding.

Flavor is toasty grains. Very malt-forward. There's a hint of citrus towards the finish, as well as some fruit. 

Overall, a solid kolsch, but unremarkable.

Three Floyds site

Beer: New Belgium La Folie 2013

Colorado's New Belgium Brewing is best-known for their spins on Belgian-style beers (as their name indicates). One of the more obscure Belgian styles has to be Flanders Oud Bruin (Flanders Old Brown) -- brown ales fermented with exotic wild yeasts (sometimes the fabled Brettanomyces) for an often sour, funky flavor profile. New Belgium's La Folie is their flagship sour ale, and I finally had a chance to sample it and take some notes.

Pours a cloudy, sudsy amber. Thin head, and little noticeable lace. Nose says sour fruit, and funky yeastiness. Unusual and exceptional. Taste is very much sour fruit and funky, yeasty, musty sweet and sour-ness. What a unique flavor profile! This one is strong and quite acidic -- assertively sour and astringent, with a lingering taste on the palate. 

Enjoyable and impressive, even if the $15.99 price tag is a little hard on the wallet.

New Belgium

Beer: Simpler Times

Brewed by "Simpler Times Brewing Co.", aka Minhas Craft Brewery of Monroe, Wisconsin in disguise (makers of the Walgreens budget "Big Flats" lagers), and available exclusively at Trader Joe's markets, Simpler Times Pilsner and Lager are easily available for a budget price -- around $3-$4 for a 6-pack of cans. For an alternative to mainstream American adjunct junk lagers, these are worth an investigation. As per all of my beer reviews, ratings range from 1 (awful) to 5 (awesome). But don't take my word for it. Try them yourself. 

SIMPLER TIMES PILSNER - 3.0

Pours a clear, piss-yellow with substantial head of creamy white carbonation. Thick but erratic lace. Nose is grainy, malty, and borderline adjunct. Tastes rich and malty/grainy, with a buttery toast character and only a slight hops presence.

Nice body, and quite drinkable, though not one I'd pursue again, even at the Trader Joe's budget $3.99/6pk price.

SIMPLER TIMES LAGER - 2.5

Straw yellow, with a nice white head that dissipates into attractive spider-web lace. Nose is corny, adjunct, malted barley or rice, really pretty typical. Taste is super-sweet, even syrupy. Hop presence is practically null. To it's credit, this has a much fuller flavor profile and heavier body than macro lagers, but I'd still avoid this one again.

A nice deal, though, at $3.99/6pk at Trader Joe's.

Minhas site

Trader Joe's site

Beer: Samuel Adams Hop Tour 2013

Packaged and sold as a 6-pack (with 2 bottles of each), this nice sampler pack for hop fans contains some fine and enjoyable brews. This year, the Latitude 48 is a new recipe, with Mosaic hops from the Pacific Northwest. I needn't explain Sam Adams, as they are nationally distributed and well-respected as the largest of the so-called "craft" brewers out there. Note that my ratings run from 1-5, so a 4 (which all of these beers scored) is an excellent tasting. Hunt this inexpensive set down and enjoy!

SAMUEL ADAMS - WHITEWATER IPA - 4.0

Cloudy yellow-gold here, with a thick head. Intense and detailed lace. Impressive!Nice citrus hops aroma, with a hint of floral tonality. Pleasing! Taste is deliciously citrus, with a hint of apricot. It's a smooth-drinker, with a medium body. 

Overall, very tasty, and a nicely innovative twist on the usual IPA blueprint.

SAMUEL ADAMS - NOBLE PILS - 4.0

Light golden-yellowish in color. Good, large white head of foam and surprisingly ornate lace. Aroma is citrus hoppy. Nice.

Flavor is light, with a well-balanced mix of sweetness and sharp hop snap near the finish.

This is a delicious warm-weather brew, and one that deserves repeat purchase.

SAMUEL ADAMS - LATITUDE 48 IPA - MOSAIC - 4.0

Attractive clean amber, with a large head of off-white bubbles. Brilliant, showy, and intricate lace. Nose is crisp citrus and pine hops. Quite appealing. Taste is nicely hopped, with plenty of grapefruit and lemon citrus tones. I also get some peppery spice and some earthiness. 

Overall, a well-balanced and highly drinkable IPA -- not a hop bomb, but a well-done and session-worthy brew. Superb!

Sam Adams site