Speaking of last week, Witherfall vocalist Joseph Michael was behind the Adroit Brewing table, handing out samples of the band's Shadows Black IPA. Live in neither world, occasionally visiting both, the confluence of the two being hallowed ground. Week ago, the technical musical precision, yet often static live performances from the left end of the metallic spectrum, at ProgPower USA and now, a mere seven days later, the ferocious noise emanating from the far end of the extreme metal dial. The dichotomy of the last two weekends was not lost on me. Discussing their beverage options, decided to revisit the 9% Cape Good Of Hope double IPA and Star Jockey (the 6% hazy IPA's artwork inspired by 8-bit video games) later. Like most vendor booths, city's own Yards was giving away trinkets (buttons, stickers, patches, beer koozies, etc.), but the looped metal bottle opener drew my attention first. "Forked Tongues" stood out, amongst the din, bits of vintage countrymen Venom noticeable within the grind. The band are heavy on the black eyeliner, not corpse paint, but of the Hellhammer/Tom G. Energetic, to start, the singer, aka Immolator Of Sadistik Wrath, who doubles on guitar, thrashed about in herky-jerkey motions, as he snarled into the mic. Craven Idol are a twin guitar foursome from the UK, churning out dirty, old school death. Tried to keep the numbers low, early one (long day/night), others jumped right into the deep end of the pool, headfirst, without looking! Found the drink to be translucent, with a clean, refreshing, but slight, hoppy flavor and foamy head. Next up, regional brewery Victory, and their DDH Prima, a double dry-hopped pilsner, at 5.3%. Guest list snafu sorted out, missed most of The Silver performance. Guess, overall, fatigue will keep the volume of drink down? By 7 PM, many were looking for/occupying the limited available seating. Sort of a sinister plot, plying patrons with ABVs in double digits and then making them traverse a couple flights of stairs. Early on, there were more people upstairs, interested in the beers, than there were the music downstairs. In the Swedes' honor, made that the first beverage sampled: 5% opaque, black liquid, bordering on a stout, albeit less of a toasted after taste. How about a Cannibal Corpse endorsed Amber Smashed Face (from the ubiquitous 3 Floyds Brewing) or perennial supporter Broken Goblet's "Doom Lager", the can label a reproduction of the Candlemas debut's artwork. As in past incarnations of this event, the participating bands all have some personalized collaboration with a brewery and there are even offerings from bands not in attendance. Beyond a preferred "genre" (pilsner, IPA, wheat, etc.) one finds themselves drawn to outlandish names and colorful artwork. To those that recall the pre-Internet days of perusing record store shelves, the beer tasting experience is similar. Sometimes an intended batch didn't work out, others are so popular, they're drained Day 1 and a hasty replacement is called up, for Saturday. Pre-show, the beverage "setlist" was announced at 86 entries, an assortment of beers, ciders, meads and the odd barley wine, but like any rock show, things don't always go as planned and some additions/deletions to the roster are inevitable. Others are as dark and heavy as the high APV imperial stouts: copious ingestion can disorient, cause possible discomfort and should only be enjoyed by those "raised" on the stuff: no bravery for merely sampling the wares. Some bands are an acquired taste, the equivalent of saison or gose, sour to most palettes: not for mainstream consumption. However, there are no direct sales on the event floor, nor a take home option, unfortunately). samples directly from the same cans Joe Public can buy, in stores, from distributors or direct from the manufacturer. (Actually, more and more, the vendors are bypassing the draft option, simply pouring the 3 oz. Like the massive beer selection on-tap, the entertainment varies. After cancellations and delays, the usual April home date was pushed back to June 2022, so as to not too closely about the Los Angeles confab, the prior December. The pandemic threw the Philly based mag's semi-annual get-together schedule out of whack.
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