Usually when I review a beer, it’s something commercially bottled, but this time I’m hitting up a homebrew by my good friend Joshua Landis (he’s the tall skinny guy dancing and drinking beer in the middle of the picture). The brew has no official name, as he simply referred to it as an amber ale that he made with leftover ingredients. What he accomplished with “leftover ingredients” was was quite impressive, a well hoped amber ale that is very drinkable.

Appearance:
thepaintedman rates this:

The biggest knock on the brew was the look of it when poured. The color was a beautiful, rich amber, but there was absolutely no clarity. The creamy thick head was off set by the haziness that is never desired unless the brewer is working with wheat. Oh well, the rest of the beer’s attributes make up for it… read on.

Aroma:
thepaintedman rates this:

This beer has an entrancing floral aroma… a beautiful smell of distinctly American hops. I was informed by Josh that the brew was dry-hopped, which often promotes great aroma and it certainly did here.

Flavor:
thepaintedman rates this:

Extremely drinkable and smooth while still having a big hoppy flavor. I wrote in my notes that the flavor was like “Nugget Nectar’s relaxed, chilled out cousin” and after a few more tastes, I still assert this as a solid description. Fantastic flavor.

Palate:
thepaintedman rates this:

The mouthfeel is dry and full bodied. It finishes dry with a hoppy aftertaste. It is a tad drier than I typically prefer, but there is nothing notably unpleasant about the palate of this beer.

Overall:
thepaintedman rates this:

This is only one of very few homebrews I have thought to be this good. Strikes me as a Spring seasonal type beer and a good one at that. For nothing more than combining leftovers, Josh made a gem. I have a few bottles left and no you can’t have one.

thepaintedman rates this:

MC Lars already taught us all that Hot Topic is not punk rock, but I now want to tell you that Shael Riley is not Hip Hop. Then why include him on Hip Hop Week, you ask… simple, it’s because I said I was going to and I’m stubborn. Despite his pleas to be classified under beer because he believes he is “malty” like a “fresh Spaten Optimator” (which is a fantastic beer, by the way), I am sticking to my guns.

If you don’t know Shael Riley, you have been missing out. Wikipedia says that he is “a nerdcore hip-hop artist and guitarist currently residing in New York City, New York.” He’s worked with Beefy, Frontalot, Schäffer the Darklord, and Optimus Rhyme to name a few, so his Nerdcore credibility is certainly there… but now he proves once and for all, he’s not a rapper, but a musician and entertainer well versed in numerous styles of music. His claims that this album are not hip hop are 100% true, in fact the most prominent influence that I can hear is one of my favorite artists ever, Ben Folds. Lyrically and sonically, so much of Songs from the Pit reminds me of my favorite nerdy piano songsmith… there’s even a piano version of one of the songs on the release.

Now that you know Shael Riley is not simply hip hop and that I’m only reviewing him during Hip Hop Week because of my own stubbornness, let’s break down this pop rock release in more depth. First off, let’s talk packaging. Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire’s Songs from the Pit is a freakin’ CASSETTE TAPE. Remember those? Of course you don’t… well… cassette tapes were what most music was distributed on prior to the invention of compact discs, which have since been eliminated by digital music downloads. Thus, in order to listen to Shael and the gang, you need decade old technology… which of course if unassailably cool to any nerd like myself who thinks that going analog is a sign of being awesome.

Second, let’s talk music. This is a solid outing. I’ve read other reviews of this album that have described the album as “NES Rock” and I’m okay with that tag (the synth sounds and the lyrics make this assessment accurate), but all in all, the best assessment of this album is to describe it as a hook laden, pop oriented dork rock… or perhaps, we can just call it “malty”. Whatever we call it, here’s what I think about each track:

Track One: “Publishing Rights”

This track fits that “NES Rock” label. Straight out of 1985, Nintendo blips and bleeps can be throughout the track, augmenting the fantastic rock tune. Shael’s vocals are solid and Mark Schaffer (aka Schäffer the Darklord) lays down a phat verse. And… on top of this already being a great track, Mr. Riley promises a remix by his good friend Kasparov (a remix I hope to include on September’s Monthly Mixtape)

Track Two: “The Other Side of Memphis”

Here is where I begin to hear that Ben Folds type songwriting… while no piano graces the track, the keyboards are somewhat reminiscent of my favorite singer/songwriter. What is much more Folds-esque in the track is the song structure and lyrical quality. I’d expect that other fans of Ben would agree that this is a fantastic song.

Track Three: “How to Fire a Gun”

Riley’s vocals stand out as my favorite element of this track, although the bass lines are quite awesome, as well. And the idea of writing a 2D video game that is based off GPS technology is a great idea that someone needs to work on.

Track Four: “Asian Kids Have All the Best Moves”

What is there to say? The title of the track alone makes this a great track because of how true it is. This is another track that screams Ben Folds to me, especially the vocal delivery. This may be my favorite track, although it is difficult to decide, because I like the entire cassette.

Track Five: “Hipster Hoax”

A fun, dancey pop song… kind of makes me think of a Panic! at the Disco song without the punk influence (or at least less of a punk influence). If you dig on the dancey synthesizer pop rock of bands like Cobra Starship, this is a track you’d dig on. There is a rad breakdown on the bridge. Overall, maybe the most fun (original) song on the tape.

Track Six: “Chinese Ninja Warrior”

The reason “Hipster Hoax is only the most fun original track and not the most fun overall track is that Riley and his band cover “Subzero (Chinese Ninja Warrior)” by The Immortals. It’s awesome… they took a cheesy, hilarious song about Mortal Kombat’s Subzero and made it sound like a semi-serious indie rock song. The synth and the high pitched wails of “freezing vibrations” are what keeps it from being a strictly serious cover and make sure to keep the lighthearted nature in tact.

Track Seven: “tip eht fo mottob”

The beat on this one is the closest thing to Hip Hop on the cassette. This is an awesome track. Kinda makes me think of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” in sound… though I’m not exactly sure why.

Track Eight: “Asian Kids Have All the Best Moves (Piano Version)”

Piano version of track 4… if I didn’t already make the Ben Folds comparison, then here is where it’s all too obvious. Another track in the running for my favorite on the tape. Vocals shine in this stripped down alternate take!

So overall, I dig Shael Riley’s newest venture. In fact, dare I say, “It’s MALTY!”

I had intended on getting a few things up today, but a busy day of cleaning the house followed by a date with the Missus kept me from getting it all done.

Therefore… I am going to postpone the results until Monday morning and extend Beerfest through Tuesday. Honey Lager review and PA craft brewery piece on 3 of my faves (Weyebacher, Stoudt’s, and Yards) are still coming by Tuesday AM.

The site will then return to it’s regularly scheduled program… including reviews of Harry Potter, the new Rootbeer EP, JustMe, and more.

Since no one visits the site over the weekend anyway, I’m taking tomorrow off… well, not really… I’ll be cleaning the house more and spending time with the in-laws. For now, enjoy this:

20 questions for everyone’s favorite werewolf hepcats… and AWAY WE GO!

First off, let’s get this out of the way… owwwwwWWWWWW! Now that I got that out of my system, let’s start the way I start most interviews. Who are The Young Werewolves?

A band of shape shifters stalking the countryside with electric instruments, evil intentions and axes to grind. Nick Falcon on guitar, Dana Kain on bass and Jonny Wolf on drums. We all sing lead and background vocals and Jonny plays a stripped down drum kit while standing up.

How did you all get together?

We were all journeymen musicians in Philadelphia, each of us into our own versions of the local indie, punk and goth nightmare scenes. We hooked up over the internet, originally with two additional members-lead vocals and alto sax. We boiled down the unit to a lean rhythm section and started howling harmonies into the mic as a trio.

As a Philly band, you must get to play with tons of great local acts. Any favorites?

There are a lot of really good bands in Philly. Some of our favorites (in no order) are Full Blown Cherry, Thee Minks, The Sharkskins, Clashing Plaid, Mondo Topless, Jukebox Zeros, Soraia, Carfax Abbey, and Strychnine Babies.

One of my other favorite Philly bands is Mercury Radio Theater, as they too specialize in a certain brand of Horror Rock, I assume your paths have crossed. Do you know the guys?

Yes. We connected a couple of times over the years trying to organize shows but schedules, venues or other calamities got in the way of making the shows happen. I’m sure we’ll share a stage somewhere down the road.

Cool, how about on a larger level… what other bands that play Sci-Fi/Horror influenced music do you listen to and/or endorse?

Within the genre, some of the cool acts that we’re friends with and deserve more attention are PsychoCharger, Ghouls Night Out, Calabrese, Gein and the Graverobbers, The Memphis Morticians, Sasquatch and the Sickabillies.

There was a cabaret punk band I had seen back in college called World
Inferno Friendship Society used to actually play a song worshiping “The Great Pumpkin”. While as a whole I enjoyed the experience, something about them actually kinda freaked me out… but I guess that was somewhat their goal. Do you like to try to freak people out a bit or are you just more about having fun?

We are really about the music. We enjoy performing and putting on a show, but our thing is about executing the songs so they do the entertaining. That’s more our bag. If we can get asses shaking, we are doing our job. It sounds like fun but it really takes work and discipline to play and sing your parts right.

Ok, so enough about other peoples’ music, let’s get back to you. On
this last album, you got to work with B-Movie legend Sid Haig, how was
that?

Sid’s a cool cat. He’s a jazzbo from way back. He’s a talented drummer that gets pigeonholed as playing the big bad guy as an actor but he’s got mad acting and music chops.

How’d you get hooked up with him?

Sid was working on a werewolf film and heard the tunes off of our first record. He reached out to us about using our song “I Can’t Resist” for the end credits. The film fell through but Sid stayed in touch and he offered to help out with our project after he heard the early demo’s that eventually became Cheat The Devil.

I, personally, am most partial to his role as Captain Spaulding in Rob
Zombie’s films, specifically in The Devil’s Rejects, what is your
favorite Sid Haig role?

Although it doesn’t highlight his acting chops to a great degree, Sid as one of King Tut’s henchmen in the Batman television series is total fun.

While on the topic of movies, best of movie of 2009 so far? I’d say
Watchmen, but I’m expecting The Half Blood Prince to
beat it out.

If they release the re-make of The Wolfman this year, that may take top honors on any young werewolf’s list.

My favorite track on Cheat the Devil is “Tattooed Aliens”. I
love the Sci Fi lyrics. Do you have a favorite Science Fiction series? I’m
personally a big Star Wars fan and absolutely love the books
based on Bean from the Ender’s Game series.

The old school Outer Limits show is really off the hook. Even the Friday the 13th series that Fox had in the late 1980’s was pretty good, better than The X Files. We dig Dr. Who and appreciate the low fi production and especially the theme music (better than Star Trek). I don’t know if you’d consider it Sci-Fi, Sigmund and the Seamonsters was dope too.

Also, would you mind if I began referring to myself as a “tattooed
alien from the Planet 13″?

You won’t be the first!

As I’m typing up the questions for this review, I am listening to TI. Do you like any hip hop?

Early hip hop is cool. Especially what was coming out of Philly. Acts like Schoolly D, 3xDope, Hilltop Hustlers. Also, the New York white boys 3rd Base and Beastie Boys. Our first manager worked at Ruffhouse Records and played handclaps on the big Kriss Kross hit, Jump Around. So Young Werewolves have some hip hop cred, not to mention that Nick was one of the top graffiti writers in Philly during the early eighties.

Actually, I found this rapper named Mob Zombie recently that raps about zombies and stuff. I totally am trying to get through to him and he won’t return my emails, tweets, or anything. Maybe it’s because he’s dead.

That’s always the thing with rapping Zombies. Don’t you hate it when hot MC’s go cold?

Sorry, I guess that last one didn’t even include a question… let’s get back on track. I usually like to ask a few questions related to something outside of music and the band’s focus. I’ll start with one I ask a lot: While not a religious person, per se, I consider myself a man of faith, specifically I’m a Christian who isn’t really into the church but am into Jesus. If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what are your beliefs about God or a higher power or whatever?

Faith and religion can be healthy if ingested in moderation. It’s important to believe and have faith in oneself. Not in the ego-centric interest of selfishness but in the interest of creating an imprint that resonates. We are the gods of our creations, like it or not. If belief and faith in a higher power keeps you disciplined and out of trouble than that’s a good thing.

Do you think the music you make is in any way influenced by those beliefs, or on the other hand does it in any way conflict with those beliefs? That is to say, many Christians found it completely heinous when Jerry Only of The Misfits first discussed his being a Christian because of the lyrics and subject matter of many of his songs, but he’d contest to this day that his Christianity is a big influence on what he does as a member of the band.

There are themes we explore in our music that have religious implications, such as redemption, regret and reformation. The monster myth is in itself a reaction to the mysteries of religion. In essence, the monster (either man-made or released by man) symbolizes the Pandora’s Box that religion unchecked can cause. How many wars has man fought in the name of the devil?

Do you think an artist can have beliefs and lives outside of their art that in no way is reflected or influenced in that art?

Absolutely. Art is usually an interpretation, reaction or provocation. An artist is free to explore ideas that are in complete contradiction to their beliefs, in complete accord or anywhere in between. How you judge the person should be separate from how you judge their art. The nicest people sometimes make the shittiest art.

Thank you for indulging me with these questions. Since I’m running dangerously close to 20 questions here, I’d like to steer back to the subject on hand, the music of The Young Werewolves. I am hoping to come out and see you when you hit my home area of Reading, PA. What can I
expect when I come to see you?

There’s usually swing dancing and beer drinking, rock-a-billies and rock-a-betties trying to outdo each other and looking good while doing it. Every once in a while there’s a fight at the bar. Some gigs we play mostly rockabilly versions of covers from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Other times we get the groove going with our original songs. Often times it’s a mix.

Where is a great brewery just south of Reading, in Adamstown, called
Stoudt’s Brewery. If you have the chance while you are out this way and want a great meal with some amazing beer, head down. You just strike me as
beer drinkers. Would this be an accurate assessment?

Beer and wine are great loves. Dana definitely appreciates a good wine and both Jonny and Nick like the bubbly suds, although they will pause to lift their snouts from the stout to taste the good grape too.

Okay, so we’ve discussed beer, music, movies, faith, and Sid Haig… seems like a logical time to move on. Let’s wrap this up with a final word from you. What would you like to leave as your final words to the readers?

Stay tuned for a new recording. We are putting together a collection of fun, cool tunes and also some hot new merch too. More mayhem and music is on the way.

Sorry for another delay on the Skylife review (which WILL finally be up tomorrow), but to hold you over, here’s a great interview with Michael of the band Culted.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me here at TPM. I am admittedly not an expert on almost anything in the metal world, though I enjoy some bands in virtually all sub genres. And while this is true, I take a great interest in reading up on and researching metal, because your scenes seem to have some of the most intriguing stories. Let’s start out with your story. Who is Culted?

Culted is Daniel Jansson (voice, words, ambience) who resides in Gothenburg, Sweden, Matthew Friesen and Michael Klassen (guitars, bass, noise, percussion) live in Winnipeg Canada and Kevin Stevenson (drums) lives in rural Manitoba just outside Winnipeg. I (Michael) asked Daniel to contribute some sounds for an Of Human Bondage release a few years back. He agreed and we continued discussing music and personal interests over the next few months. Daniel suggested we record some slow doomy metal and see what came out of the sessions. We exchanged words via email and sounds via wave files and built on each others ideas as they went back and forth. We’ve never met, nor spoken to one another. Communication has been entirely digital. Although, this may very well change for the next release, Daniel is planning on recording the vocals in our studio. We’re looking forward to this next stage of Culted.

And where did you get your name? What exactly does it mean?

Many names were suggested and dismissed as quickly. Culted was the first name that seemed to encompass our intent and sound. Culted may or may not be defined as a social group or individual that operates within the larger culture and practices different norms, behaviours, beliefs, heritage. These groups or individuals may have irrational belief systems, which they have been conditioned to regard as not only possible, but as the truth, the only truth. These beliefs often dismiss critical thinking and the results blind our curiosity. That being said, most of the populace is culted to some degree even if we are aware of our oppressors. To participate in society suggests that one has been culted by its rules and expectations. Many levels of subjugation and submission can be found in our every day rituals.

I have been re-reading the book, Lords of Chaos, about the rise of Black Metal in Europe, notably Scandanavia. It seems like the Norwegian Black Metal scene was/is the most notorious and extreme. What are your impressions of the Black Metal scene that emerged in the Black Circle days as a member of the metal community?

The Scandinavian Black Metal scene had a huge impact on me and I believe Daniel as well. Burzum, Darkthrone, Ulver, Mayhem and Emperor recorded some timeless albums during the early nineties, their influence continues to come across in our sound and countless other bands.

Culted is more of a Doom Metal band from my estimation? Would you agree? And, as a metal novice, could you enlighten me a bit about what Doom Metal is? I think I recall reading that Doom’s roots are with bands like Black Sabbath.

Doom would be a fair somewhat accurate description of our sound, although many purist would disagree. Doom metal seems to have its roots in Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps, and we too owe much of our sound to the records of Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps.

So, who are your musical influences and what do you like to listen to?

Musical influences would be early nineties Black and Death metal, Swans, Godflesh, Eyehategod, The Melvins, Neurosis etc. Outside of metal I listen to Swans, Killing Joke, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Gnaw Their Tongues, Sunno))), Radiohead, and various soundtracks and Industrial/Noise artists.

While TPM is not a religious website by any means, I am a Christian and I often wonder about the beliefs of those I work with. Would you be willing to share with my readers a little bit about your beliefs?

Well, depending whose definition we’re using I might be classified as an atheist or even a Satanist by certain fundamentalists, but the reality is I am an individual who believes in nothing absolutely and remains excited by all that is unknown. I am a student of esoteric disciplines, critical thinking, logic, reasoning and the will to power. Religiosity seems like a primitive explanation of creation and morality, one that self-respecting individuals will dismiss after reasonable consideration.

Thanks, I always find it interesting to find out about the beliefs behind music and other art. How do you think your beliefs impact the music you write?

It’s possible that we are the conduit of these alien sounds we hear. Our muse, or Daemon as Socrates described it, began with a communication and was deciphered and interpreted as sound, and the result is our cd Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep.

As I noted before, I am no metal expert. Can you give me any tips for my forray into your new album?

Loud, slow, down tuned, psychedelic, blackened metal. Some might even say experimental.

Good stuff. I’ll make you to let you know once my review of the album is up. I believe it’s due out in late July. Besides it’s release date, what else should the readers know about it?

Sunno))) say it best, maximum volume yields maximum results.

Well, I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time. One last question… are you a beer drinker? I am somewhat of a beer snob so deciding on a favorite is tough. I guess I’d have to choose Newcastle, as I always find a way back to it smooth taste. Do you have a favorite beer?

We all enjoy alcohol, Newcastle is tasty, I prefer lager, but a stout or an ale like Kilkenny are all good. Personally, I’m a chronic wine drinker who self-medicates by habitually using Cannabis.

Thanks for giving me the chance to dive into different musical realms. Thank you for all your time and sharing with my readers. Any departing words for those checking out this interview?

Cheers

A friend of mine (the always lovely Casey Keepers) posted this video on Facebook and I really enjoyed it, so I decided to share it with my loyal readers. As someone commented on YouTube, this is what music is about… it’s got great melody and the band seems to be truly enjoying themselves.

Besides, I always appreciate live music in a pub, rather than some stupid coffee house. A good pint is always better than non-fat soy mocha-latte.