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TESTAMENT & MODIST BREWING CO. launch Apocalyptic City Ipa

03-10-2024

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Modist Brewing Company announce their latest beer release, Apocalyptic City, a West Coast IPA brewed in collaboration with thrash metal icons Testament. This limited-edition brew celebrates the iconic sounds and energy of Testament while delivering a crushable 6% ABV IPA with bursts of bold flavors and intense aroma.

Apocalyptic City is a smooth, medium-bodied IPA that will lay your taste buds to waste with a balanced hop bitterness and bright tropical flavors. Crafted with pale ale malt and Goldpils Vienna malt, and dry-hopped with hand-selected Simcoe, Citra, and Sultana hops, this IPA glows with a pale golden-orange hue. On the palate, drinkers can expect notes of pineapple-orange marmalade, passion fruit, and citrus pine, creating a true thrash-inspired experience.

This collaboration brings together Testament’s Apocalyptic City, a song that captures the chaos and power of the band’s music, and Modist’s commitment to pushing boundaries in brewing. In addition to the beer’s unique profile, the label features artwork by the talented Mats Engsten and Vic Moya, reflecting Testament’s iconic thrash metal aesthetic.

“We’re beyond stoked to team up with one of thrash metal’s greatest bands,” said Keigan Knee, Co-Owner and Director of Product Development at Modist. “This beer is a tribute to the raw energy and influence of Testament, and we can’t wait for their fans—and our beer fans—to get a taste of Apocalyptic City.”

Beer Availability:

●      Pre-sale: Apocalyptic City is available for pre-sale now exclusively through Halftime Beverage. With shipping to most US states and all countries worldwide, consumers can order 12- or 24-packs of this exclusive release. Shipping begins in early October, but quantities are limited.

●      Retail & Taproom Release: Apocalyptic City in cans is available for retail now at the Modist Brewing Taproom, with distribution within the Metro area to select liquor stores starting now.

Stay tuned for more information on upcoming events and special releases connected to Apocalyptic City via Modist Brewing’s social media platforms.

About Modist Brewing Co.

Modist opened in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis in April of 2016, aiming to modify beer and how it is perceived by defying rules and expectations. Utilizing a mash filter-powered brewing system, they push past traditional brewing by embracing creativity and unconstrained experimentation. Known for producing unconventional beers, Modist has risen to become one of Minnesota’s most well-recognized breweries. They have expanded distribution into select metro areas in New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

Modist’s flagship beers include Dreamyard (hazy IPA made from oats and wheat), False Pattern (hazy pale ale brewed from oats), and First Call (an oat-based cold press coffee lager). Modist has received numerous accolades, including being named Minnesota’s Most Innovative Brewery at the MN Brewer’s Cup.

Last summer, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy told Oran O’Beirne of Overdrive.ie about the progress of the recording sessions for the band’s follow-up to “Titans Of Creation”: “Eric and Chris (Dovas, TESTAMENT drummer) have been working together since around November. And we had a few shows thrown in there early in the year. We got into the studio, I believe, maybe end of April, beginning of May, we started recording ’em, about 11 tracks ready to go. All the music was done and we started the recording process. I still needed to go write some lyrics. We really wanted to get the record done before we came over to Europe (in early July). I have seven tracks finished. Eric has a bunch of guitar tracks. The drums are finished. The only thing left is the bass and Alex (SkolnickTESTAMENT guitarist), lead-guitar stuff. Between this tour, when we get home in two weeks, we’ll go back in the studio and finish up, continue on, and then we start the American leg with KREATOR and POSSESSED. And then between that break, we’ll try to get everything finished up. Then we go back to Europe, again with KREATOR and ANTHRAX. We plan to, I think, start mixing in December, January. That’s the goal.”

Regarding the musical direction of the new TESTAMENT material, Chuck said: “We always try to outdo ourselves or make a better record or write better songs. It’s always a challenge for ourselves, and I think this time we really took a long time to create the record. We kind of got everybody in the same room to really go through the songs and kind of put their two cents in to the arrangements. I think by having Chris — he’s a younger drummer, a really great drummer — but I think he brought you know a new fire to Eric in the writing process. And I believe because we’re going on 37 years of making records, it’s kind of full circle right now. We’re kind of inspired by new generation, I guess, of music and metal. And Chris is a big part of that. He’s a big fan of that. So I think he inspired Eric just to write some really aggressive, fast, creative riffs. And it really inspired me to really push myself to try to do a little more screaming, death vocals, melodic stuff. We even went as far as writing — I don’t wanna say ‘ballad’, but it’s something really catchy that’s really slow that’s something we haven’t done in over 30 years. So I think just the overall songs and the confidence in the writing this time really is gonna stand out on this record.”

When O’Beirne noted that TESTAMENT continues to “raise the bar” with each successive release, Billy concurred. “It’s true,” he said. “I think since 2000, ‘The Gathering’ record is where I think TESTAMENT kind of had a new life, I’d say the second life TESTAMENT. And then I became ill. And then after that, I didn’t think I was actually gonna be playing music anymore. I just wasn’t the same person. I’d look in the mirror and I didn’t see the same guy. And after I beat it and survived it, I kind of thought, ‘Okay, now it’s time to continue on with life.’ And then shortly after that we had the original lineup reunion. And I think that’s kind of what really set off the new life of TESTAMENT, because we were writing music, jamming with the guys who started it from the beginning and kind of taking the attitude, like, ‘We’re gonna finish this together, what we started.’ But over time, Louie (Clemente, former TESTAMENT drummer) had to drop out ’cause of health reasons; he couldn’t hold the sticks like he used to. So he had to drop out. And then shortly after that Greg (Christian, former TESTAMENT bassist) dropped out. But from then on, I think we’ve just kind of been writing for ourselves, maybe not really caring what necessarily the press thought. You always wanna impress the fans, but we were really writing to make us happy.”

Dovas shared the same pictures on his social media and he added: “New TESTAMENT material in the works! Eric and I have been working hard all week on new ideas. Stoked so far!”

In a 2023 interview with Loud TVPeterson said that the new TESTAMENT material is shaping up to be “fucking killer.” He added: “I’m a fan. For me, I wouldn’t release anything unless I’m a fan of what I’m doing. I have to get goosebumps. When I hear it, I’m, like, ‘Yeah.’ And then, of course, I play it for friends. A few of them go, ‘Ehh.’ But most of them go, ‘Fuuuck!’ Except Chuck — Chuck goes, ‘Eh.’ And then four years later, he goes, ‘That’s the best song ever. Write more shit like that.’ I’m, like, ‘Yeah, but four years ago you said that sucked.'”

Peterson was also full of praise for Dovas, who officially joined the band last year as the replacement for LombardoEric said: “When we were auditioning for new drummers, his video tape was the number one for me. And then, of course, Dave Lombardo called us, so we just kind of pushed everything aside; we said, ‘Okay, we’ll try Dave.’ And when Dave was, like, ‘Oh, I’ve got this show coming up. I’ve got this show coming up,’ I went back to my videos, and I said, ‘Oh, yeah, this guy.’ I remember the other guys going, ‘Let’s call Paul Bostaph.’ ‘Let’s call John Tempesta.’ And, of course, they would probably do it, but with the stipulation of, like, ‘I can only do this date,’ ‘I can only do this date.’ I called Chris. He was, like, ‘I’m in. I’ll do everything.’ And so we tried him, and were just, like, ‘What?!’ Perfect tempo. Everything correct — bam, bam. Very polite. Really nice guy. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s just a really good drummer. He’s 24; he’s my son’s age. Young blood back in TESTAMENT. For me, too, he loves black metal, so he was, like, into blast beats. But he also graduated from a school called Berklee. So jazz… He’s very fluent. He’s not, like, ‘Oh, I only know blast beats.’ He knows blues… TESTAMENT‘s really diverse — we have ballads, we have rock songs, we have blast beats. That’s just it — when he came to visit me before this tour, we were rehearsing for the tour but we would go back to my house at night, do some Jager really late at night and just start jamming at my house. And the next morning we were, like, ‘Woah!’ Really cool shit. So I’m excited for the next record. It’s gonna be killer.”

Lombardo, who was the guest drummer on TESTAMENT‘s 1999 studio album “The Gathering”, formally joined the long-running San Francisco Bay Area act in early 2022. The former SLAYER drummer is currently a member of the MISFITSMR. BUNGLEEMPIRE STATE BASTARD and SATANIC PLANET, among others. He also played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES from 2016 up until 2020.

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