Have you ever heard of a music band that sing like and about pirates? Would you like to know of a band that sings like and about pirates? Well, you’re in luck, because Alestorm exists! Officially labeled as a folk metal band, there landlubbers are pirates in the musical world, singing shanties about voyages on the high seas, plundering and pillaging, and wenches, many wenches.
With their debut album Captain Morgan’s Revenge, Alestorm delivers a thrashing performance. Right from the opening of “Over The Seas” you get a real pirate vibe from the band, and by the time the vocals kick in, you are banging your head. The vocals themselves are sang in a low, grizzly pitch, with vocalist Chris Bowes putting on a very convincing pirate tone and growl. You’d think that these guys are really pirates (because they most likely are).
The band is full of impressive musicians. As mentioned before, you have Chris Bowes as the vocalist, but he also plays the keyboards, which provide the melodic pirate sound. Guitarist Gavin Harper and bassist Dani Evans provide the metal backbone, a real heavy sound to compliment the airy keyboards. Session drummer Migo Wagner’s drumming is fast and intense, driving every song along. Both the guitar and keyboard have solos throughout the album, and they are an impressive showing of skill.
Starting with “Over The Seas” you have the keyboard providing the melody with the guitar and bass hitting the heavy chords, and with the main verse, the band really plunges into the depth of their music. They hit all of the right notes for the first song, driving home the fact that they are a pirate metal band and are here to entertain for a solid hour of folk metal. This was the first song that I heard from them, and I was instantly hooked, and you will be too once you listen to it.
“Captain Morgan’s Revenge” begins with a killer drum solo that leads into fast and furious guitar strumming. The song itself is about a crew who commits mutiny against their captain, and eventually lead themselves to their deaths. It’s an intense song title track that continues this awesome metal trend. “The Huntmaster” has a beautiful guitar and keyboard main riff, that really starts the song off with a bang. The awesomeness keeps going with the rest of the song.
The tempo slows down for “Nancy The Tavern Wench,” a song about Nancy, obviously. The chorus is amazing, and will have you singing along with the rest of the band. The guitar solo is also one of the best on the album, slow but technical. From there, the next couple of songs are a little weaker than the previous four, though they are all good fun.
“Of Treasure” is the one real clunker in the whole set. It’s slow paced like “Nancy” but its also acoustic, and while I do enjoy acoustic songs, it does not work for Alestorm. It is such a huge departure from the other songs that it feels almost tacked onto the album, like they needed something other than metal. “Flowers Of Scotland” is also a bit of a clunker in my opinion, but since it is an unofficial anthem of Scotland, it is a cool rendition.
In between those two songs is “Wenches and Mead,” a song about the names subjects, and probably my favorite on the album. Everything clicks in this song, beginning with an awesome keyboard hook and an amazing guitar and keys riff for the main riff. The vocals are cool, and the chorus is anthemic. I have to sing along every time. There’s no solo, but the band makes up for it with more great riffs.
Of course, you will need a good sense of humor to listen to Alestorm, since none of the songs are serious in any way. Plus, you can tell they are inexperienced in songwriting and their playing can be a little stiff and uninspired at times. Again, even though “Wenches and Mead” is my favorite, it is very simplistic in lyrics; in fact, a good chunk of the songs are. But don’t let that deter you.
Although Alestorm isn’t the first pirate metal band, they have truly adopted the moniker as their own, and with their debut album, they fly the jolly roger high. While it’s not the most complex album, it is one of the funnest albums to listen to, and it will make a pirate out of you too.
I rate Captain Morgan’s Revenge a 4/5.
Monahan's Mind 