Alestorm – Captain Morgan’s Revenge
Napalm Records - NPR233 - January 28, 2008 (Europe)
By Jack Deming
Coincidentally, the birth of Alestorm was actually witnessed right here on Ultimate Metal around 3 years ago, when guitarist Gavin Harper posted a rough demo of the song 'Over the Seas' that he had written with keyboardist/vocalist Christopher Bowes, stressing that it was done just for fun, and as a joke.
Oh, the irony. Muhahaha.
Since then the band have filled out their lineup with bassist Dani Evans and drummer Ian Wilson and gained widespread underground appreciation from the independent releases of two E.P.s of their trademark brand of Scottish Pirate metal. The Scots were just recently picked up by the notable Napalm Records to record their debut effort, Captain Morgan’s Revenge. The album, while not groundbreaking in its genre, transcends the expected pirate gimmicks and delivers quality songwriting and composition, the likes of which would make Hans Zimmer proud.
Shunning the current trend set by bands such as Turisas and Eluveitie of recruiting an army of members to achieve a battle metal atmosphere, Alestorm use a much more boiled down musical formula, merely relying on Bowes’ synth for their epic brass fanfares and accordion jigs. Harper’s guitar playing is featured quite prominently in the mix, a refreshing contrast to some other battle and folk metal acts that downplay the traditional metal aspects of their music to the point where they run the risk of sounding more like a film score than a metal band. The result is a much heavier variety of folk metal, with lyrics of quests, curses, cheap women, and slain poseurs. Epic win.
Bottom line, Captain Morgan’s Revenge is enjoyable and engaging to the point where every time the music dims on my promo and the strangely Australian/German sounding man comes on to tell me that I’m listening to the new Alestorm album, I get an insatiable urge to find him, tie his legs to a cannon, and send him to his watery grave. You win, Napalm promo people. Happy?
Official Alestorm Myspace
Official Napalm Records Website
Napalm Records - NPR233 - January 28, 2008 (Europe)
By Jack Deming
Coincidentally, the birth of Alestorm was actually witnessed right here on Ultimate Metal around 3 years ago, when guitarist Gavin Harper posted a rough demo of the song 'Over the Seas' that he had written with keyboardist/vocalist Christopher Bowes, stressing that it was done just for fun, and as a joke.
Oh, the irony. Muhahaha.
Since then the band have filled out their lineup with bassist Dani Evans and drummer Ian Wilson and gained widespread underground appreciation from the independent releases of two E.P.s of their trademark brand of Scottish Pirate metal. The Scots were just recently picked up by the notable Napalm Records to record their debut effort, Captain Morgan’s Revenge. The album, while not groundbreaking in its genre, transcends the expected pirate gimmicks and delivers quality songwriting and composition, the likes of which would make Hans Zimmer proud.
Shunning the current trend set by bands such as Turisas and Eluveitie of recruiting an army of members to achieve a battle metal atmosphere, Alestorm use a much more boiled down musical formula, merely relying on Bowes’ synth for their epic brass fanfares and accordion jigs. Harper’s guitar playing is featured quite prominently in the mix, a refreshing contrast to some other battle and folk metal acts that downplay the traditional metal aspects of their music to the point where they run the risk of sounding more like a film score than a metal band. The result is a much heavier variety of folk metal, with lyrics of quests, curses, cheap women, and slain poseurs. Epic win.
Bottom line, Captain Morgan’s Revenge is enjoyable and engaging to the point where every time the music dims on my promo and the strangely Australian/German sounding man comes on to tell me that I’m listening to the new Alestorm album, I get an insatiable urge to find him, tie his legs to a cannon, and send him to his watery grave. You win, Napalm promo people. Happy?
Official Alestorm Myspace
Official Napalm Records Website
