Alestorm
Captain Morgan's Revenge
Napalm
Highly unrefined pirates
Oi! Scotland’s Alestorm raise quite the beer-drinking and hell-raising ruckus on Captain Morgan’s Revenge. Alestorm, formerly known as Battleheart, work the progressive pirate metal angle like nobody’s business and are way cooler than Johnny Depp, but maybe not as cool as Tenpole Tudor or Kings of the Wild Frontier-era Adam & the Ants. Fans of Korpiklaani’s trollish party metal will rejoice in Alestorm’s double-time jigs. People who aren’t big fans of dizzying synths and digital horn blasts à la Europe’s “The Final Countdown” might want to steer clear of this ship. But it would be a shame to miss the tight riffing and pub sing-along chorus of “The Huntmaster”: “With the power of ale / He could not fail.” Come on, that’s some sort of genius right there! And we haven’t even gotten to “Nancy the Tavern Wench” or “Wenches and Mead” yet!
If it all gets a bit samey after awhile, well then, duh, you aren’t drunk enough. Just keep drinking until the idea of invading your neighbor’s home and liberating the womenfolk doesn’t just seem like a good idea, but a noble and enlightened one. But don’t blame me or Alestorm for the consequences. Live by the cutlass, die by the cutlass. —Scott Seward
