Hail to the Power of Ale! (Captain Morgan's Revenge - Alestorm)

Having built up a predictable cult following for their self-styled brand of "true Scottish pirate metal" at numerous local gigs and across two impressive E.P.s, Perth's Battleheart changed their name to the more tell-tale Alestorm and recorded their first full-length album on Napalm Records, due for an eagerly anticipated January 2008 release. The notion of mixing speedy, raucous power metal with a pirate concept is nothing new, harking right back to Germany's Running Wild in the late eighties, but it's a particularly intelligent commercial endeavour in a decade that has seen trashy Hollywood blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and its ilk capturing the hearts of this generation's lowest common denominator audiences with their superficial take on piracy. Personally, I preferred the 'Monkey Island' games.

What makes Alestorm so impressive is that the band has never allowed the gimmick to overshadow the quality of its music, putting their full energy into Dragonforce-styled power metal, albeit yelling tales of seafaring conquest and trezer huntin' rather than falsetto epics about dragons, and even going the whole hog into authentically recreating the sea shanty for the less serious numbers. Having finally come together as a fully operational unit after a couple of years of vocalist/keyboardist Christopher Bowes and guitarist Gavin Harper playing against a programmed rhythm and bass section, the band compensates for its lack of virtuoso talent with its passionate, nationalistic dedication to spreading the true Scottish pirate metal Word that will inevitably inspire a number of lousy imitations in its devastating wake. With cutthroats Dani Evans and Ian Wilson coming aboard to handle bass and drum responsibilities respectively, the Alestorm vessel is in a fine position to conquer the metal world once this debut is released next month - most likely in a Dragonforce manner that will see them overly hyped and derided in equal measure before making way for the next fad. Young metal fans are so fickle.

As anticipated, the band selects the finest bounty from their earlier E.P. releases (alright, I'll desist with the pirate lingo) and makes these the foundation of this longer work, while surprisingly forsaking the customary instrumental openings in favour of a more consistent metallic approach, something that demonstrates their impressive forward-thinking compared to fading genre superstars such as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar, whose most recent offerings were atrociously pompous affairs riddled with narrative padding. The pirating concept figures prominently into all of these songs as can be discerned from the titles, but despite going for the obvious themes (maps, battles, wenches, trezer), it never feels like a diluted pantomime version of piracy, and it's clear the band has done its research to add authenticity.

Bowes' vocals take on a distinct piratey persona, growling in a gritty folk style on the slower and mid-range songs but being forced into a more traditional metal style in the faster offerings later in the album, reminiscent of Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, and the lyrics will stay with the listener afterwards just as much as the catchiest guitar moments. Each major song is afforded an extensive instrumental section for solos and such, which is actually something of a mixed bag (of pieces o' eight?): Harper's guitars are pleasant enough in their classic metal approach, but Bowes sticks to his cannons with consistent keyboard solos in the glitzy style of Dragonforce that serve to spoil the historical, nautical mood that the band has somehow achieved through anachronistic rock instruments.

There is a distinctive Alestorm "sound" to be found across this album, despite its commendable diversity, and while rooted in modern power metal it borrows extensively from folk metal in the style of label-mates Týr and the Swedish Viking bands such as Månegarm. While it doesn't take on this style as much as I would perhaps like, this at least allows it to develop independently as a distinct entity, and may one day lead to a gloriously debauched battle between the heavy metal pirates and Vikings, one that the fantasy-themed bands can observe from the safe distance of an overhead dragon and write an epic poem about at a later date. Despite its distracting prominence in the solo sections, Bowes' keyboard is the vital background ingredient of this atmosphere, sweeping in a synthesised symphony over the more eloquent passages but mostly taking on the sound of a nautical accordion that works perfectly against the rock instruments even more successfully than I could have hoped, benefitting from the band's newfound high production values.

1. Over the Seas
2. Captain Morgan's Revenge
3. The Huntmaster
4. Nancy the Tavern Wench
5. Death Before the Mast
6. Terror of the High Seas
7. Set Sail and Conquer
8. Of Treasure
9. Wenches & Mead
10. Flower of Scotland

'Over the Seas' really is the perfect introduction to both the sound and concept, and along with 'The Huntmaster' represents the oldest material here, originating on the first 'Battleheart' E.P., but now with added live bass and drums. With middling speed and a chugging style still rooted in their forebears Running Wild, these two songs betray their early conception compared to the rest, but this makes them more suitable to establish the scene that will later be exploded to new heights. Doubtless some listeners will come to this album purely for the cheap thrill of hearing some pirate songs, and with refrains like "with the power of ale, he could not fail," these songs can satiate and inaugurate the casual listeners before unleashing some true metal fury.

In-between these older offerings is the first brand new song in the form of the title track (the title itself is perhaps an obscure reference to the band's earlier instrumental 'The Curse of Captain Morgan'; the sort of trivial footnote that may find its way into a future Wikipedia entry) and the band's sound shows a noticeable development. The speed ranges from full-pelt thrashing to a steadier jig style once again, and the instrumental prominence in this epic piece makes it comparable to Iron Maiden's own seafaring epic 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' only shorter, and shows great use being made of the studio facilities. It's one of the most typically power metal songs on the album and thus one that should be eagerly plundered by Dragonforce fans, something that is sped along by the chorus melody sounding more or less directly lifted from that band's 'Black Winter Night.'

'Nancy the Tavern Wench' is the first of three songs to follow a significantly slower, folk-based style with the metal as a mere support, and one of two songs along with 'Of Treasure' to revive the traditional sea shanty in a thoughtful manner, sounding similar to folk metal deviations such as Týr's memorable take on 'The Wild Rover.' Once again, the band stays true to its creative vision without lapsing into self-parody (they're obviously having a whale of a time playing this stuff, but it isn't just a joke to them), and the lead accordion effect of 'Nancy' is fitting as its take on a female character's "theme." The later 'Of Treasure' (oh, so that's how you spell it) goes even further, based on acoustic guitar and flute and even introducing one of those springy things that are such a staple of Viking metal in the works of Bathory, Månegarm and Moonsorrow. I don't know what it's called, but I have a deep-seated fondness for its daft simplicity (please enlighten me if you know). The only other song to fall into this general style is actually very different, but shares camaraderie for relegating the rock instruments to the background; the closing track is the band's patriotic dedication to their Scottish homeland, the keyboards scoring extra points for producing a regal flair and not resorting to clichéd bagpipes, as the band chants the Corries' 'Flower of Scotland' with pride, before presumably launching into a rugby game on deck after the album closes. This finale is the least impressive song, but works as a fine coda, while the other two work brilliantly to break up the album without the need for (God forbid) ballads. After all, what would be the interest in a sensitive pirate?

The remaining bulk of the album showcases the band at its fiercest and finest, mostly coming from the excellent second E.P. 'Terror on the High Seas' and likely presenting the band's direction for the future, away from the slower narratives that characterised the album's first half. Now that the band has frequented the taverns and indulged in their trezer hunting deals, it's time for some serious conquest and pillaging as the seabound equivalent of Manowar's metal warriors, often spouting comparably ridiculous lyrics. 'Death Before the Mast,' the only other "new" song, is the band's most thrash-based offering, featuring significantly faster verses that Bowes tackles in a manner similar to Megadeth, but the style is perfected in the band's crowning glory, 'Terror of the High Seas' (undergoing a slight alteration from its earlier form, not least in its title). This is currently the band's classic, with their finest guitar riffs and their most dynamic performance recorded to date, perfectly suited to its violent lyrics.

'Set Sail and Conquer' is a little less brilliant, slowing down as the lyrics take on a less riveting self-confidence in the pirates' inevitable victory and thus lack the adventurous spirit of the previous song, metaphorically docking at Port Manowar as Bowes regurgitates that band's clichés of divine providence, the fight until death and the laughter over dying foes. Although it's still a highly enjoyable song, spoiled a little by the pompous lyrics, there comes a surprising turnaround with the instrumental/solo section in the second half that ends up being the most substantial and varied of the album, building on the efforts of the previous two songs and inserting a soft jig section for atmosphere similar to the earlier title track. This is some of the strongest evidence that this band really is a force to be reckoned with, particularly as its relatively fresh musicians are free to hone their talents on future releases.

If the album was capable of serving up even more excitement over this new band, it delivers it wonderfully with the penultimate 'Wenches & Mead'; forebodings of a cop-out comedy song certainly, but the band launches into character as metal pirates to such a degree that there's never any doubt of their sincerity, however ludicrous the lyrics ("Hey, hey, I want more wenches / Lots of wenches is what I need"). As well as going all-out on the debauchery front, this arguably represents the perfection of the synthesis between metal and sea shanty in equal measure, as the lead accordion is as prominent as the guitars and drums.

Alestorm is certainly one of the most exciting metal bands of the moment, and one that shouldn't be unfairly judged as a mere gimmick - there's some work to be done on the technical front, and more trezer and wenches to pillage before they can bottle another recording and send it back to shore with tales of their further exploits, but 'Captain Morgan's Revenge' is an incredibly fun and high quality album of modern heavy metal. Released in the UK on 28th January 2008.

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