Rudra - Discography

Rudra - The Aryan Crusade(2001)
1. Aryaputra
2. Hymns To Thee
3. Anantarupa
4. Malevolent Creed
5. Rudrapatni
6. I
7. Homage To The Seers
8. Manifesto Of The Demented
9. Sad But True
10. Atmavichara

Rudra - Kurukshetra(2003)


1.Justified Aggression
2.Apostasy
3.God of Delusion
4.Absolute One
5.Negate
6.Mithya
7.In the Vision of the Blind
8.Temple of Nothingness
9.Highlands of Tranquility
10.Ye Immortal One
11.Asura Mardhini

Rudra - Brahmavidya Primordial I(2005)


01 Twilight Of Duality
02 Ananya Chaitanya
03 The Pathless Path to the Knowable Unknown
04 There the Sun Never Shines
05 Veil of Maya
06 Ageless Consciousness I am
07 Meditations on the Mahavakya
08 Aham Brahmasmi
09 Shivoham
10 In the Fourth Quarter: Turiya

Interview with RUDRA!

*What does the word “Rudra” mean?

Rudra is the God of Storm in the Hindu Pantheon during the Vedic times (BCE). In modern Hinduism he is known as Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction.

*With the band’s use of Sanskrit and the ohm on their webpage, are you devout followers of religion and if so, how much of an influence is it in their song-writing?

We are very much inspired by the Advaita philosophy as taught by the Vedas, one of the oldest known mystical texts. Our songs present this ancient philosophy as revealed by the Vedic literature in the Sanskrit language. This is the relation to the OM and the Sanskrit strewn all over our albums and our WebPages. I would not call us followers of the Vedic Religion per se. Please bear with me as I wish to digress here for a moment….. Personally I abhor the word 'religion'. If anyone were to look at what religions have done & doing to the world, any sane person would be ashamed to call oneself religious. Religion has been the cause of violence and bloodshed all over the world in the past 1500 years. From the theological standpoint, a follower of religion is expected to believe in some Creator God or a Supreme Being sitting up in the skies and also the promise of a paradise. These concepts happen to be the conventional traits of any religion. I find these beliefs completely foolish, repulsive and childish. Hence, I prefer to use the term Spiritual Philosophy, which would mean a school of thought that transcends phenomenon without having to speculate or believe in any concept or theory. For this reason we are very wary of calling ourselves followers of any religion. And from this philosophical perspective alone proceeds the song-writing of Rudra. Our lyrics are basically the arrangement of words as seen from the eyes of this transcendental wisdom.

*There seems to be a lot of philosophical and spiritual themes in your music. Which philosophers or schools of thought have most influenced the band?

As mentioned earlier we are very much with the Philosophical perspective of an ancient school, which is as old as the Vedas (2500 BCE), called Advaita Vedanta. It is also popularly called Non-dualism. These teachings can be found with slight variations in many other schools of thought like Zen Buddhism, early Taoism, Gnostic Christianity, Sufism & also neo-Satanism. The Advaita philosophy has been the inspiration for all our lyrics since our first album. In the absolute vision of Advaita, the Self is the Absolute Reality while the whole universe is considered an Illusion. When the Self is known, everything is as well known. The objective world, which includes concepts like Heaven, Hell, Evil, Good and a creator God are reduced to ashes at the dawn of self-knowledge. Having such a vision, it naturally opposes all forms of beliefs. Our lyrics primarily point out this mental slavery to non-verifiable beliefs and sublate the erroneous notions about oneself. In our absolute vision there is no difference between a prophet's utopia and an ignoramus' castle in the air. Even the concept of a Creator God is destroyed with mere reasoning! I have also discovered that Morbid Angel, Aghora & Cynic (RIP) too have expressed this vision in their albums. But we are different in the sense that we take a traditional approach to this philosophy in the light of the Vedas. One particular philosopher by the name of Shankara has been the chief inspiration for me particularly. Other philosophers who have inspired me through their works are Lao Tzu, Immanuel Kant, Bertrand Russell, Nietzsche & Alan Watts.

*A few band members list 'black' metal bands like Bathory, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, etc. as favorites. Though Rudra aren’t Christians, do your vastly different religious beliefs clash with those of black metal bands (Satan, church burning, etc.)?

The beauty of Subjective Philosophy is that we don't have to be at each other's throats to prove the integrity of any school of thought. We can always agree to disagree and yet have a glass of beer together. Moreover, I can appreciate the diversity in the many ways philosophies can be expressed with one common goal in mind: which is to uproot the sole enemy of a rational mind called 'popular religion'. With this vision, we are able respect other black metal bands which have their own views. 'Our' philosophy gives us the ability to respect and recognize the value of one's personal freedom to express Truth in diverse ways.

*It is widely known that heavy metal, especially black metal, is censored and has actual government/religious banning in many Arabic or Muslim dominated countries. Has this ever been something that caused problem for Rudra?

Yes. We had a good fan base in Malaysia after our debut album was released there. We sold a few thousand units there. But due to the recent censorship and ban, our subsequent albums didn't reach out to our fans there. Most record labels fear of being prosecuted and refused to take our albums. In that sense our marketability has gone down in those regions. But here in Singapore, which is a multi-religious & multi-racial country, we don't face any such problems. It is quite a harmonious place.

*Reading your lyrics and other interviews you have done, your English seems very good. Why do you choose to write lyrics in English rather than your mother tongue?

Our mother tongue is actually Tamil, which is another language from the Indian continent. However, in Singapore where we are 3rd generation Indians with English as our 1st language, we are more exposed to English and we speak English most of the time. However we did study our mother tongue as 2nd language in the school curriculum and do converse in it where appropriate.

*What does the title of your album “The Aryan Crusade” refer to? Typically here in North America, and I assume in much of Europe, when we hear the term Aryan, we think of Nazi Germany and their associated racial beliefs in the supremacy of the Aryan race. I assume being in a non-white band, and from Singapore, this is not how you meant it to be taken at all?

I would say that the ONLY way to look at the word 'Aryan' would be through the way the Vedic peoples have looked at it, since the word 'Aryan' happens to be a Sanskrit word. I sincerely do not wish to appear fanatical here. But what we have seen is a total hogwash when you realize that the whole world has been deceived into thinking that the word Aryan means a chosen pure and strong race. What a shame that the perpetrators of such a ideology have chosen to use a word alien to their culture and language to justify an ideology that is alien too to the culture from which the word originated. And to know that such an ideology was popularized by a politician as a political tool makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. The Vedic culture looks at the word 'Aryan' in a very sublime manner, which is contrary to the current popular interpretations. The word Aryan appears in both Vedic and Buddhistic texts but all such references do not refer to a race. And we have the textual evidence to support this viewpoint, unlike the NSBM and Nazis. The early definition of an Aryan would be someone who leads a highly structured life performing Vedic fire-rituals to be in harmony with an all-pervasive order called Dharma. Therefore, the Vedic perspective only refers to a noble quality born out of an appreciation of this Order and NOT something inherited genetically. Later day Vedic literature looked at the Aryans as wise men alone. So along these lines alone we named our album as 'The Aryan Crusade', implying the destruction of Ignorance. Racism can never be a product of wisdom. An Aryan, who is a wise man, cannot have such notions of superiority or inferiority because it would mean a self-contradiction. Therefore, in my opinion, people who call themselves Aryans without this understanding are hardly wise, only otherwise.

*Did the band have anything to do with the new artwork for the DemonZend re-release of your debut album, RUDRA?

We have given the creative freedom to Demonzend to propose the artwork. Ultimately the decision will be based on mutual agreement. We are very particular about the way Rudra is presented to the world. Every picture and word in our album matter to us.

*How has the recording of the new album differed from your past records? Is there a bigger budget, better studio, etc. this time?

Definitely. We have a bigger budget, a more versatile engineer and more time. We started working on this album since last December and we have incubated the songs long enough for it to be mature enough to be recorded as an album. We will be commencing our recording sessions in the last week of September.

*Is there a reason why you left your previous label Trishul Records?

It wasn't a bitter separation. Those guys have been more like friends to us than a record label actually. The switch to Demonzend was natural, as we wanted to expose ourselves to a bigger arena. And the guys in Demonzend are very hardworking and inspiring. Enough reasons for us to switch.

*Will the new songs follow the same themes as the rest or will the band branch out from the spiritual themes?

In fact this album is saturated with philosophical & spiritual themes. We decided to immerse every song in the nectar of Advaita without straying into the usual occasional outbursts and criticisms on other doctrines found in our past albums. There are 10 ancient texts called the Upanishads, which are used as a tool to communicate the vision of Advaita. Each of the ten songs in this new album will be based on one of these ten Upanishads. It is definitely going to be a conceptual album.

*The U.S. tour got cancelled but are there any further plans to try to secure visas and come to North America (and hopefully Canada ) later this year?

We would love to do a promotional tour in North America after the release of the new album. We were quite excited about the US tour that got cancelled. The security situation in most countries is on high alert. And this makes things like touring so difficult for us. We really hope things would get better and we could play shows real soon in North America.

*What countries have you played in so far and what ones offered the best places to play in terms of attendance and reception?

We have played in Malaysia, Indonesia, India & Thailand. In terms of attendance and reception Indonesia & India were the best. We played to about 2000 people in India and about 700 people in Indonesia. It was really nice to see people knowing your music and lyrics to the songs in those two countries.

For the (now postponed) U.S. tour, how did the band end up working with Raising Kubrick and Not Common Records?

We have a very good friend who is presently studying in the US. He made the link for us to Joe of Not Common Records. Raising Kubrick is signed to Not Common Records and Joe made that choice. Joe really worked hard in getting us there but sadly it all failed.





After the band briefly broke up in the mid-90s, what inspired you to get back together again?

After the break up, I was still writing songs and ideas were oozing out. The reason being that I didn't see the whole affair as a break up. I still wanted to pursue the idea of incorporating the Vedic elements in Metal, which didn't go down well with the rest of the members at that time and that resulted in the break up. I always felt at that time that we had something to contribute to the world of metal with the cultural dimension added to it. So that prompted me pick up the phone to call Shiva about 10 months after the break up to ask him if he would be interested to get back together to continue with Rudra but with the Vedic elements. Had he not agreed then, there would not have been the Rudra of today.

*Rudra appeared on a Death tribute album that was released in 2003 and performed “Forgotten Past.” Why that song and how big of an influence was Death on Rudra’s music?

To be honest, Death's Leprosy was technically the first Death Metal album that I listened to. After the first listen, the only thing that impressed me was Chuck's vocals. I found the music mediocre. I shelved the tape soon after. And then a few weeks later, because of the lack of new tapes in my collection, I decided to load the tape into my walkman and then came the revelation that Chuck was God! Hahahahaha. I got converted instantly when the track Forgotten Past got me goose pimples. Immediately I became a missionary of Death. I converted Bala (ex-guitarist) and Shiva within weeks. And we decided that this was what we wanted to play……Death Metal. Chuck's lyrics too influenced me on the philosophical outlook I had towards life as a whole at that time. I remember my first strong distaste for life in general when I read the lyrics to 'Open Casket' from the same album. The lines that had a great impact on me were;

'People come to pay respect
Taking pictures of the dead
This is what life comes to be
Once they lived, now they're deceased'

These lines made me look at life in a very dispassionate manner. It kind of planted the seed for my insatiable appetite for seeking knowledge from all directions. I still love the Leprosy album. Every song is a classic in there and Chuck was truly a genius. What a sad morning it was when I received news of his passing.

*Rudra seems to be the leader in the Singapore death metal scene. How much competition is there?

Not much I would say. Singapore is a very small island. All Death Metal bands know each other very well and it is a very friendly scene. So we support one another. Competition is a taboo in our scene. Coming from a tiny island with no noticeable presence in the Metal map, it is only natural for us not to compete.

*Is death metal big in Singapore or are there other types of metal that are dominant?

Death & Black Metal occupy the biggest chunk in the Metal pie. But slowly progressive metal is catching on.

*Are there any other death metal (and any style of metal) bands from Singapore that we should watch out for?

Check out Narasimha, Vrykolakas, Melting Snow & Az-rael.

*Describe the Asian metal scene in general. What place do you believe Rudra has in it?

The Asian Metal scene is still virgin. I would say the floodgates are not opened yet, partly due to the lack of sufficient interest from the European & American audience. The value of Asian metal bands lies in the ability to impregnate Extreme Metal with the colourful cultural background, which is unique to this part of the world. In this context we (RUDRA) have carved out a genre and a place for ourselves as a representative of Asian Metal.

*Are the members of Rudra involved with any side projects?

Shiva & Selvam play in a Melodic Death Metal band, Kaliyuga with our ex-guitarist Bala. Shiva, Kannan & I play in a New Age Ethnic fusion band called Ananta.

*What does the band do for “day jobs”?

I work as a Technical Executive. Shiva works as a Land Officer & Kannan is an Electrical Engineer. Selvam is Logistics Specialist.

*Why are there no sound clips available on the band's website? Are you not fans of mp3s?

We will be introducing that very soon. I am personally not a fan of Mp3s. I love original Cds with all the artwork and stuff.

*Your band is sometimes compared with Nile, insofar as blending ancient and traditional themes with modern death metal. What do you think of that comparison, and would you say Nile has been an influence on your style??

I would say the comparison is legitimate since we are both digging ancient cultures with modern metal. But Nile has never influenced us in our path. During the time when we were experimenting with ethnic fusion in Metal, we hadn't known any other band that was doing the same thing. Only after releasing the debut album did we realize that there were two other bands (Nile & Orphaned Land) doing something similar.

*Assuming Nile is an influence, who else would you name as an influence?

Our influences have been more of a mixture of Metal artistes and New Age/Ethnic artistes. I would attribute the traditional music influences to artistes like Ravi Shankar, Jai Uttal, Dr L Subrmaniam, Loreena Mckennit & Krishna Das among many others. Our Metal influences are Slayer, Death, early Sepultura, Bathory, Obituary & Kreator among many others. Shiva & I are also big fans of Glam Metal. We are big fans of Motley Crue.

*Your use of traditional instruments seemed to decrease on Kurukshetra from your previous work. Does that trend continue with the new album??

Actually it is going to be the reverse on the new album. Kurukshetra was sort of an experiment. We wanted to see if we could produce an album without incorporating traditional influences. But this won't happen in the new album. The new album will have lots of traditional parts and lots of chanting. For a change I will be doing most of the Sanskrit chants myself.

*In your opinion, what is the most interesting or compelling story from Vedic mythology?? (There's so much to choose from).

There is an interesting dialogue between a small boy and the God of Death, Yama in a text called Katha Upanishad which is part of the Veda. You would find that story interesting as it reflects the Vedic wisdom beautifully & succinctly.

*How are your CD sales in Asia compared to North America and compared to Europe?

It used to be better in Asia but now our sales are steadily increasing outside Asia, especially North America & Europe.

*I understand you’ll be entering the studio in September. What studio will you use and who will be doing the production/engineering?

We will be recording at two studios this time around. The drums will be recorded at Music Zone studios and the rest of the tracks will be recorded at a yet to be named new studio. We have hired our good friends Joshua & Sean as the engineers for the new album.

*Who does the website, www.rudraonline.org – the band?

A friend of ours designed it but my wife maintains the site.

*With each release Rudra have become a name spoken amongst “in the know” metal circles. Do the think your next album could be the one that really breaks the door down for you in terms of international recognition?

Yeah. We are really hoping for that with the new album. We have faced too many obstacles throughout our career and this is the biggest one. Hopefully this album will break down those barriers. Let's see how it goes.

*Is there any other things going on with the band that you'd like to pass along to our readers?

Nothing much, but we would like to thank Metal Rules for this honour. I am a fan of Metal Rules and what a privilege it is to be interviewed by you guys. Thanks a million.

Strapping Young Lad - Discography

1995 - Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing


1997 - City


2003 - SYL


2005 - Alien


2006 - The New Black


Pass: bunalti.com

Meshuggah - Obzen (2008)

Band : Meshuggah
Album: Obzen
Genre: Technical metal

The Swedish Mathcore metallers are back, well, not yet. This album is sceduled to release on the 28th of Feb, 2008.But somehow it leadked into the internet few days ago.
So what does obZen have in store for you?

To make things clear at the offset,let me say this is nothing in the vein of Destroy Erase Improve or Chaosphere. Meshuggah have opted for a more streamlined sound here; in fact some of the songs could be simply categorised as modern Thrash. The unusual time signatures, the chaotic rhythm and sounds have all been done away with, well, for most of the songs that is. Does it mean that the music has suffered?Well..yes and no.


If you liked Meshuggah for their unique blend of agression and technicality, if you liked Meshuggah for their unique sound...then you'll be a tad disappointed...yes. The music on this album, however, is nothing you could call mediocre. The vocals are as harsh as ever, and the chaos is still there, albeit with a lot of restraint....as I said earlier...more streamlined. The weird/chaotic solos are still there. Album opener Combustion clearly demonstrates the skills of all band members. This one is a worthy headbanging opener and would have gelled quite well with the tracks in Chaosphere. The second track Electric Red, after the 20 sec mark, starts sounding like the first track, which is a big turn off! The third track, and possibly the best on the album, Bleed, is the Meshuggah we all know and love....it's madness! Lethargica follows the Destroy Erase Improve pattern with a weird sounding rhythm and crunching atonal riffs..just about average stuff though. The title rack obZen starts off in a very Metalcor-ish manner...uhh!, but comes back to form for some more mid tempo thrashiness. The next couple of songs are not worth mentioning, they just follow a simple done to death modern thrash formula. The last song is Meshuggah's attempt at the Epic! Clocking more than 9 minutes, this is also another song where you get to hear the virtuosity of every Meshugaah member.This song grows on you after a couple of listens.

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The uprising of Bangladesh Underground Metal

Mainstream bands have already released solo albums while underground bands are trying to promote themselves by performing their own numbers or cover numbers in concerts. Many popular bands like Artcell, Black, Cryptic Fate, The Watson Brothers have come from the underground circle and are still considered underground by most people as they still mostly play underground shows and are not widely popular throughout the country. The more successful bands eventually sign for a record label. G-series is becoming more and more popular for providing platforms to such underground bands. Genres such as alternative rock, heavy metal, thrash metal, death metal, black metal and gothic metal are increasingly popular among these bands.
Herein I have posted some good underground music from few Bangldesh bands

Cryptic Fate - Danob (2006)

Cryptic Fate is one of the top underground bands in Bangladesh, pioneering heavy metal. Cryptic Fate sees itself as a Heavy Metal band pure and simple. They are not bound to any particular form of metal as in thrash or progressive but like to play the whole spectrum of the genre. Originally influenced by classic 80s metal, the band’s sound has continued to mature and evolve into a unique style melding all sub-genres of metal. As they are growing older they are getting more mature music wise and that will inevitably affect their music as time goes on. Recent times have seen Cryptic Fate experiment with softer and darker aspects of rock music, but with the release of its third album, “Danob”, Cryptic Fate returns to what it does best – brutal, no-holds barred heavy metal. Formded in `1993, the band released their first album "Ends are forever" in 1995 which was completely in English. The second album "Shreshto" was released in 2002 was a huge success featuring the single "Protibaad". After then, the band released a few singles in various underground compilation albums. In 2006, after two years of writing and working, the band released their third album "Danob".

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ArtCell - Aniket Prantor (2006)

Artcell (or ArtCell) is a progressive metal band of Bangladesh. The band is arguably the first progressive metal band of the country and usually experiments with tunes from other metal genres such as heavy and thrash metal. This is the first rock group in South Asia who have sold over 20,000 copies of their album on the first day of release.

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1000 Funerals - Portrait Of A Dream 2005 (Iran)

Slow, dark and romantic funeral doom project by "Pixie". The music is highly atmospheric and contains plenty of keyboards. Recommended listening for fans of Mournful Congregation or similar bands.
There are two reasons for me to post this album.1st they are from Iran where people were not given to go beyond their believes and religion and the 2nd reason is the band's founding member Pixie is woman from the heart of the Islamic world!

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Urfaust (NL) - Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist

Album Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist
Genre Black Metal with Clean Vocals
Year 2005
This is one of my favourite albums.When I listened To Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist I was unimpressed by the untrained vocals, the dumbed down guitar, and drums.
Through later listening I almost cried by how genius the instrumental tracks are! The songs that really blew me away were Ragnarök Mystiker, In den weiten öden Räumen, Trauerhöhle and Verflucht das Blenden der Erscheinung.
in spite of not not understanding the lyrics I can feel the emotion in the vocal melodies. In Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist the Synth is used to harmonize with the rough and distorted vocals. You would think that the poor sound quality was the fuzz you hear in most songs but that is the Synth working with the guitar and vocals.
I looked up the band when I started this review and discovered that there is no bass in Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist.


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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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