Alestorm, those cheeky Scottish pirate metal bastards, have a new album available, Sunset on the Golden Age, picking up where they left off with Back Through Time. A lot of people expect bands to expand and do crazy stuff and whatever; I want bands to play what they like and have fun, and Sunset on the Golden Age sounds like they had a lot of fun making it.
They incorporate a lot of wind, brass, and strings into their recordings, and it gives the songs a unique feel, like tying back to their source material. I’ve heard they book live actual performers to record those parts, as opposed to using a keyboard to fill out the parts. You can also hear some funky bass lines throughout their songs, which is usually kind of counter to most metal acts.
Right off the bat, they kick you in the teeth with Walk the Plank. Big horns and big chords lead into a sick guitar intro and the kind of Alestorm that you want to hear. The chorus has a great shout to it that I’m sure will be heard far & wide when they tour to support the album. That’s one of the things I really like about Alestorm; they format their choruses so the crowd can get in the mix.
WE ARE HERE TO DRINK YOUR BEER! Man they are really apt at creating party anthems, or just the kind of stuff that will play really well live. This song also ties in a lot of their previous work, which is a good way to fill out a song. The referenced old hits on a track in Back Through Time as well, and the references are pretty well placed. Also the music video for this song is pretty awesome.
Magnetic North sounds like it has the In the Navy bass line in it. Which is pretty interesting. You can hear it during the “HEY” part after the chorus. I’m a little bummed “In the Navy” didn’t make it onto the album. I know it’s tied to a DVD of one of their tours, but I like hearing their cheeky covers in albums. And 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena) starts off with some chiptunes which is great, and then drops straight into the historical pirate battle metal that is a deep well for inspiration.
Wooden Leg! is probably my favorite track off the album. It leads with a solid bass groove, then kicks into high gear, and almost sounds a bit more like a punk or speed metal track than power metal. And clocking in at 2 minutes and change, it fits the bill quite well. I can already picture the circle pit that’ll get started when they play this live. WOODEN LEG WOODEN LEG!
Their cover of Hangover is brilliant. A buddy of mine and I didn’t know it was a cover initially, and we came to the conclusion that Katy Perry needed to turn it into a pop hit. It’s already a pop hit apparently; I’m just old and only listen to metal. Anyway, this song fits really well with the idea of being a pirate, so I’m glad the song about getting shit-faced-ed got proper respect by these great pirate metalers.
If you get the limited edition album, it comes with a second disc full of instrumental versions of their hits: Over the Seas, Nancy the Tavern Wench, Keelhauled, The Sunk’n Norwegian, and Shipwrecked. There’s also a bonus track, Questing Upon the Poop Deck, that is apparently not a song about anal sex. All the acoustic tracks are fantastic and are great at showing off the full extent of the band’s musical chops. It also makes them sound like they should be sea shanties you hear in Assassin’s Creed: I’m on a Boat.
All in all, this is yet another awesome album from Alestorm, chalk full of party anthems and songs that will be excellent to hear live. The songs have a great driving force behind them, and the backing horns and strings give added weight. Despite what they claimed in Back Through Time, Running Wild didn’t cover all the themes of pirate metal, and Alestorm hasn’t started scraping the barrel quite yet. Though I think they said quest something like 150 times. Which is pretty awesome.