Sailing the seven seas, the one and only Alestorm return with tales of pillage and plunder in “No Grave But The Sea”, ordained with eccentric metal fiddles, fast-paced guitar wails and the good ole’ yo ho of drunken choruses. The Scottish peg legs throw it back even further with this release with medievalesque fanfares from a plethora of horns that border on being ska – it’s catchy, it’s fun and it rocks.
There’s no word but titillating for some of these tracks – ‘Mexico’ seems like these pirates are on an illegal substance, as electronica takes over and revs up everything, Alestorm goes full fiesta. It’s entertaining, wrought with tales of tequila and tacos, and not the only tales to be told. The party continues with ’To The End Of The World’ and ‘Pegleg Potion’ riling up jolliness and excitement. But there’s a downside.
The rum eventually runs dry – once Alestorm set sail they seem unable to weigh anchor, ploughing through each number with an unapologetic fury which, fun as it is, induces cabin fever. Yes, guitars are wailing, these metal monsters are slaying, and there’s plenty of metaphorical alcohol in consumption, but for all that metal madness, the folksy fiddle and gnarly crying wax lyrical.
As they sing in ‘Alestorm’, Rum, beer/quests and mead/these are the things a pirate needs, this statement runs true, but to retain the interest in this spectacular quest of music, a pirate also needs variation. A tale of woe? A salty wench or two? Further exploration is needed.
3.5/5 Stars
