Humour and musical genius are just some of the elements thrown in the mix of this fantastically strange album...
Alestorm are renowned for their elaborate stage shows, pirate themes and surreal music videos, so I was expecting much of this to be reflected in their latest album... I was absolutely astonished to find they had not only done this, but increased the level of all of their defining points.
Firstly, I have to mention the genius deluxe edition of the album where there are '16th Century' versions of all the songs. In a previous deluxe edition of 'No Grave But The Sea', Alestorm provided every song on the album again, but 'For Dogs'. The deluxe editions are absolutely genius: I am ever amazed by the creativity and quirkiness of this band.
The next thing that stood out for me was the way most of the tracks on this album are heading more towards party metal than previous albums. Personally, I believe this adds to the fun feel of the band and re- enforces the escapism they provide: as much as I love an album full of emotion, sometimes it is nice to escape to a different world, completely separated from reality. - Songs such as 'Pirate Metal Drinking Crew' and 'Treasure Chest Party Quest' are prime examples as this. I seemed to have developed a habit of just stopping whatever I am doing to clap in time to 'Pirate Metal Drinking Crew' as well!
One of my personal favourites on the album is 'Chomp Chomp'. I have never heard a song about an alligator so lyrically perfect. Not only the lyrics, but the band consistently provide incredible guitar solos, and the one in 'Chomp Chomp' is one of my favourites.
Overall, the album is a combination of perfect escapism, incredible guitar solos, interesting concepts and hints of party metal combined with thrash metal.
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