Alestorm – Black Sails At Midnight (2009)

The Scottish pirates are back with the latest full length “Black Sails At Midnight”. This album features some songs already released in the last EP “Leviathan”. Alestorm goes back to their traditional formula of heavy metal infused with pirate themes. I got the chance of catching this band live during the Pagan Fest tour along Tyr and Suidakra, and they are a very entertaining band to see perform live.

“Black Sails At Midnight” features 10 tracks of the best (and only!) pirate metal out there. While the initial innovation of their first album is wearing down, this release features good music that you will enjoy regardless of the theme of the band. The 10 songs featured in this album will have everybody chugging beers and wishing to be a metal pirate for the duration of the whole album.

The music is very well composed and fits the overall concept of the band to perfection. The guitar work is very good and many heavy / power metal bands can be envious of Alestorm’s guitarist. The drumming sometimes get’s drowned in the background but paying attention to it, you can notice the solid drum tracks behind all songs.

The two of the features that set apart Alestorm from other bands are: Christopher’s pirate vocals and his keyboard parts. His vocals take the band’s concept to reality by providing authentic pirate sounding vocals, and his keyboard sections within the songs provide the right ambiance for the band. He is 50% of the band if you actually think about this.

Alestorm will provide entertainment for heavy / power / folk metal fans to no end, with their catchy beer chugging songs. I myself find playing this band’s music while drinking some beer. This release will also please anybody looking for good music with an interesting twist. Overall I have to say that Alestom has released another great album that will surely please their fans and will gain them plenty more.

Release: June 2, 2009

Country: Scotland