Alestorm
Following in the wake of buccaneering German pirate metallers Running Wild, Scotland's Alestorm emerged in 2007 with a boozy blend of power metal and hard rock that looked to the high seas for inspiration. Their humor and swashbuckling melodies, which often evoke sea shanties and traditional English, Irish, and Scottish folk songs, first found favor with European audiences, with 2009's Black Sails at Midnight making a strong showing in Germany. The band achieved international success with the release of their fourth long-player, 2014's Sunset on the Golden Age, which debuted at number seven on the U.S. Heatseekers charts, and have continued to proudly fly the Jolly Roger on subsequent efforts like No Grave But the Sea (2017), Curse of the Crystal Coconut (2020), and Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum (2022).
Originally known as Battleheart, Alestorm formed in their original (pre-nautical) phase in 2004. As Battleheart, the group was initially a duo formed by Gavin Harper (guitar) and Christopher Bowes (vocals and keyboards), and recorded its first EP (a self-titled affair) in 2006. Over the course of the next year, feeling the need to bring their sound to the people of Scotland, Battleheart expanded to a four-piece with the addition of bassist Dani Evans and drummer Doug Swierczek. The new crew recorded another EP soon after, entitled Terror on the High Seas, and the buzz helped land a song from the release on Metal Hammer magazine's Battle Metal V compilation. Later that year, in 2007, the bandmembers -- after signing with Napalm Records -- decided to change their name to further the cause of their swashbuckling brand of metal, settling on Alestorm. Eventually, the lineup coalesced a bit more, with Ian Wilson bringing stability to the drummer position, and Alestorm released their debut album, Captain Morgan's Revenge, in early 2008. The band toured the United States later that year with fellow folk-metal giants Týr and Heidevolk before releasing its second full-length, Black Sails at Midnight, in spring 2009. They further cemented their reputation for grog-hoisting pirate-themed metal over the next five years by releasing two albums, 2011's Back Through Time and 2014's Sunset on the Golden Age, the latter of which found success both at home and abroad. A year later, their fourth album guitarist, Dani Evans, left the group; he was eventually replaced by Máté Bodor (Wisdom), who made his first recorded appearance on their fifth studio album, 2017's well-received No Grave But the Sea. The band decamped to Thailand with longtime producer Lasse Lammert for their sixth full-length effort, 2020's Curse of the Crystal Coconut, which trafficked in the usual blend of seaworthy metal, folk, and hard rock, while even dabbling in some pirate rap-metal. Riffing on the title of Iron Maiden's 1988 LP Seventh Son of Seventh Son, 2022's Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum saw the band play to their strengths with another boozy, bawdy, and raucous effort.
© Chris True /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum (Deluxe Version)
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Jun 24, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voyage of the Dead Marauder
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Feb 14, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Curse of the Crystal Coconut (Deluxe Version)
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 29, 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
No Grave but the Sea
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 26, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voyage of the Dead Marauder
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Mar 22, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Black Sails At Midnight
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Jun 2, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sunset on the Golden Age
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Aug 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Wellerman
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 28, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sunset on the Golden Age
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Aug 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
No Grave but the Sea (Deluxe Edition)
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 26, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Captain Morgan`s Revenge - 10th Anniversary Edition
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Jan 29, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Live at the End of the World
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Nov 18, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Back Through Time
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Mar 6, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Captain Morgan's Revenge
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Jan 25, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Tilburg (Live in Tilburg)
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 28, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Skálstorm
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Sep 30, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In the Navy
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Oct 15, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Are a Pirate
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on Jun 3, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Ship Little Ship / Bassline Junkie
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 29, 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chicken on a Raft
Metal - Released by Napalm Records Handels GmbH on May 27, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo