Terror on the High Seas

Pirates are about as metal as Vikings, though they just don’t get the same amount of respect. Throughout metal’s history, Vikings have always been seen as sort of its unofficial mascot, with all their axes, beards, and warlike behavior. But seriously, pirates were just the same way, except instead of axes they had cutlasses. They sailed around, got extremely drunk just about every night, took whatever their hearts desired, and attacked anything they wanted to.

Few bands have ever really embraced pirate themes (or actually did it well, for that matter). Running Wild, legends amongst the metal community for their lyrical topics dipped in piracy, set the bar and few have even come close to it. Bands like Swashbuckle tried, but failed due to lack of structure in their songs. However, one band has recently been making some waves in the metal community. Hailing from Scotland, Alestorm combines traditional heavy metal with folk influences to make for one hell of a fun time on their EP, “Terror on the High Seas”.

Kicking off with what is assumed to be a tribute to everyone’s favorite kind of rum, “The Curse of Captain Morgan” sets the stage as an epic intro, told by keyboards and an orchestra (though most likely programmed…this is self-produced after all). As it quickly builds up tension with choir-like singing and implanted images (injected by the melodies) of a ship shooting over the ocean, “Set Sail and Conquer” comes bursting in with full force. “Set Sail…” is a mix of power and speed metal, which makes it somewhat reminiscent of something Running Wild would put forth. The main differences, however, lie in the strong use of keyboards and the gruff vocals, both done by Christopher Bowes. His voice certainly won’t win awards for the most range, but he really does sound like a grumbling, drunk pirate. His keyboard melodies, which are often followed by Gavin Harper’s crunchy guitar riffs, are dipped lightly in folk, almost with a Scottish tint to them (they are from Scotland after all). Near the middle of the track, Bowes and Gavin actually begin to dual solo, and they both proceed to rip the song apart graciously.

“Terror on the High Seas” is a bit of a different story than “Set Sail…”, as it’s got a bit more of a thrash influence, which is evident in the grinding riffs and complete shredding solo that kicks off the song. It’s not long, however, before Bowes breaks the chaos with soothing keyboard melodies and cries of “ A ship approaches off the starboard bow, The time has come to fight, the time to strike is now.” “Terror on the…” is a perfect contrast to the more atmospheric “Set Sail…”, and is equally as impressive. Gavin’s presence is much more felt here, since the guitar is more of the driving force than the keyboards. However, both of these tracks don’t even come close to “Wenches and Mead”, which is bound to go down as one of the best metal drinking songs ever. Bowes and his keyboards are thrown to the front in this track, with bouncing melodies and gruff shouts. What’s so great about this track is it’s lyrics, which are simply these:

“When I come back from a mighty quest.
I have no need for sleep or rest,
I head to a tavern for a drink,
And get so drunk I cannot think.
A wench by my side and a jug of mead,
These are the things that I most need.
So I sit back and sing this song,
And drink and party all night long.

HEI! HEI!
I want more wenches.
HEI! HEI!
More wenches and mead.
HEI! HEI!
I want more wenches.
Lots of wenches is what I need!”

To say that this song is fun is a pure understatement; it’s brilliantly crafted to bring out the inner drunken pirate in all of us, and it’s perfect to chant along with (try and not scream along with Bowes during the chorus, because it’s damn near impossible not to.)

“Terror on the High Seas (EP)” is just plain, good old fun. All three tracks (four including the intro) are so addicting and catchy that they’ll be stuck in the minds of listeners for weeks to come. The only downside to this EP is that the drums are programmed, but you can hardly tell so it doesn’t take away from the music at all. The band (Alestorm) recently signed with Napalm Records, and is expected to release a full-length come next February. If they keep this jolly attitude up, there’s no telling just how big these guys will become.

Overall – 85

With the release of this EP, Battleheart has almost effectivly dominated all other poser 'pirate' metal bands with the exception of one or two. Terror On The High Seas is just the second EP released by the band and I must say, with everything they have going (not being signed at the moment I think) they have created a very professional sound. When I first heard this I could not believe these guys aren't metal veterans with at least 5 full length albums under their belt.

The entire atmosphere created on this tiny 4 song EP is simply awesome, it purely defines what I can imagine in my head a bunch of pirates on their ship or at a dock relaxing and making drinking songs with the crew and locals! It's a very unique experience that gets me in the mood to put a fucking patch over my eye and scream obscure words randomly at old women or little children.

The actual music itself is a mix on true ballsy heavy metal and some typical power metal influences. Everything from the orchestrations on the opening song to the speedy guitar riffs in Set Sail and Conquer to the insanely catchy keyboards in the title track is pure heavy metal played with true conviction and dedication to what they believe in which makes the overall chemistry and flow of the album fucking great! Their are even some kickass solos spread out in the songs which combined with the awesome catchy choruses of each song minus the opener (instrumental) make this worthy to be called fucking pirate metal! Once you learn the lyrics (which won't take long you'll be listening to it so much) you'll be chanting alongside because I found it nearly impossible to NOT sing along.

Cheers to Battleheart, now Ale Storm, I very much anticipate your next EP/full length! Any fan of pirate themed metal, keyboards, singing along, power metal, and just plain ballsy METAL will enjoy this album. Strongly recommended!

Battleheart strike again with their second release this year, Terror On The High Seas, which like it’s predecessor, was recorded in the guitarists very own home.

As with their previous EP this one starts out with am instrumental. I always enjoyed The Glorious Battle from the band’s self titled debut, but this one totally blows it away! It’s very orchestral sounds incredibly professional, projecting images of a large wooden pirate ship battling it’s way throughout treacherous seas and storms.

Set Sail And Conquer kicks in straight after with an upbeat tempo and catchy keyboard melody. On the first EP, the vocals where always the hardest part to like (Although I managed it) sounding very forced and amateurish…I was told by guitarist Gavin Harper they had been rushed due to the fact that they were having problems with the computer they were recording on, or something like that…Anyway, this time they are much better, sounding much more piratey before but they are still not for everyone. Imagine the Sea Captain from the Simpsons fronting a metal band. Unlike the first EP, they sound like they are supposed to sound like this.

The title track is one I had been looking forward to hear the recorded version of having seen it being performed with flying colours at the band’s first ever gig in Dundee. I had memories of a very fast pure headbangable piece of raw sea soaked steel and I had worries of whether of not it would work when it was recorded. Thankfully, it does. Terror On The High Seas is a speedy track that’ll have you head banging all day. It is jam packed with very catchy keyboard riffs and a nice guitar solo where Gavin Harper really shows his shredding abilities

Wenches and Mead is my personal favourite song of the EP. A properly drinking metal song with great accordion melodies and fantastically fun lyrics about, well, wenches and mead! You’ll find yourself thrusting your pint into the air and singing along to the chorus within seconds (“Heh! Heh! I want more wenches, Heh! Heh! More wenches and mead…) it doesn’t have quite the effect of Nancy The Tavern Wench, but it’s a damn good song!

As with their previous release, this is an immensely enjoyable EP that requires you have a beer or two to enjoy the whole experience.

YARR!!!

Here we have the second EP from Scotland's pirate metal stalwarts, Battleheart, and once again it is an incredibly enjoyable chunk of old school Heavy Fucking Metal with a slight folk twist, improving and progressing nicely from their previous work. To be honest, even though Battleheart are a very new band, they already fucking slay most of the army of 'true metal' collectives around today; this is full of fire, power, passion, and pirates. Who the fuck doesn't like pirates? Posers, that's who. Even better, this is once again a free download, so you really have no excuse not to pick up both of Battleheart's EP's.

Once we get past the (good, actually) orchestral introduction - hey, any piece referencing Captain Morgan is fine with me - we find that this time round the guys have really tightened up the songwriting; whilst this new effort does not have the raw catchiness of their self-titled debut, it has a lot more depth and staying power. The musicianship is truly top notch; seizure-inducingly cool solos and chest-thumping riffage duel with fanfaring keyboards, growling vocals that are much improved from the previous release (Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger is the main reference I can draw in this department, if only he sounded more like a thick-bearded, rum-swilling pirate captain) and rock steady drums. The production this time round is thicker and more powerful, with a much greater (as in actually there this time) bass presence and a better mix. Songwriting is more involved too, utilising more complex sets of chord and key progressions; and, with the fucking awesome 'Wenches and Mead', Battleheart even mix up the tempos occasionally rather than just relentlessly barrelling along as is the norm. The songs are also in general faster and thrashier than they were perviously - certainly not a bad thing - and to top it all off, you literally cannot go wrong with lyrics such as these:

"When I get back from a mighty quest
I have no need for sleep or rest;
I head to a tavern for a drink,
And get so drunk I cannot think!
A wench by my side and a jar of mead
These are the things that I most need;
So I sit back and sing this song
And drink and party all night long."

You know what that is? Pure quality.