Album Review: ALESTORM - Curse Of The Crystal Coconut

01. Treasure Chest Party Quest
02. Fannybaws
03. Chomp Chomp” (Featuring Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns)
04. Tortuga” (Geaturing Captain Yarrface)
05. Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship” (Featuring Patty Gurdy)
06. Call of the Waves
07. Pirate’s Scorn
08. Shit Boat (No Fans)
09. Pirate Metal Drinking Crew
10. Wooden Leg Pt. 2 (The Woodening) (Featuring Daiki Tatsuguchi, Kaelhakase and Fernando Rey)
11. Henry Martin

Pirate Metallers Alestorm are a lot of fun. They also know how to pen a catchy tune or two. I really enjoyed their last album, No Grave But The Sea (read my review here), so I've been looking forward to Curse of the Crystal Coconut.

The first single, Tortuga, with its Pop and Hip-Hop influences, is very different from their previous outings, but it's catchy as Hell and catchier than Coronavirus. However, it's business as usual on a number of other tracks such as the anthemic Pirate Metal Drinking Crew and the short, sweet, and thoroughly bonkers Shit Boat (No Fans).

Other songs that stood out for me are opener Treasure Chest Party Quest, Fannybaws, and the epic Wooden Leg Part 2, the latter having some nice elements of Thrash and Black Metal thrown in the mix.

If you're new to them, yes, Alestorm are gimmicky as fuck and very silly indeed. They also have songs that instantly get in your brain and are easy to sing along to when you're drunk. That's why they're so popular. It also makes them a perfect band for festivals. Who wouldn't want to be at an outdoor festival in the middle of a sunny afternoon, pissed out of their face, and inform their best mate that their pirate ship is a bag of dicks, while jumping around like a lunatic? It's how one should roll.

Alestorm should technically be one of those disposable bands that quickly lose their appeal and disappear soon after they landed. However, they keep getting better and are easily as enjoyable now as they've ever been. The daft Pirate Metal kings have steered their boat through many waters, and ten years later are still doing this nonsense and doing it better than anyone else.