First off, let me say this right up front: I don't care if you say the music is all a gimmick. Perhaps it is, but if it was easy, more people would do it. To call it a gimmick is not appropriate, to me, because it diminishes the value of the actual quality of their music; it's awesome, plain and simple. No, the lyrics aren't going to be mistaken for poetry, and there are musicians that can shred better, but don't for one second suggest that these guys aren't talented. The tales Christopher Bowes delivers are fun, and not at all poorly written. In fact, I would say that some of the lyrics are actually pretty clever and make for some good pirate lore. The musicians are all very competent, you have some good guitar solos, and perhaps more importantly, some great keytar solos. Above all else, though, the band is flat out entertaining. Whether it be a concert, the lyrics, a video, or Christopher's various posts, pictures, music side projects (do yourself a favor and look up "Christopher Bowes at the Organ", you'll either think it's ridiculously funny or that I am out of my mind, and in either case, you'd be right), the band never ceases to bring anywhere from amusement to utter hilarity. Quite frankly, I'd say the majority of people who criticize Alestorm are just upset that they can't be highly successful making music that is one of the farthest things from serious possible (make no mistake about it, while the band themselves are a bunch of jokesters and don't take life too seriously, they are very good and dedicated with what they do).
As an extension of the above, I could honestly say that if Alestorm simply continued to replicate their same formula and never tried to do anything remotely different with their music, I would be totally fine with that and love them all the same. While I can appreciate musicians evolving over time, I also think it's absolutely fine to take an approach of "if it's not broken, don't fix it". They have not done that, however, as is evident with their latest album. While they are still the same at their core, Alestorm introduces some guest musicians to the studio for laying down other folk instruments such as violin and flute. From what I have heard of the album, so far too, there is some more variety in the vocals as well. What people are slow to recognize, too, is that innovation with bands is not restricted to just how the music sounds. Alestorm still find new ways to entertain. It's not always the same songs, the same schtick, the same old commentary at concerts. There's always some fun cover or new item being worked on, such as a cover of "In the Navy" by the Village People, or playing a metal cover of the Rugrats theme upon returning for their encore, something that fans will instantly find entertaining and be able to identify with.
This is a good segue into their rendition of Hangover:
When I heard this song for the first time, I couldn't help but spam various people trumpeting the song as my favorite cover ever. From my vantage point, this is a perfect cover. They take a song that the majority of their fans either would not have even heard of or would ordinarily hate, and they make it their own. Now, there has been a fair bit of criticism in the Youtube comments of the video, which, of course, is frequented by a very diverse and well versed group of experts when it comes to music (dripping with sarcasm, in case that didn't come across). To me, this is absurd, and it makes me fear for the upcoming generation of metalheads, as any time I come across a "not brutal enough" comment for music in general, it makes me roll my eyes so hard my vision is blurry for a good 30 minutes. Pertaining to this song, Alestorm shows off some versatility and makes a really catchy, somewhat commercially viable yet still true to metal roots version of a song that loosely fits in the same vein as their general subject matter. My opinion is if you like metal and don't like this song, you're basically trying too hard to be pretentious and not have fun.
Alestorm has been, and remains one of my favorite metal bands. They're one of the first metal bands I really got into; as I mentioned a while back, I am relatively new as it comes to be a metal fan. To me, they are such a great, refreshing mix of characteristics for a band to have in terms of balancing their music, performance, and overall attitude. They're also a good band to get non-metal fans to listen to because, well, who doesn't like pirates? The sad reality is that people are more open minded to something if there is some other socially acceptable or fun reason to entertain something non-mainstream.
July 31st: "Goth things? Nope, too weird for me."
October 31st: "I love this!!!"
Metal: "This is horrible."
Pirate metal: "Pirates!? This is awesome!"
So now, I propose you all raise your tankards to the sky and toast to Alestorm. Long live the heavy metal pirates!
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