Review: Alestorm – No Grave But The Sea

The mighty pirate metallers from Alestorm hail again from Scotland with their newest release, called No Grave But The Sea, which was released on 26th of May. Let’s give it a spin!

As expected, the lyrics evolve around pirates, booze and broads, so nothing new from that side – and also the hallmark sound is preserved throughout the entire album. We jump right in with the title track, a very folksy track that instantly grips you. Next up is one of the already released singles, namely Mexico – yes, the one with the cool 8-bit game music intro and the “lucky donkey with the great ass” starring in the video (check the Facebook comment for more info on the donkey ;)). Definitely an earworm that’ll be stuck with you for days to come! Folk tunes, but less towards a party hit, await you in To The End Of The World. Next up is the second single, Alestorm – a bit heavier, but a lot of fun to listen to as well. The guys can still write really silly songs as well though, like for instance Fucked With An Anchor, the album’s sixth track. Also noteworthy is the eighth track and my personal favorite, Man The Pumps. This one goes more in the direction of a ballad, even though being played at midtempo with folksy elements. Check it out, it’s worth it! The album closes off after ten tracks with Treasure Island, a classic Alestorm song.

In conclusion: Alestorm stay close to their trademark sound and spot-on on the known topics, but also introduce a new layer of folk that is not present, or at least not to that extend, on previous releases. So while there’s little innovation, Alestorm are entertaining as always and will put you in a good mood, sometimes with silliness like e.g. Fucked With An Anchor, or the versions “for dogs” on the deluxe edition (check Spotify for that! ;)) – check it out for yourself! 9/10.

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Julia Obenauer