After signing to Napalm Records in 2007, their debut album Captain Morgan's Revenge, was released on 25 January 2008. Black Sails at Midnight, the band's second album, was released on 27 May 2009. The band's third album, Back Through Time, was released on 3 June 2011. The fourth album from the band, Sunset on the Golden Age, was released in August 2014. Their fifth album No Grave But the Sea was released on 26 May 2017. Their sixth and latest album, Curse of the Crystal Coconut, was released on 29 May 2020.
The band was founded in 2004 as Battleheart, a studio project by Christopher Bowes and Gavin Harper. Originally intended as a standard power metal band, the success of song "Heavy Metal Pirates" convinced the band to permanently adopt a pirate theme and incorporate folk metal elements into their music. Gavin and Christopher recorded & released two independent demos in 2006, which were received well by the local metal community. The band began to perform live in 2006, with a lineup consisting of Bowes (vocals and keytar), Harper (guitars), Dani Evans (bass) and Doug Swierczek (drums). Doug Swierczek eventually left the band later that year and was replaced by Ian Wilson. After a period of inactivity, in late 2007 Battleheart sent their demos to Napalm Records, and the band was promptly offered a record deal.
After being signed by Napalm Records, the band changed their name from Battleheart to Alestorm. Their debut album, Captain Morgan's Revenge, was released in early 2008.
By September 2008, original guitarist Gavin Harper had left the band. Tim Shaw was Harper's replacement, but after a brief period of touring, was fired from the band. To fill the guitarist position, Dani Evans switched instruments from bass to guitar, and Gareth Murdock of Waylander joined as the replacement bassist. The band's 2nd album Black Sails at Midnight was released in May 2009. In March 2010, Ian Wilson left the band and was replaced with a new drummer named Peter Alcorn. Alestorm's third album, Back Through Time, was Alcorn's first appearance on an Alestorm album. In October 2011, Elliot Vernon joined the band as keyboard player and performing screamed / death metal vocals.
The band released their fourth record entitled "Sunset on the Golden Age" on 1 August 2014, reaching the #1 position in the UK Rock Chart.
In October 2016, Christopher Bowes announced during a concert on the Super Smashed Turbo Tour that the band planned to begin recording a fifth studio album in January 2017. The fifth record, entitled "No Grave But the Sea", was released on 26 May 2017.
On 8 January 2020, the band announced the title of their sixth studio album, "Curse of the Crystal Coconut". This was released on May 29th, 2020. Prior to its release, Alestorm released the singles "Treasure Chest Party Quest", "Tortuga" (feat. Captain Yarrface of Rumahoy) and "Fannybaws".
Alestorm is generally classified as pirate metal, folk metal, power metal, heavy metal, and hard rock. The band refer to themselves as "True Scottish Pirate Metal" and are identifiable by the pirate-themed lyrics in their songs. Alestorm's music utilizes the upbeat epic style of power metal with many orchestrations commonly found in folk metal. Album recordings feature heavy use of real trumpets and trombones, whilst implementing accordion synths, fiddle and tin whistle to convey a pirate sea shanty feel. Alestorm uses factors of absurdity to bring a jocular feel to their music, incorporating irreverent lyrical themes while retaining a tenuous connection to pirates.
They have also been known to experiment with different metal genres, going from songs that are predominantly thrash metal ("Black Sails at Midnight") to a switch to a black metal sonority mid-song ("Death Throes of the Terrorsquid"). The band's later albums have begun to incorporate more screamed vocals by keyboard player Elliot Vernon, adding hints of metalcore ("Magnetic North") and death metal ("1741 – The Battle of Cartagena") to the band's sound.
Official bio:
Avast, ye landlubbers! From the deepest darkest depths of the Caribbean comes Alestorm, a drunken band of pirates on an epic quest to drink your beer, steal your rum, and be the greatest damn band that ever did sail the seven seas!
From humble beginnings playing shows to farm animals in a field somewhere in Eastern Scotland, Alestorm have evolved into an international party machine hellbent on conquering album charts and festival stages throughout the world, with their infectious brand of 'Pirate Metal' and their dashing good looks.
Somehow they've managed to convince hundreds of thousands of people from New Zealand to Argentina to Lithuania and everywhere in between (except Paraguay), that it's cool to wear a pirate hat and sing stupid songs about getting drunk and stealing ships. So prepare your spleens, because Alestorm are coming to kick ass and chew gum. And they're all out of ass.
Also, they have a giant inflatable duck. Does your band have a giant inflatable duck? No. I didn't think so.
Mead from Hell
Alestorm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a man named Fred who will shoot you dead
If you try to steal from his apiary sealed
With magic spells at the gate to hell
He'll kill you in your sleep
If you so much as take a single peek
Set sail across the waves
Where we will stop no man can say
So into the deep blue yonder go
Set sail across the waves
Where we will stop no man can say
We'll end our quest by following the smell
That leads us to the Mead from Hell
He brews his mead with psychotropic weeds
That'll get you high, assuming you don't die
And you probably find that it makes you go blind
From the alcoholic proof (it's through the roof)
We seek the mead from hell
The endless search for the infernal hydromel
Set sail across the waves
Where we will stop no man can say
The alcohol stores are running low
So into the deep blue yonder go
Set sail across the waves
Where we will stop no man can say
We'll end our quest by following the smell
That leads us to the Mead from Hell
We've found the mead from hell
The infernal hydromel
The booze is in our grasp
Now it's time to kick your ass
Set sail! Set sail! Set sail!
Set sail for the Mead from Hell
The lyrics of Alestorm's song Mead from Hell tell a story of a group of sailors on a quest for the fabled Mead from Hell. The song begins by describing the dangers beneath the sea, including a colony of bees and a man named Fred who will kill anyone who tries to steal from his apiary. The Mead from Hell is said to be sealed with magic spells at the gate to hell, adding to the mystery and intrigue of the quest.
As the sailors set sail across the waves, they realize that their alcohol stores are running low, and they must venture into the deep blue yonder to find the Mead from Hell. The lyrics suggest that the mead is brewed with psychotropic weeds, which will get you high, but may also make you go blind. However, the sailors are undeterred in their quest, and continue to search for the infernal hydromel.
Eventually, the sailors do find the Mead from Hell, and the lyrics suggest that it is so potent that it's time to "kick your ass". Overall, the lyrics of Mead from Hell are a playful and tongue-in-cheek tale of adventure and excessive partying, with a nod to mythical and supernatural themes.
Line by Line Meaning
Under the sea, there's a colony of bees
Deep inside the ocean lies a group of buzzing bees
And a man named Fred who will shoot you dead
A person named Fred who has no fear to kill anyone trespassing his territory
If you try to steal from his apiary sealed
If you attempt to loot from his closed bee farm
With magic spells at the gate to hell
There are supernatural enchantments at the entrance to the deadly place
He'll kill you in your sleep
He will not hesitate to murder you in your dreams
If you so much as take a single peek
Even taking a little glance could cost you your life
Set sail across the waves
Start your journey through the waters
Where we will stop no man can say
The destiny of the voyage is still unknown and unpredictable
The alcohol stores are running low
The drinks aboard the ship are finishing soon
So into the deep blue yonder go
Hence, we have to venture into the unknown waters to find more alcohol
He brews his mead with psychotropic weeds
The person creators his drink using hallucinogenic plants
That'll get you high, assuming you don't die
The brew will give you a high feel, but there are chances of death too
And you probably find that it makes you go blind
Consuming the drink will most likely result in blindness
From the alcoholic proof (it's through the roof)
The percentage of alcohol in the drink is extremely high
We seek the mead from hell
We are in pursuit of the infamous drink from the hellish location
The endless search for the infernal hydromel
Our journey to track down the cursed mead has been continuous
We've found the mead from hell, The infernal hydromel
Finally, we have located the cursed drink
The booze is in our grasp, Now it's time to kick your ass
Now that we have the alcohol in our possession, we're going to party hard
Set sail! Set sail! Set sail! Set sail for the Mead from Hell
Let's sail back, the alcohol hunt has reached its successful conclusion
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRISTOPHER BOWES, LASSE LAMMERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind