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.
Sunset on the Golden Age
Alestorm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A shell of frozen time
Where beats the silent ocean
Of shadows turned sublime
Forces of inspiring luminescence
Guide the hidden way
I know that it will take me to
Another golden age
Betwixt carbonic plateaus where rarity convenes
Under the heat of a thousand suns destruction is attained
When flows the red and ochre histories ingrained
Legends pass and time ticks on, entropy prevails
Into the endless darkness every ship must sail
Ouroboros uncoiled, the circle ends tonight
One thousand years of history banished from all sight
The sun will set forever
Never to rise again
And in the coming darkness
We'll fight to the bitter end
Our legend passed from memory
It's time to turn the page
The sun has set upon the golden age
The final chapter, the end is close at hand
Across the boundary where ocean meets the sand
Embrace the anatine, forsake all that you know
The tenebrous cosmic sphere where all of us must go
Inside of aeons from chaotic spires
A shell of frozen time
Where beats the silent ocean
Of shadows turned sublime
Forces of inspiring luminescence
Guide the hidden way
I know that it will take me to
Another golden age
The sun will set forever
Never to rise again
And in the coming darkness
We'll fight to the bitter end
Our legend passed from memory
It's time to turn the page
The sun has set, now night is falling
Never again to hear the calling
The sun has set upon the golden age
Sunset on the Golden Age by Alestorm is a song with deeply symbolic lyrics about the end of an age and the inevitability of change. The first stanza describes a frozen, silent ocean where inspiring forces guide the way towards new beginnings. The second stanza introduces the concept of entropy and the passing of time, ending with the sun setting forever and the need to fight until the end. The final stanza paints a vivid picture of a cosmic sphere where we must embrace the unknown and leave behind what we know.
The lyrics hint at the cyclical nature of life and how every golden age must come to an end, making way for something new. The use of symbolism, such as the silent ocean and inspiring luminescence, adds depth to the meaning behind the song. It's a call to embrace change, even when faced with the unknown, and to keep fighting until the very end.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside of aeons from chaotic spires
Amidst the chaos of time, in a place where order is frozen
A shell of frozen time
A solidified moment, disconnected from the flow of time
Where beats the silent ocean
In the vast emptiness, where existence is soundless and endless
Of shadows turned sublime
Those fleeting, half-formed things that lurk in the darkness have become something beautiful and surreal
Forces of inspiring luminescence
The power of light that moves and leads the way forward
Guide the hidden way
Help us find a path that is hidden from sight
I know that it will take me to
I am sure that this will lead me to
Another golden age
A new era of prosperity and joy
Sundered from daylight, by the rage of the unseen
Cut off from the world of light, by the anger of something that cannot be seen
Betwixt carbonic plateaus where rarity convenes
In a place of great scarcity, surrounded by desolation
Under the heat of a thousand suns destruction is attained
Amidst the raging conflagration brought on by hundreds of suns, destruction is achieved
When flows the red and ochre histories ingrained
When the ancient stories that are part of our very being flow like blood and rust
Legends pass and time ticks on, entropy prevails
Myths and stories fade away as time marches on and everything succumbs to chaos
Into the endless darkness every ship must sail
We are all destined to travel into the boundless unknown
Ouroboros uncoiled, the circle ends tonight
The snake that eats its own tail has finally let go, and the cycle is complete
One thousand years of history banished from all sight
A millennium of memories and events erased from existence
The sun will set forever
The end of light and warmth, forevermore
Never to rise again
It will never return to us
And in the coming darkness
As we face an unknown and scary future
We'll fight to the bitter end
We will struggle and resist with all our might
Our legend passed from memory
Our stories will be forgotten and lost
It's time to turn the page
We must move on and leave behind what has been lost
The sun has set upon the golden age
The time of greatness and prosperity is over
The final chapter, the end is close at hand
The story is ending, and we are approaching the conclusion
Across the boundary where ocean meets the sand
At the place where two different worlds meet, where everything is in flux
Embrace the anatine, forsake all that you know
Accept the unknown and leave behind your old life and ways of thinking
The tenebrous cosmic sphere where all of us must go
The dark, unknown universe that is the ultimate destination of all things
Now night is falling
Darkness is spreading and enveloping everything
Never again to hear the calling
No more will we feel the pull of greatness and destiny
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER BOWES, LASSE LAMMERT, PETER ALCORN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind