Alestorm: Leviathan Review
Four Drunk Scots Versus A Giant Fire-Breathing Sea-Monster!
Jan 15, 2009 Tim Bolitho-Jones
It's been almost exactly a year since Alestorm set sail with their debut full length album Captain Morgan's Revenge and the band are currently working on the follow-up, Black Sails At Midnight. Bridging the gap until then is Leviathan; a four track EP that continues the same rambunctious, beer-swilling mayhem that they have made their trademark.
Leviathan Rises
Running at just under a scant eighteen minutes, Leviathan is by no means an essential purchase and the full-length is definitely the first port of call, but for those who lapped it up and were left wanting more, this is definitely worth a listen. The wheel has not been reinvented and the four songs follow more or less the same template as before; fast paced metal led by furious keyboard playing, packed with ancient tales of pirate's woe and sailor's tragedy.
The difficulty in assessing Leviathan though is that it's hard to judge under a truly critical light. Two of the songs are reworkings of originals and one is a cover, with only the title-track being a genuinely new one and completists may feel a bit cheated. That being said, it's also obvious that the band had tremendous fun recording it and given how difficult it is to find pressings of the outrageously daft single Heavy Metal Pirates, it's good to finally be able to pop it in the CD player and do a shanty round the living room.
Heavy Metal Pirates Meet The Wolves Of The Sea
Indeed, "if it ain't broke, sing it in German" seems to be the motto at work on Weiber Und Wein, a re-recording of Wenches & Mead with the lyrics translated for the Wacken crowd. Wolves Of The Sea meanwhile is their version of the 2008 Eurovision entry by Latvian hopefuls Pirates Of The Sea (they came twelfth). The synth-pop sensibilities have been smothered under layers of heavy metal, but the smell of cheese remains; if it wasn't such ridiculous fun to listen to, it would be a truly awful song.
Finally there is Leviathan, an ever-so-slightly-more-serious number that is more concerned with dark corners of the ocean where serpents lurk and men are dragged to their deaths in the abyss. At six minutes it is the longest song by far and the undoubted highlight of the whole package.
Set Sail And Conquer!
All in all, a solid but unremarkable offering that could easily have been sold as a bonus disc for Captain Morgan's Revenge. In its defence though, the hull of the vessel is laden with enough infectious melodies, guitar trickery and lung-smashing choruses to make it the most deliriously enjoyable cash-in of the year. Start counting the days until album number two now.
He's Back!
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