Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea: Quick Album Review

Well who saw this one coming?

No, seriously, who saw this one coming? I literally did not know this album existed until 2 days before I said to myself “oh hey, I’ve got nothing to review, I should probably fix that.” That usually means one of two things: I’ve stumbled upon an unexpected surprise of a release, or a giant piece of shit. Aww, it’s Alestorm, how bad could it possibly be?

Alestorm is about one thing and one thing only: fun. The pirate themed power metal band from scotland has always had one goal in mind, and that’s to get you chanting along with them by the first chorus, and keep you entertained for the length of an LP. And to that extent, their discography has been pretty consistent at that. Everything from Captain Morgan’s Revenge to Back Through Time was incredibly engaging, but their recent Sunset On The Golden Age was fairly lacking. All I was really hoping for on this LP was some fun, party/power metal to kill an afternoon. Like I said, Alestorm is about fun and that feeling of adventure you get from watching the only good Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. Curse of The Black Pearl, obviously.

For the most part that’s what No Grave But The Sea accomplishes. The first two tracks are exactly what I expected them to be: short power metal tracks with strong melodies and hooks (no pun intended) that succeed in filling you with that feeling of power in glory that good power metal (and good pirate metal) is good at doing. And when the band sticks to this formula, it works well, but when the band tries a little harder to go in a more narrative and conceptual direction with their songs, the result tends to be boring, mostly because these songs stick to played out riffing against overly long and complex mythology building rather than catchy thrills. I mean, Back Through Time had this nailed: “Pirates are going back in time to fight Vikings… GO!”

So when the band sticks to what their best at, it’s a fun album, but it wouldn’t be an Alestorm if it wasn’t a bit on the weird side, and boy does it get a bit weird. Specifically I’m referring to the anthem track “Alestorm” which features a celtic metalcore (is that even possible?) riff and a pretty catchy chorus. The band certainly doesn’t go full on progressive or avant-garde at any point, but it’s clear that Alestorm is willing to experiment to keep their material a bit fresh.

Calling this “another Alestorm album” sounds dismissive and rude, but what else could I really say about it. Alestorm have already nailed their own formula and already driven their own formula into the ground, but for those willing to stick around, No Grave But The Sea is a fun album… it’s just not particularly deep or interesting. It’s a solid album to be picked up and enjoyed by fans and newcomers, then almost immediately put down with a chorus or two sticking with you for a couple days before something more interesting comes along. 

6.5/10