NEWS: Alestorm and Pallbearer amongst latest added to Bloodstock

OH DEAR! Deary, deary me. Alestorm are se to play Bloodstock. A bunch of rum-laden pirate metal nutters playing to a crowd of boozed up metal nutters. What can go wrong? Fuck it, we do hope it goes wrong in the best possible way! (Read the review of their Belfast show here)

Yes, Bloodstock has announced four more bands for August’s best heavy metal weekender!  Tickets are moving fast for 2018 and we expect another advance sell-out, so don’t delay in picking up yours!  There's also only six days left to sign up to the deposit scheme...

We welcome pirate metal’s finest, Alestorm with a big ‘Oh Wow!’ as they join the bill on Saturday’s Ronnie James Dio main stage!

Frontman Chris Bowes said, “Oh wow! It's been 10 years since our debut album, ‘Captain Morgan's Revenge’ came out and somehow, it's also been 10 years since we last played Bloodstock Open Air!

"Let's have a very silly party time, Englandshire.  I promise we won't be shite."

Grab the 10th Anniversary edition of the debut, released just last month and raise your rum to the lyric video of the title track; https://youtu.be/GTyMhv7MCCs.

The much-lauded Pallbearer are set for a Sunday slot on the Sophie Lancaster stage, bringing their monumental, doom-laden, melodic heaviosity to Catton Park!

The Little Rock, Arkansas-based band have been praised by everyone from the New York Times to Loudwire, Decibel and SPIN, and rightly so!  The band’s third album, ‘Heartless’ made many journalists’ Top Albums of 2017 list.  Check out their video for ‘I Saw The End’, taken from that opus here - https://youtu.be/DNl_18Kr56g. 

Nottingham hard rockers Hahran pick up a Friday slot on the Sophie stage.  The band recently released a video for new track, ‘State Of Mind’ taken from their upcoming album, ‘VAPOURS’ - https://youtu.be/KW58TKJGyhw.  The opus is set for release this summer.  Stay tuned on their latest news at www.facebook.com/Fahranmusic.

British rock crew, Doomsday Outlaw land a spot on Sunday’s Sophie stage bill.  The five piece have just announced new album, ‘Hard Times’, which is set to arrive in May via Frontiers.  Check out lead track ‘Spirit That Made Me’ - https://youtu.be/eNMPo5DrsJM and if you like what you hear, you can pre-order the record at radi.al/HardTimes.

Final call for the 2018 Deposit Scheme!  There’s just 6 days left to sign up for BLOODSTOCK’s payment plan, which eases the shock of a ‘lump sum’ payment by breaking your ticket price into five more manageable amounts.

Sign up in the ticket store before the cut-off time of 11.59pm on Wednesday 28th Feb for an initial deposit of just £36.  Thereafter, four additional instalments of £29 will debit your bank account on 3rd April, 1st May, 1st June and 2nd July respectively and your 2018 ticket is secured!  Sign up over at https://bloodstock.seetickets. com. 

Standard weekend tickets are also available, priced at £145 for four days of metal fun, so grab yours now!  If you already know you can only attend for one day, sign up for a day ticket reminder email as day tickets do not go on sale until late June.  Register your day ticket interest here - https://www.seetickets.com/ register/bloodstock.

With Friday night headliners, JUDAS PRIEST, Saturday headliners, GOJIRA and Sunday’s bill toppers, NIGHTWISH already announced, as well as EMPEROR, AT THE GATES, DEVILDRIVER, WATAIN, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, WEDNESDAY 13, JASTA & FRIENDS, FOZZY, COMBICHRIST, BLOODBATH, VENOM INC., MR BIG, ORPHANED LAND, KAMELOT, DORO, ORDEN OGAN, SEPTICFLESH, AMARANTHE, EXHORDER, VOLA and MEMORIAM so far, 2018 is shaping up to be another stellar year for BLOODSTOCK.

BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 9th-12th August 2018.  Get additional information over at www.bloodstock.uk.com.

LIVE REVIEW: Party at Piratefest with Alestorm and compadres of chaos

GUYS wearing balaclavas, a bloke playing a flute and copious alcohol consumed in Belfast - no it's not some throwback to the Troubles. It's Alestorm back in town for another Piratefest at the Mandella Hall.

As always it's a show packed with much silliness, excellent playing and more innuendos and banter than should be allowed on any given Thursday; all combined with copious amounts of folk/pirate metal musicianship.

Kicking off the madness were Rumahoy - all wearing balaclavas and as cocksure as any band when they opened with the duo of 'Ahoy!' and 'Quest for Heritage'.

At times the between songs banter from the North Carolina four-piece was a little forced, but they definitely won in best song title stakes with 'Netflix and Yar'. The title track of their album 'The Triumph of Piracy' was the highlight of their brief set.

All the way from California to drink Buckfast came the Dread Crew of Oddwood...oh and they played some music too. One audience member gave a pretty good summation of them as "The Pogues do Pirate Metal".

They seemed to be genuinely having fun in a smooth set - and we don't think it was just the Bucky. And, with a song like 'Raise Your Pints' it was an appropriate choice.

At one point the audience was challenged if we'd ever moshed to a mandolin and accordion prior to that night - well the answer may be yes, but we let that slide as the wonderful 'Expedition on a Heavy Submarine' roared across the packed masses.

That being said the tracks that really caught the mood were 'Sulfur' and 'Heavy Mahogany'.

When the Alestorm stage set was unveiled of course there was a massive rubber duck dominating it...well it is Alestorm.

As the strains of 'Blazing Saddles' faded the band launched into a high tempo version of 'Keelhauled' and the first of the massed singalongs of the evening.

There was not a tune that had its chorus belted out by the audience. 'Magnetic North' and 'Mexico' already had throats hoarse...maybe that was why so many were swallowing copious amounts of beer.

Bowes as always was the ringmaster supreme - explanations and expletives, directing a wall of death, and grinning with piratical pride at the response from the audience. And quaffing drink throughout

To pick a stand out song would be unfair as the familiarity of 'Hangover', 'Drink', 'Captain Morgan's Revenge' and 'Nancy The Tavern Wench' are etched in fans DNA by now.

However, '1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)' and 'Bar und Imbiss' saw perfect renditions.

Were we 'Fucked With An Anchor' Damn straight we were!

Alestorm don't need pirate costumes to showcase their pirate metal credentials. Nor do they attempt to prove anything.

They get on stage, do their schtick with style and leave everyone grinning at the end of the night. Can't ask any more than that.

Review by Jonathan Traynor
Pictures by Wayne Donaldson

ALBUM REVIEW: Alestorm ask do you drink and have you been fucked by a hammer on No Grave But The Sea

ALESTORM have been seen as a joke for many a year by the po-faced intelligentsia who hold their noses at the term Pirate Metal - but on their new album 'No Grave But The Sea' the pirates deliver their answer - "Fuck You All" on the foul tongued track 'Fuck Your With An Anchor

This is the crew at their best irreverent best, songs about drinking, enjoying life on the high seas with nary a care for the landlubbers and scurvy dogs who have missed the fact that we are allowed to have fun.

'Of course, you're not going to get anything revolutionary here -  Alestorm are not about to release a prog-themes album with 20-minute songs or take a turn to death metal.
However, while the lyrical themes are familiar, there is a slight evolution from 'Sunset Of A Golden Age'. Some tracks, such as the self-titled 'Alestorm' opening with a tough riff and Bowes pushing his already gruff voice even further.

What makes Alestorm 'great' is not the ribaldry and drunkenness - that's a given -rather the music behind each track. They have taken the 'symphonic folk metal' trope and given it is swift kick up the arse.

Sure, on 'Fucked With An Anchor' it's straightforward crowd pleasing stuff, but on every other song here on 'No Grave But The Sea' there is an understanding of what they need to do in terms of composition and arrangement: evident on the likes of 'Bar In Imbiss' and 'Man The Pumps'.

In many ways this album is also a step forward from some of the elements of 'Sunset': of course we have tracks that audiences will learn to love live, such as the first single 'Mexico', but with the likes of ;Man The Pumps' the narrative has a subtle link to a shanty tune that could have been from the 17th Century.

This Alestorm at their best, playing comedy with a straight face, the melodrama meshing into daft tunes, but never stupid.

But to return to the questions raised over the pirate metal tag -perhaps 'No Grave But The Sea answers those issues - throughout the sense is that they are self-aware of te tags and sneering; on 'Treasure Island' the romp and the words are even more of a fuck you than 'Fuck You With  An Anchor' - it's returning any sneers with a curled lipped grin, a guitar solo and rampant keyboards.

Declare your allegiance with the good ship Alestorm, grab that bottle of rum and learn all the words from 'No Grave But The Sea' and pillage in the quest for wenches and beer.

Review by Jonathan Traynor

INTERVIEW: Chaotic interview? That'll be with Alestorm then at Hammerfest!

ALESTORM always put on a good show. When it comes to interviews things can be a little different - the word shambolic might come to mind.

We sat down with Gazz and Pete, who may have been pre-occupied with where to find Buckfast as Waylander wandered by...watch below.

GALLERY: Day Three of Hard Rock Hell United/Hammerfest 2017

TO capture visually all the fun and games attendant at Hard Rock Hell United and Hammerfest 2017 would be impossible. And, some of the images capture acts that are probably illegal in some countries and others that suggest questionable hygiene (boots and booze...).

Nevertheless Lizzie Torbitt battled into the photo pit, avoided stage-diving fiddle players, singers dashing through the pit and drummers walking across the crowd to bring you a selection of images.

The Bastard Sons

Collibus

Old Corpse Road

Lagerstein

Evil Scarecrow

Alestorm

Hellbastard

Waylander

All images are the intellectual property of Lizzie Torbitt. Reproduction by written permission only