Review: Alestorm- Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum

Brace yourselves, the highest-anticipated pirate metal record of all-time is finally here with Alestorm’s Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum and you’ll find yourself wishing you were on a giant pirate ship, sailing the seven seas.  This is the band’s first album since 2020- Curse of the Crystal Coconut was released over the summer of 2020 and didn’t get a proper touring cycle and was probably not fully-written and recorded during the pandemic so this album gives us a real feel for where the band was at during the COVID.  “Magellan\’s Expedition” opens the album, making you feel like you’re in the middle of a raging sea storm, trying to keep the ship sailing, yelling “Avast, ye maties!” while a huge party wages on while you make your way to your destination  This record is full of tracks that will make longtime Alestorm fans very happy but also make the newer fans feel right at home as this one sees the band going back to the styles they used in the early days but still using a lot of the approaches they’ve used in recent recordings.  Don’t worry, Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum still has the outlandish lyrics and themes you’ve all come to love from the pirate metallers.  “The Battle of Cape Fear River” sees the band yelling  “I’m a fucking pirate!” while “P.A.R.T.Y.”  sounds like a metalized video game intro and features some of the best lyrics- “IT’S PIRATE PARTY TIME.” The more disappointing track is “Return to Tortuga,” which still features Captain Yarrface from Rumahoy but is basically just the same lyrics set to a different rhythm and doesn’t really offer anything new.  The title track features a trumpet section that will make you ready for a medieval war while “Under Blackened Banners” will have you ready to storm the enemy’s gates, yelling “Raise your hook, raise your sword, fight the world and face the hordes. We’re the brotherhood of pirates and the sisters of the sea. Sailing under blackened banners, stealing ships and getting hammered.”  In the end, Alestorm have put together a record that all areas of their fanbase will find something to love. They still feature some of the guests and elements that made the last two records so popular but they also don’t take as many musical risks as they did on the last two albums, either. Still, though, this is one of Alestorm’s strongest albums and fans will no-doubt fall in love with it, have fun with it and rock the fuck out to it.  Rating: 7/10 -Reggie Edwards