Funeral Rain Press Corps

9/13/11 – Peter’s Room at The Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon

An Apology From Typhon… Kinda: I know. I know, I’m about three weeks late with this one. But if you had a screaming baby boy on one shoulder and averaging about three hours of sleep a morning, I think you’d shuffle around your priorities too.

On that note: I have the best fucking mate EVER!!! She squeezed out our son on September 12th and demanded that I attend this concert while she was still in the hospital. You see, she and I have been unable to attend every show that Alestorm played in the U.S. and she would be damned if we’d make it a hat trick. So even though I had a blast at this show, my mind was elsewhere most of the time.

Anyway, I arrived late so I missed the opening act…

The Agonist - Aside from the vocalist making a pass at me at the merch booth after their set, I don’t have anything to report about these guys. My friend assured me that they were awesome though.

Blackgaurd - I’d like to start a petition that would make these guys officially change their name from Blackguard to Children Of Dimmu.  I admired their energy level and their ability to easily sway the crowd who was obviously there for the two headliners. But overall, I was more interested in what was in those bottles behind the bar. They weren’t for me, but they had three quarters of the crowd in the palm of their hand. Kudos to you CoD.

It was around this time that I made my way from the bar to the floor. While wadding through the sea of pirate cosplayers and Kamelot t-shirts, I noticed something that kind of put me on edge: there were an awful lot of full blooded nerds there. You know the ones I’m talking about; acne, greasy hair, socially awkward, haunted by perpetual virginity, etc… I’m not sure whether or not I should of been surprised, really. Pirate Metal: Kinda nerdy. Christopher Bowes: Severally nerdy. Kamelot: Fuck! The gauge broke!

I managed to secure a spot about three rows of nerds back from the stage. Where I waited. And waited… and waited… and just as I needed to piss…

Alestorm - Scotland’s purveyors of plunderous pirate metal took the stage, but no prisoners as they played favorites from all three of their albums. They started off strong with Back Through Time and Shipwrecked, even though you could barely Dani Evans’s playful leads thanks to the primate that was tinkering with the sound board (a problem that continued throughout Alestorm’s set). After a bit, they slowed things down with Nancy The Tavern Wench which was accompanied by Blackguard’s Terry Deschenes on acoustic guitar. Not quite a ballad, but it had a few lighters/cell phones out and waving. There set wasn’t exactly a long one, but it sure make an impact on the newbies in the crowd.

I should add there there was a shit-ton of mosh pits,stage diving and crowd surfing during Alestorm’s set… um, yeah. Because when it comes to something that you should save for a D.R.I. concert, Wenches And Mead is the time to do it.

But, I digress since the point of any concert it to just have fun. Alestrom saw to that 100%.

Kamelot - I have got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from Kamelot since just about anyone who like Kamelot even the slightest, more than likely likes them for Roy Khan perfect pipes. But, since Roy departed the band right before this tour, a lot of us seemed to be skeptical about this no name guy taking over vocal duties.

Thanks to those of you who stuck it out through the sarcasm. Fabio Lione (of Rhapsody) grabbed the mic and nailed every note that Roy had laid down before him. I was relieved. I was also overjoyed since they managed to sneak every single one of my favorite Kamelot tracks into their set! When The Lights Are Down, The Haunting, March Of Mephisto, Nights Of Arabia, Forever, etc… And yes, Simone Simons was there to lend her haunting voice to ratchet up the Epic(a)ness! My night couldn’t of ended better!

Genre: Scottish Pirate Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Ah, Scotland. The home of golf, haggis, bagpipes, and the kilt. And high seas piracy?
Sing-along choruses and Scottish instruments fill these riff and hook soaked songs of whiskey, rum, the ocean, squids, and whores. Don’t forget the whores. Elements of punk, thrash, and folk metal all come together to form this voyage, and in all it’s a pretty epic tale indeed.
Favorite tracks are “Buckfast Powersmash”, “Scraping the Barrel”, and the album closer (and longest track) “Death Throes of the Terrorsquid”.
7 out of 10.

Alestorm on Facebook.

First off, I’d just like to say that I have been a fan of Alestorm since Captain Morgan’s Revenge and it is a straight up honor to be able to send ya’ll some questions.

Nice one! No problem dude.

I’ve got to ask about the You Suffer-ish meets Anti-Procrastination Song-y track, Rumpelkombo. Umm… what was that? Aside from fun, of course.

Right, a couple of years ago, we supported the band Grave Digger on a european tour. And it fucking sucked. Basically, that band is the complete opposite of us: old, grumpy, teetotal, never talk to their fans, and don’t party at all. So they were raging at us the whole tour for being badass dudes. After the tour, in an interview, their singer called us a “Rumpelkombo”, which basically means “rowdy bunch of retards” in germanish. So we wrote a song for him, and credited the lyrics to him. Every few months he’ll get a royalty statement for about 5 cents with our name on it, so he can never forget us :).

The members of Alestorm all have experience in other bands that play completely different genres (I.e., black metal, death metal, folk metal, etc…). A lot of that came out in Back Through Time, especially in Death Throes Of The Terrorsquid. Is there a chance that we’re going to see more of this genre melding madness (while still remaining True Scottish Pirate Metal, of course) in future albums?

Yeah, definitely thinking to expand Alestorm beyond this straight up folk/power metal hybrid that appears on our current stuff. I’m still writing 99% of the music, so maybe if the other guys wanna have a go at writing something, more mad influences might come out. We shall see. Ironically, I wrote the extreme-metal sections of ‘Death Throes’ when I was 12 years old… maybe I can get back into that mindset and write some more!

How has the critical response to Back Through Time been so far? I know the fan response is going to be something along the lines of thorough elation.

Not really seen many serious/detailed reviews yet. I’m sure everyone serious is going to hate it. I bet “the kids” will love it, and anyone who knows how to party like a badass dude. It’s badass dude party music.

Are there any plans for a grandiose stage show, complete with a frigate to board, giant squid tentacles and maybe a rival group pirate to beat down? Because… that’d be awesome.

Ha! Who’s paying for this then? We’ve only just invested in a backdrop with our logo on it! Our current plan is to get a tiki bar on stage staffed by some roadie, who will make us cocktails all through the show. Also a couple of cannons with flamethrowers in them. That’d be cool.

The live footage on the Special Edition of the Black Sails At Midnight shows you all to be a bunch of fun loving bastards. How true to life is that assumption? Do you guys have any over the top stories from the road to share?

The best stories are the ones that you can’t remember the next morning because you were pissed off your skull. Far too many hot tub parites, far too many broken limbs from baggage trolley races, and a couple of incidents of drinking drano. Not really recommended.

I take it that Scrapping The Barrel was dedicated (at least a portion of it) to the pricks that think that Alestorm is dead in the water? Do you guys really take on that much negative criticism to warrant a scathing retort?

Hah the criticism doesn’t bother me, it’s just the head-thumping annoyance of people who completely miss the point of what we’re about and don’t “get it”. Half the world hates us because we dress up as pirates, the other half hates us because we don’t dress up as pirates. Some people hate us because we are copying running wild, others hate us because we aren’t copying running wild. If people gave us criticism that was actually interesting and not just shitty lazy journalism, i’d be a much happier guy!

As far as I can tell, EVERY Alestorm song is a fan favorite. But, which do you believe is the song that gets all of the heads bangin’?

Awesome dudes love Keelhauled, and hot babes love Wenches and Mead. We love them all!

Mandatory Stupid Question: Sea-Borne Sodomy? How often is too often?

Three hours of torrid anal per night is what we recommend.

Is there anything you’d like to add for the Funeral Rain audience?

Eat Scottish Beef.

Thank a fucking million! I’ll see you guys when you come to Portland in September! Alestorm fucking KILLS!!!

Party on Garth!

Genre: Scottish Pirate Metal

Label: Napalm Records

Oooooooh yeah! I’ve been waiting for this album to be released since I was finished listening to Black Sails At Midnight the first time I listed to it! Will these Scottish Pirate Metal maestros live up to my expectations, or will I find myself disappointed and sinking beneath the waves, down twenty fathoms into the briney deep?

Well, it’s probably not a good sign that I feel like I’ve been here before. Not just because of the timely pirate theme,but because I hear snippets of their older material. I don’t know if it’s just me, lazy song writing, a limit set by the restricting Scottish Pirate Metal genre or a mixture of all three.

However, I will give them credit for their song, Scrapping The Barrel in which they call out their critics, pretty much say that they don’t give a fuck if we like their lyrics or not (a similar critical response was said about Battlelore and I fucking LOVE that group!). They even go as far as to remind you that Running Wild did it first! The balls on these guys must be fucking huge! And something else should be said about the You Suffer or maybe more accurately, Anti-Procrastination Song-ish Rumpelkombo. Oh, such fun!

Also, the fuck-fucking maniacal black metal session in Death Throes Of The Terrorsquid was a curve ball I would love to have thrown at me more often! Shit, that was intense!

Overall: Aside from an almost complete lack of progression and a bit of shameless rehashing from older albums, Back Through Time is a wholly enjoyable album that’s full of “yar’s”, “matey’s” and “rums” that flips a gigantic bird to the Nords in the first track! Take from that what you will…

8.5/10

Alestorm Official

Alestorm On Facebook

In the ongoing campaign for their newest release, Poetry for the Poisoned, we are extremely pleased to announce that Kamelot have confirmed a full North American Tour to take place late this Summer!

The long-awaited trek, dubbed Pandemonium Over North America 2011, is in support of Kamelot‘s epic, Billboard-charting album Poetry for the Poisoned (peaking at #74 on the US Billboard Top 200!), which was released in September. Along for the ride are Pirate-metallers Alestorm, as well as Blackguard and the The Agonist.

Due to continuing medical and personal issues, Roy Khan will not be able to continue touring in support of Poetry for the Poisoned. To his fans he states: “Hello all. I am here in Norway still recovering from what seems to have been a severe burnout syndrome. I am getting better but still under medical care. My priorities at the moment are my health & family. My future endeavors in Kamelot and music in general are being evaluated, however at this time my focus is on getting back on my feet and spending time with family and friends. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes!”

With the news of Roy’s continued absence, we are pleased to announce that metal icon Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire) will be joining the tour and handling the lead vocal duties.

Fabio Lione is eager to get on the road, stating, “I am excited and pleased to be part of the next Kamelot tour. I always loved the sound of the band, and I think this will be a great experience for me, the band, and for all the fans of great music and Kamelot. See you soon on tour, and let’s rock!”

In addition to Fabio, throughout these shows there will also be special guest and vocal appearances from top artists in the scene, making this is a special and rare tour, not to be missed!

Kamelot – Pandemonium Over North America Tour 2011:
w/ Alestorm, Blackguard, The Agonist
8/26/2011 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
8/27/2011 Jaxx – West Springfield, VA
8/28/2011 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
8/30/2011 The Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
8/31/2011 The Palladium – Worcester , MA
9/02/2011 Club Soda – Montreal, QC
9/03/2011 Imperial De Quebec – Quebec City, QC
9/04/2011 Mod Club – Toronto, ON
9/06/2011 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
9/07/2011 Blondie’s – Detroit, MI
9/08/2011 Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
9/09/2011 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
9/12/2011 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
9/13/2011 Peter’s Room – Portland, OR
9/14/2011 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
9/15/2011 House Of Blues – West Hollywood, CA
9/16/2011 Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
9/17/2011 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
9/18/2011 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
9/20/2011 Trees – Dallas, TX
9/21/2011 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
9/23/2011 The Club At Firestone – Orlando, FL