By Mark Gromen

While the premise of Scottish pirates was initially met with skepticism, ALESTORM have managed to make believers of countless Europeans, touring madly, then setting foot in North America. Like a choatic musical mix of COB and DRAGONFORCE singing Martin Walkyier (ex-SKYCLAD) penned lyrics for RUNNING WILD, Alestorm have risen from nowhere, in no time and captured imaginations with an infectious fun-loving spirit. Singer/mobile keyboardist Chris Bowes captains the ship and walks the inquisitional plank. Much like the music/lyrics, his tongue is always firmly planted in his cheek.

Despite the moniker, Bowes admits, “Ironically, when I started this band, I didn’t even drink alcohol! But I’m so committed to the pirate lifestyle that I decided to take up alcoholism, to get a better feel for the lyrical subject. But aye, it all just happened as a terrible accident. I was a wee lad who one day wrote a song about pirates for no reason at all, and then it got completely out of hand.” He laughs, before offering a more sincere explanation. “Dude, I’m the least piratical person in the world. I drop the act as soon as I get off stage. Most of the time I can’t even be bothered to pretend to be a pirate on stage, either. A lot of fans are genuinely disappointed when they come up and talk to us, ‘cos my voice is rather generic in real life. I don’t even sound Scottish!”

May be true, but he’s not short of inspiration. “History? Books? No, none of that nonsense. Computer games and drunken conquest are our inspiration.” Nor is it difficult to come up with new nautical/pirate-related themes. “Nah, it’s a piece of piss. Just a bit of accordion here, a ‘yo ho ho’ there, and a good dash of soloing, and the songs practically write themselves. There’s all these bands that sing about Vikings, and they don’t seem to run out of stuff to sing about. And there’s just as much lore behind piracy that can be expanded into lyrical subjects for songs. We’re definitely not finished yet!”

Despite the motif, the band doesn’t dress the part onstage (no peg legs, parrots, eye patches or tri-corner hats). Any particular reason? “Because that shit is fucking gay! We’re a metal band, not a gimmick. We really want to distance ourselves from all these ‘pirate’ bands that have sprung up recently, with their silly costumes and stuff. It’s just not who we are.”

The singer doesn’t balk at my contention that the lyrical twists on the new Napalm Records release, Black Sails At Midnight, recall vintage Skyclad. “Yeah, we’ve got a friend who helps us write lyrics for some songs; he’s a big fan of Martin Walkyier, and it comes across. Musically though, I love epic stuff like BAL-SAGOTH, SUMMONING and FALKENBACH. That’s the kind of thing that gets me up in the morning and makes me want to write songs.”

Onstage, Bowes straps on a Roland keyboard, playing and singing at the front of the stage, just like a guitar-toting frontman. “Originally I was just the keyboard player. I was never really supposed to be the vocalist. So I got the ‘keytar’ because I wanted to rock out at the front with the rest of the band. I’ve never been one for standing still on stage. I guess it’s turned into a very unique feature for us, puts us apart from 99% of other bands in the world. Which is a good thing.”

After the surprise success of Captain Morgan’s Revenge, their 2008 full-length debut, by year’s end there was a stop-gap EP. Half of the four tunes reappear on Black Sails. “Don’t blame me,” mockingly protests Bowes. “Leviathan wasn’t my idea! I’m a slow as fuck songwriter. I’d have loved to have had unique stuff on the EP, but I just can’t churn out songs fast enough. The album was planned before the EP; those songs were always going to be on the album. They were just the first two to be completely finished, so they were chosen for (the EP).”

Returning to Black Sails, the focus shifts to ‘Ol Spice’. Unfortunately ‘Ol Spice’ is a cheap Granddad’s aftershave lotion in North America, even using the penny whistle in their TV ad jungle. “Alestorm – True Scottish Aftershave Metal,” he laughs. “Maybe Old Spice will give us an endorsement. That’d be cool. But aye, that’s just a coincidence; the song is really about spiced rum. Most of our songs are about alcohol really.”

Speaking of good drink, having seen tour partners TYR in action backstage at the Bang Your Head festival in Germany, one can only imagine more than a few “alestorms” went down on the road. “Touring with Tyr was fucking awesome! We’ve been gigging with them almost constantly since October; we’re all really good friends now. Unfortunately our time together has come to an end. Which sucks. But aye, it’s always an evening of drunken debauchery when we gig together. Nudity as well. Far too much nudity.” Sounds like a story for another mag.

What about hitting the road in North America – are there any particularly pirate-friendly locales? “California! 2Pac was right… that state knows how to party. I wanna live there! Maybe in a couple of years.” Like everything Bowes says, I’m not sure if he’s serious or not. Regardless, crack open a cold one and listen to Black Sails At Midnight, or better yet, introduce both to your mates.