Brainless Party Anthems Putting a Smile Upon Your Face - A Review of Alestorm's Voyage of the Dead Marauder

Alestorm's brand-new extended play Voyage of the Dead Marauder includes five songs for a running time of sixteen minutes. Just like the weird cover artwork indicates, that release is running at half speed.

The first two tracks are by far the best. They are original tunes in the classic style of folk, heavy and power metal about piracy that has become the quintet's trademark. Both songs shouldn't be considered leftovers since they would have deserved their spots on regular full length efforts. Title track ''Voyage of the Dead Marauder'' is a catchy, joyful and melodic mid-tempo track featuring clear, harmonious and uplifting female guest vocals and some danceable, dynamic and inspiring hurdy gurdy sounds performed by Patty Gurdy. Her elegant style completes the quintet's rougher side splendidly. This mixture thus makes for one of the greatest songs in the band's career. The song ''Uzbekistan'' is almost equally strong as it offers concise shanty metal in less than three and a half minutes with keyboard fanfares, occasional harsh vocals and a melodic chorus with amusing lyrics describing the landlocked country as a true pirate nation.

Up next, this extended play offers two cover tracks. ''The Last Saskatchewan Pirate'' by The Arrogant Worms is in the same key as the previous song and tells the tale of a man becoming a pirate in the landlocked Canadian province known for its agriculture and harsh winters. The track is thus amusing, catchy and entertaining all at once. The other cover track ''Sea Shanty 2'' by Ian Taylor is a tame instrumental tune clocking in at exactly two minutes that is completely forgettable.

The final track ''Cock'' is the band's attempt to go back to previous successes with absurd lyrics and the occasional debatable vocabulary. While songs such as ''Fucked with an Anchor'' and ''Shit Boat (No Fans)'' were truly amusing, entertaining and surprising, this song here is predictable, repetitive and uninspired. Alestorm can do much better in this particular category and only unconditional fans should even take the time to listen to that stinker.

At the end of the day, Alestorm's Voyage of the Dead Marauder offers three excellent songs followed by two stinkers which makes for an overall just passable impression. Faithful fans should give this extended play a few spins while occasional listeners can skip this output entirely without any regrets. Let's wait for the group's next full length effort and let's hope for new concerts around the globe since the sympathetic quintet is best enjoyed on stage.

Final Rating: 60%