Drunken pirates listening to K-pop in their Lamborghinis - A review of Alestorm's Curse of the Crystal Coconut

It's difficult to believe that Alestorm's debut record Captain Morgan's Revenge was only released twelve years ago. It feels like the quirky quintet with its international members that plays a vibrant mixture of folk and power metal with funny lyrics has been around forever. The band's sixth studio album Curse of the Crystal Coconut doesn't reinvent anything but is very entertaining as usual.

''Treasure Chest Party Quest'' opens the record with much power. The stomping guitar riffs are joined by a vibrant rhythm section and epic keyboard fanfares. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics praising the band spirit based upon having fun and drinking alcohol are performed in a memorably melodic but slightly rough way as usual. The chorus is catchy right from the start and is going to be shouted by thousands of fans in concert once the coronavirus pandemic is going to be over. The hilarious music video portrays the band members as gangster rappers in expensive clothes driving fancy cars but that shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. 

The record's other party anthem ''Tortuga'' works the other way around. The song flirts with flashy keyboard sounds that could also come from a contemporary K-pop band, mildly flirts with hip hop vocals performed by Rumahoy's Captain Yarrface and is overall filled with exaggerated sound effects. The music video on the other hand focuses on the band's pirate image including old-fashioned costumes, an idyllic island and traditional weapons. Despite those efforts, the song is only memorable upon first discovery but fails to leave a deeper mark with its repetitive patterns and weak chorus.

The record's highlight is undoubtedly ''Wooden Leg, Part 2 (The Woodening)''. The first part from Sunset on the Golden Age wasn't a highlight but is briefly referenced quite humorously towards its sequel's conclusion. While the predecessor didn't even break the three-minute mark, its sequel is over eight minutes long. The cinematic keyboard sounds, funny lyrics and creative narrative parts performed by guests and friends of the band in Spanish and Japanese make the song stand out. It's not the band's most memorable tune but highly entertaining from start to finish.

If compared to its two immediate predecessors, the song material on Curse of the Crystal Coconut is a little bit less convincing and more by the numbers than ever before. That doesn't make Alestorm's sixth output a bad album however. Fans of old date will get exactly what they can expect from the band in form of epic keyboard melodies, serviceable guitar riffs, powerful rhythm section, raw but melodic vocals and plenty of amusing lyrics. In dark times when people feel more sinister than necessary, Alestorm's superficial, lighthearted and entertaining approach actually comes as a welcome change. Forget about police violence, mass murders and care facilities for forty-four vivid minutes and discover a world of pirates, parties and alcohol.

Final rating: 75%