If one wants a gimmick to work there are really only two ways to go about making it succeed. The first is to take the Amon Amarth approach and be completely serious about it, the other, and more difficult way is to do the complete opposite of that and not take the gimmick entirely serious and just have fun with it. Scottish Pirate Metal outfit Alestorm‘s latest album there is a song about pirates traveling back into time to battle vikings and steal their gold and a song called “Midget Saw”. I think it’s pretty obvious where these metal buccaneers hoisted their anchor.

On Back Through Time you get ten new seafaring songs imbued with a hefty loft of straight up metal with lots of folk, thrash, and power metal elements stowed aboard, plus 1 or 3 nautical cover songs depending on which edition you purchase. There’s nothing really ground breaking on this album other than one thing. That would be the fun factor. Every single song will pick up your spirits like a good stiff drink of rum and will have you laughing, singing along, and yelling “Arrrrr” as the album runs its effects and long after.

Even if Alestorm are following the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” formula, that don’t mean that they can’t polish the album to a spit shine. All of the musicians are all very proficient t their respective instruments and Christopher Bowes sharpened up his pirate accent and singing voice. The mixing and mastering are very clean and are a step up from their previous albums along with everything else in the production department.

There really isn’t much else to say about Back Through Time other than it’s really damn good and worth checking out. There’s not a bad nor boring song on it at all. Along with Korpiklaani‘s Ukon Wacka this is one of the most fun, upbeat albums of the year and should be played at pubs around the world, or where ever you prefer to do your drinking. So git yer scurvy hides out there and hoist yer anchor at yer local record shop and plunder yerself a copy of Back Through Time! ARRRRRRR.