For their second release of 2009, Alestorm aims to keep the gimmick alive. Formerly known as Battleheart, the band changed their name to Alestorm when they signed to Napalm records, releasing their triumphant pirate-themed album Captain Morgan's Revenge to much acclaim in 2008.

Alestorm's music is about piracy (the Johnny Depp kind, not the Somalian kind), alcohol, women and partying hard. On their latest album, Black Sails at Midnight, I feared that the pirate schtick had run its course, but Alestorm still has options with seafaring heavy metal.

If you bought the Leviathan EP, there is no need to buy the deluxe edition of Black Sails at Midnight; two of the tracks from the EP are already in the tracklist, and the two bonus tracks also come from the EP. However, songs like "Keelhauled," "The Quest," and "The Famous Ol' Spiced" make this album a singalong adventure, while other tracks like "To the End of Our Days" and "Chronicles of Vengeance" provide a more thoughtful glance into the lives of these modern pirates.

Overall, I can find no fault with this record except for the involvement of all the songs from Leviathan and from the split album with Tyr and Heidevolk.

Vaughn Fortier-Shultz will be a sophomore at Academy for Technology and the Classics. You can reach him at moose
manxl@gmail.com.