The following is the Alestorm interview originally posted on Living For Metal in January 2008. Obviously, there has been some changes from the band's lineup since then, and people's opinions on the band are polarizing. Answering the questions is the vocalist/keyboardist Christopher Bowes.
Peter: For those who are just knowing about the band, could you tell about the band's origins?
Christopher Bowes: We formed back in 2004, in a swamp somewhere in the highlands of Scotland. Gavin was playing an awesome guitar solo on top of a mountain, and I was shredding heroically on the keytar at the bottom of Loch Ness. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came forth from my keytar, and Gavin's guitar started shooting laser beams into the sky. Where they overlapped, the image of a pirate appeared, and it said "Ye shall formeth a bandeth, and it shall be called Alestorm. eth." Then we found a bassist and a drummer trapped in the swamp, and recruited them to be in our band. And the rest, as they say in the movies, is history. That's mostly true, apart from the bit with the swamp. And the mountain. And the magical pirate in the sky.
Peter: What are some of your influences, musically or otherwise?
CB: Musically, i'm influenced by epic metal bands, like Bal-Sagoth, Turisas, and Yog-Sothoth. Bands who aren't afraid to do silly things with keyboards. Fuck knows what the rest of the band likes, I bet they're all Children of Bodom fanboys or something. Non-musically, we're influenced by booze, computer games, and the cookery of Heston Blumenthal.
Peter: How did the deal with Napalm Records come about?
CB: We're a bunch of lazy bastards, and were looking for a record label. We couldn't be arsed making a press pack or whatever the fuck it is that most labels look for. Then we saw that Napalm Records likes myspace pages. So we sent them a link to ours, and within a couple of days, they wanted to sign us. Which was nice.
Peter: This month, the debut full-length Captain Morgan's Revenge will released. Is there a back story behind the album title and if so, would you please explain?
CB: Captain Morgan's Revenge is what happens the morning after you drink too much rum!
Peter: On to the technical details, first, the recording process. How did you decide on the studio where the album was recorded and on the producer?
CB: Our guitarist Gavin knew the producer Lasse Lammert from some forums on the internet, and knew that he was an awesome producer. So we went over to Germany to record in his newly built studio, which was good fun. A solid month of nothing but sausages and cheap beer! It's definitely a better experience working with someone you know, instead of some random boring producer guy who's only doing it for the paycheck.
Peter: The artwork and band photography further the point of what Alestorm is about. What factored into the decisions of hiring Ingo Roemling and Steve Brown for the artwork and photography, respectively?
CB: Was nothing to do with us, like! Ingo does the artwork for a lot of bands on Napalm Records, so they got him to do it. We didn't really have much of a say into what the artwork looks like, but the guy did a fantastic job, and we all love it. As for the photographs, the label are desperate for us to be the next Turisas clone, so their photographer was hired. Again though, he was a great guy to work with, we had loads of good craic with him during the photoshoot.
Peter: The album itself is full of songs that are destined to be pub favorites. What songs do you think best exemplify the Alestorm sound?
CB: Oh man, tough one that. We've all got different favourite songs, so it's not like there's one standout amazing song on the album and a bunch of shitty filler numbers. I guess 'Over the Seas' is very typical of our sound, it ticks all the boxes: Epic brass-section fanfares, cheesy accordions, ripping solo duels, and a good lump of piratey singalong goodness. The perfect song to start an album with, really.
Peter: One of the more curious songs on the album is the closing song Flower of Scotland. Is there any meaning behind the song?
CB: Well, it's the Scottish national anthem, innit? Everyone in the country knows it, so we thought it'd be a good song to finish the album with. Plus it sounds epic as fuck with galloping guitars and stuff. Fantastic one to play to a home crowd as well.
Peter: Are there going to be any tours in the near future in support of Captain Morgan's Revenge?
CB: Aye, we've got a UK tour lined up with Turisas & Norther in March, which will be good exposure and a truly epic quest. Also a handful of festivals throughout europe in the summer, including the mighty Metal Camp in Slovenia, which we just confirmed this week. Really looking forward to that one.
Peter: Any words of wisdom you want to leave for the fans?
CB: Aye! Ye cannae shove yer granny off a bus, cos she's yer mammie's mammy! Cheers, ye bunch of choochters!
