Scottish heavy metal band Alestorm released their latest album, “The Thunderfist Chronicles,” on June 20, 2025. It is the band’s eighth studio album. The album contains eight tracks, with the deluxe edition containing 35 tracks over three discs. The deluxe edition includes live recordings and instrumental tracks.
On the album, Christopher Bowes provides vocals and keytar. Gareth
Murdock plays bass, and Máté Bodor plays guitar for the album. Drums are provided by Peter Alcorn, and Elliot
Vernon plays the keyboard. The album was produced, recorded, mixed, and
mastered by Lasse Lammert.
While the band is heavy metal, they do not scream like other
heavy metal bands do. There are points where it becomes hard to understand, but
that is only a small part of the album. Listeners can understand what they are
saying, especially if they are used to listening to Scottish accents. Because of
the ease of understanding the lyrics and the music not being as hardcore as
other heavy metal bands, this album is a great entry point for those wanting to
start listening to heavy metal.
The album opens with “Hyperion Omniriff.” This song combines
a classic heavy metal sound with the feel of traditional Scottish music. It is
catchy and fun to listen to. The song is a great start to the album, as the
theme of pirates is heard throughout the album.
The only song I was not a fan of was “Mountains of the Deep.”
The whole premise of the song was commenting on how big a woman’s chest was.
While it was done in a creative way, it still feels icky to me. However, it
does fit in with the pirate theme and the overall feel of the album. Still, the
song does not feel like it has a place on this, or any, album. It gives the
message that women are only appreciated for their appearance, which is not a
message I like.
Overall, this album is a great starting album for those
interested in listening to heavy metal, but may be intimidated by not being
able to understand what is being sung. This album combines heavy metal sounds
with traditional Scottish melodies and themes throughout. There are songs on the
album that are labelled “explicit,” and other songs have themes that are more
geared towards adults.
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