After a brief cold spell, nope, actually, it’s still pretty damn cold and snowy here in Montreal, but you know what? It’s time for a P.A.R.T.Y.! Alestorm is in town after almost 5 years and they are bringing Elvenking and Glyph for the ride.

It’s a sold-out and rather jam-packed MTelus in downtown Montreal. The people are lined up for blocks and blocks and they can’t wait to unleash their inner pirate. It’s been more than a decade since I have seen Alestorm in concert, I don’t know why though, it’s one of my favorite bands and usually the rest of the lineup wasn’t going to give me the urge to go see them but not this time. On a side note, I am watching this show with the same two people I went to see Alestorm the last time, I sure as hell do not believe in coincidences.

Glyph started the festivities in a relatively short and compact set. The self-described Intergalactic Power Metal band riled up the crowd with the sights and sounds of old-school Power Metal. It’s nothing fancy but I have reached a point in my life as a music fan that I just do not mind at all and appreciate their nod to old school and they seem to be having a blast on stage as well. I do not expect anything reinventing the wheel or anything of that sort but they are able to warm up the crowd for the rest of the night. You need an energetic band like that to start off the show on the right foot and this is the way to do it. A fun energetic performance for an unsigned band (hopefully not for long), they reminded me of the genesis of the genre in the mid to late nineties with some added modern twists.

Setlist:

1. Honor, Power, Glory

2. A Storm of Crimson Fire

3. Eldenfire

4. When the World Was Young

5. Defy the Night

6. Volorad

Elvenking are next, the first show on Canadian soil in their 25 years of existence, which is mindboggling to say the last. Hell, before this North American tour, they only played three shows in the country including two at the ProgPower USA festivals and one trip around the Caribbean with the world-famous 70000 tons of Metal Cruise Ship of Doom. Like Twilight Force a few weeks back, Elvenking received a more than heartfelt welcome to la Belle Province. Obviously, fans around the province were waiting for this very moment for years on end and they were not disappointed to say the least. The Italian Power Metal masters were in fine form with a very lively set that spans over 2 decades of albums and they played stuff from ‘’The Winter Wake’’ on through their last incredible album ‘’Reader of the Runes: Rapture’’. Fans young and old appreciated their older material but seemed to thoroughly enjoy the new stuff.

They are not your prototypical Power Metal band, they dip their toes in various styles and remind me of the Iced Earth of old, especially on their latest effort. You have some very folk oriented songs that could pass up for a band like Tyr yet some of the stuff on ‘’The Pagan Manifesto’’ are very old school Power Metal driven (like ‘’Moonbeam Stone Circle’’), something akin to Rhapsody or even very early Blind Guardian. Elvenking are the perfect example of a band that does not need a singer that hits the high notes to grab the audience’s attention. You have so many Power Metal bands, young and old, that have these powerful singers with an impressive range but this time, the quality of the material, surpass any need for that. Damnagoras establishes a mood, a setting and his range is precise, I would rather have a more competent singer than someone that overdoes it. This is definitely not the last time they are coming here with the welcome they got. I actually would have preferred more songs from the 2023 offering because the album really pleasantly surprised in a genre which I always feel can fall flat at times.

Setlist:

1. Rapture

2. The Hanging Tree

3. Draugen’s Maelstrom

4. Pagan Revolution

5. Silverseal

6. Moonbeam Stone Circle

7. Pagan Purity

8. Bride of Night

9. The One We Shall Follow

10. The Wanderer

11. The Divided Heart

12. Elevenlegions

Well it’s that time again, there is no party like an Alestorm party and boy oh boy they were such the rambunctious crew and in fine form. The keytar wielding Christopher Bowes and his gang of misfits gave us everything they had and even more. 20 songs in 1h30 of pure excitement and such a positive vibe. People were laughing in the crowd, genuinely having a great time with the Pirate Metal Drinking Crew. A band that does not take themselves too seriously yet are able to construct some awfully long and complex lyrics with a backdrop of accordions and a bounty of ideas about pirate mischievous. They say they are scraping the barrel at times but after a few years out of the limelight they are back with an EP called ‘’Voyage of the Dead Marauder’’ with some of their best material in their illustrious career.

They played stuff from the first album and played the title song of the new EP with special guest Barbara Blackthorne from the vastly underrated Symphonic Power Metal band, Empress. It’s a nice touch, the soaring vocals Blackthorne are a stark contrast with the gravely and uneven yet enchanting voice of Chris Bowes. I would highly enjoy a whole album (not just an EP) with collaborations between both artists that’s for sure.

From people dressed as pirates to the toasting of beers all around, Alestorm did seem to enjoy the ruckus crowd of Montreal. Inflatable beach balls, alligators and sharks were rampant in the sold-out crowd. We were some of the first North American crowds to really open up to them and greet them with open arms and it shows. They were showered with love and appreciation (and massive sing-alongs obviously) and they brought their A-Game. I know at times their shows can be a bit of a mess with a bit too much consumption of beer and whatnot but they did a classic show like the one I saw more than a decade ago. The reaction they got when they played ‘’Wenches and Mead’’ and ‘’Mexico’’ (sans the lovely viking from the Cruachan cover video) probably blew them away and those 2 songs are my favorite songs from the band so my voice got pretty hoarse at the end I tell ya! No real surprises on the setlist and finishing up with ‘’F*cked with an Anchor’’ was a wise choice, it’s the same song that they played at the end of the very awesome live album ‘’Live in Tilburg’’ that came out during the pandemic. The whole crowd were singing their lungs out with their very unusual yet quite funny lyrics to this banger. A 1h30 show that passed like a hot knife through butter on a magical Saturday night amongst great friends and a boatload of pirates. Christopher Bowes after his last bow to the crowd, crowdsurfed to the bar and back again to a thunderous applause, what a showman!

Setlist:

1. Keelhauled

2. No Grave but the Sea

3. The Sunk’n Norwegian

4. Alestorm

5. Under Blackened Banners

6. The Last Pirate of Saskatchewan

7. Hangover (Taio Cruz cover)

8. Wenches & Mead

9. Magellan’s Expedition

10. Mexico

11. Voyage of the Dead Marauder (with Barbara Blackthorne)

12. Big Ship Little Ship

13. 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)

14. Nancy the Tavern Wench

15. Rumpelkombo

16. P.A.R.T.Y.

17. Sh*t Boat (Not Fans)

Encore:

18. Drink

19. Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship (with Barbara Blackthorne)

20. F*cked with an Anchor

An incredible show of drinking and partying with one of the best-themed bands out there, Alestorm are still able to find new tales to tell and I am not going to stop listening to their highly enjoyable music and Elvenking almost stole the show in a first of many shows in Canada I hope. As for Glyph, they did a fine job helping the sold-out crowd to feel alive and keep the fire burning for the rest of the festivities. A highly enjoyable show, buy a ticket to see this tour, you will kick yourself if you miss it!