Ye Banished Privateers - First Night Back In Port album review

Pirate metal like ye’ve near aarrgghhh’d it before

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Cover art for Ye Banished Privateers - First Night Back In Port album

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Ye Banished Privateers have gone full pirate, rallying a crew of 30 folk fanatics who are not averse to dressing like Jack Sparrow (who knew Sweden had so many!). While this isn’t your full-blown boundary-trouncing metal – there’s not an actual riff in sight – their punk ambition is delivered with plenty of high-spirited buccaneering and sordid tales of life at sea brandished against a backdrop of scene-setting sound effects that put you in the heart of the action. The Trainspotting-meets-Lock, Stock… posturing of their entourage (Meatstick Nick, Sickboy McCoy and Bloody Liz, to name a few) adds to the fun, but beneath the frivolity is a story told through Scandinavian and Irish folk played on an array of fiddles and banjos. One moment they’re bellowing out an ‘Oompa-pa’ sea shanty, a jolly old tale of romance, the next it’s the sombre story of a seasoned pirate that borders on Brian Blessed levels of gruffness. Just don’t play Ringaroo At Coopr’s Inn to your kids – it’s chock full of naughty words to make a wench blush.

Holly Wright
Holly Wright

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.