Swashbuckle - Crewed By The Damned review
| Band: | Swashbuckle |
| Album: | Crewed By The Damned |
| Style: | Thrash metal |
| Release date: | October 10, 2006 |
| Guest review by: | Carl Berg |
01. Under The Black Flag
02. Welcome Abroad
03. Drink Up
04. Set Sail
05. Walk The Plank
06. What A Ship Is
07. Dead Men Tell No Lies
08. The Wooden World
09. "X" Marks The Spot
10. Rum Runners
11. Upon The Spanish Main
12. The Bazaar
13. Jolly Roger
14. Paradie Defined
15. Crewed By The Damned
16. A Fool's Errand
17. Pirate Jargon
18. Nautical Nonsense
Arrr me mateys! Man the cannons and shred them guitars! Drink yer beer 'n set sail th' unknown! The first Swashbuckle album is exactly what you'd expect: heavy, in your face, and of course, pirate themed. But you might say "we already got pirate metal bands, Alestorm was enough!". Well my friend, you are gravely mistaken, for Crewed By The Damned is an album unlike any you have heard before. Original and extremely creative, this record is going to show you what pirate metal should sound like!
First of all, what should you expect from a band that calls itself Swashbuckle? It's simple: thrash metal! Yes, Swashbuckle is a thrash metal band, with all its shredding guitar solos, weird rythmic patterns and a hell lot of party atmosphere! So grab yer ale and let's see what Crewed By The Damned is all about!
Starting with a slow acoustic piece, Crewed By The Damned seems very tame in the beginning, but as soon as the second song kicks in, there is no doubt about what Swashbuckle are after: to kick some serious ass. Their songs are incredibly creative, and they manage to give an authentic pirate atmosphere. Very often will you find yourself headbanging to either the catchy choruses or the fast solos, leaving no doubt that Swashbuckle is a very serious band. As a matter of fact, their music was included (!) in a recent computer game, due to it's immense creativity and brutality.
The album is filled with a number of metal songs, linked to each other by small acoustic compositions, which, I must say, are astoundingly well executed. It is hard to guess why such a talented band still remains underground.
On to the technical part: Crewed By The Damned shows an immense display of talent. The rhythm guitars are perfectly recorded, as well as the solos, which captivate the average metalhead as well as the seasoned guitar player. The drummer deserves a special mention: his work is spot-on and delivers a wonderful feeling throughout the album. As for the vocals, one word: Piratey. It lifts up the album with it's harsh and cruel lyrics, giving Crewed By The Damned a very unique feeling.
Why only 8.5 you ask? Well, there are a number of reasons: the riffs are sometimes too repetitive, and the vocals can get tiring after a while. But that depends on what kind of metalhead you are: for party people, this album will never get tired. For thrash metal adepts, this might get too boring after a while. You decide.
Forget Alestorm, this is a real pirate metal band. I encourage every Swashbuckler to get off their asses and get this album right now!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Carl Berg | 30.09.2010
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 20
Visited by: 68 users
| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669  |
Need to find and listen to 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Edmund Fogg Posts: 1752  |
God damn it,will bands stop being creative I already don't have enough time to listen to my current music library and now I'm being teased by some mighty pirates.When will it stop.Lol, seriously this review reminds me to search for these guys material
---- You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
A dime a dozen generic thrash which would have gone totally unnoticed were it not for the pirate theme to it. 6-7 at most.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.09.2010 at 15:34 but they did include the pirate theme and therefore managed to become famous around...and no complaining can change it 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Ellrohir on 30.09.2010 at 15:56 Well, they only became famous last year with Back To The Noose because Nuclear Blast released it, before that almost no-one had heard of them. Nowadays when a band is on a big label (in metal terms) and sings about pirates they become famoous automatically no matter if the just release farts as music.  It seems that with those bands and their fans it's all abotu the image and nothing to do with the actual quality of the music. At least Running Wild used to be musially good, a thing that cannot be said about Swashbuckle and Alestorm.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 |
Well i saw them live just a few days ago and although i dont have problems to admit, there may be tons of better yet unknown bands, but i fell in love with them at once...not that much because of the music, but because of their appearance and funny show they made...this counts by me
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.09.2010 at 16:16 Yeah, it's a real shame. Shackles is a great band that covers this type of theme without resorting to cartoonish imagery, and they're actually decent, they play sort of a Destroyer 666 style blackened thrash. Too bad all people want is cartoons.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
Well, I do love your enthusiasm in this review, and I have a feeling a few friends of mine would agree, but I just can't. Outside of the fun-factor live, this band is really generic to me... I also don't like the vocals whatsoever on this album. Ah well!
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| Lovecraft Account deleted |
Lovecraft
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.09.2010 at 16:16 +1
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 |
When i go to a gig where i expect fun (so some power or heavy metal, not prog rock or some "serious" black metal), i want to have fun...there for me is basically more important "how it looks" than "how it sounds" (live sound is often messed up anyway)...Swashbuckle simply were able to satisfy me and entertain me and that is what is important for me... yes - it is because big label and because of "pirate look" but i dont give a single fuck about that...life is about taking opportunities - grab it and be loved by masses or remain in garage and whine less talented musicians are worshiped and you are not...
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.09.2010 at 16:16 I totally agree. Alestorm is even worse than Swashbuckle.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Boxcar Willy yr a kook Posts: 9155  |
LMAO Swahbuckle sucks.
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| Carl Berg Carl Berg Posts: 589  |
Quote: Wow, that just transpires character and personnality. Perhaps you should elaborate your arguments. Oh but wait, you're a Slipknot/Korn fan. Nuff said.
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| Crème fraiche Posts: 703  |
Written by Carl Berg on 04.10.2010 at 20:02 And Dethklok.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Mmmm to be honest Slipknot Korn and even cartoon peeps Dethklok are all superior to and more original than the nono's of Swashbuckle.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 |
Maybe, but he didnt said "Swashbuckle sucks according to me, because this, this and this"...he just put out plain offensive comment without arguments and putting Dethklok and originality into one sentence sounds weird even when talking about Swashbuckle...
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Boxcar Willy yr a kook Posts: 9155 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 10.10.2010 at 03:38 damn straight
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| Carl Berg Carl Berg Posts: 589 |
Written by Boxcar Willy on 14.10.2010 at 00:55 The thing is, Swashbuckle do manage to put on an "original" album, by which I mean 4-5 very original songs, even though the rest are just random thrash metal. For me, their album is pure awesomness, and I gladly drink rum while listening to some of their acoustic compositions!
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| Steezy Posts: 4 |
Written by Boxcar Willy on 14.10.2010 at 00:55 I agree with that statement 
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| Daggon Underpaid M.D. Posts: 1689  |
When you listen to one single song of Swashbuckle, you don't need to listen to the entire album, or their other albums, maybe they are not bad musicians, but they should stop playing this "pirate" thing and start playing some real Thrash, also I can't stand their vocalist for too much time, hes too "Yaaarrr" for my taste. Well, in the end, I feel the same for Swashbuckle and Alestorm, funny music, entertaining when you are with some friends drinking lots of beer and stuff, but as the time passes on, they become boring after two or three spins.
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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