ALBUM REVIEW: A Pirate’s Symphony – Visions Of Atlantis
Ahh, pirate metal. There’s no denying that the space in the genre is significantly jauntier than its often grim-faced brothers and sisters. That doesn’t exclude any potential for epic scale, however. This point has not been missed by VISIONS OF ATLANTIS; the Austrian swashbucklers have not feared to sail darker waters in their musical journey, evident in their hoisted colours being closer to the symphonic flags of LACUNA COIL or NIGHTWISH than ALESTORM.
A Pirate’s Symphony feels like a very logical point to arrive at by that measure. An entirely orchestra-driven instrumental version of the band’s 2022 release Pirates, it was first made available as a special bonus disc available in the Pirates Over Wacken boxset released in March of this year. Unsurprisingly the differences are stark, despite their operatic overlap. At times, the original felt like you had just opened the door of a damp tavern in a rain-slicked harbour, the music as warm and inviting as the roaring fire.
Symphony, meanwhile, thrusts you into the action by way of more film score aligned sensibilities; it has that bombastic, high-seas popcorn flick energy in spades. Take fan favourite Melancholy Angel, which lacked some energy in its original form but charges along with sword drawn and pistol firing through a crowd of the King’s finest men here. But the more fiery reimagining is balanced by plenty of emotional flourishes and slow burns into huge, soaring choruses throughout to widen the scope into an almost thoughtful, flowing state elsewhere.
Much of this is achieved in the choice of instrumentation; accordions, bagpipes and flutes backing up the orchestra proper lend that unmistakable sea-salt aura to proceedings. But the fully symphonic nature allows space for a much more personal interpretation of the original work while retaining that indelible pirate veneer. Closer I Will Be Gone as an orchestral piece functions as both a journey-ender and a look to the future, the widening horizon an endless canvas on which the next adventure will be painted. It’s a charming mixture of introspective and romantic in the feelings it can evoke.
When you take the romance out of the equation, however, the elephant in the room is wearing a very large tricorn. At brass tacks level, it’s a struggle to work out exactly who this release is for. To be slightly more cutthroat about it, that struggle extends to figuring out why this is a standalone release at all. Listening to this and the original back to back, it’s clear that an opportunity was missed to package the two together, both narratively and for sake of comparison for newcomers. This leaves Symphony in a precariously niche position if the true fans already know it and everyone else has no point of reference for it.
It’s impossible to ignore the grand nature of A Pirate’s Symphony, but it’s not exactly easy to recommend it, either. Not for any lack of quality, or non-adherence to the theme – based on the swashbuckling potential it’s a guarantee that this is going to album of the year for someone wearing a bandana somewhere. It’s just a highly specific product, with a limited range of appeal as a standalone that can’t be outweighed by the scope and execution of its ideas. Undoubtedly one for the fans – the ones who haven’t already heard it, anyway.
Rating: 6/10
A Pirate’s Symphony is out now via Napalm Records.
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