ALBUM REVIEW: Book Of Legends – Red Rum
“They built themselves a pirate ship!” – “A pirate ship?” – “A PIRATE SHIP!”
Regular visitors to Bloodstock Open Air might remember RED RUM. Back in 2015, these mischievous pirate-metal scallywags put on a raucous performance on the opening night, culminating in a cover of They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard. It was gallons of pint-raising fun, but for some reason, it didn’t lead to long-term success. They’ve continued putting on live shows, but it’s been eight years since their first record and they’re a long way from giving up their day jobs to become a full-time band.
Book Of Legends is their long-overdue second album and hopefully it’ll see them regain some momentum. It’s barrels of fun, full of jaunty, rabble-rousing songs about drinking, piracy, and more drinking. The opening title track is a bit naff and is basically the buccaneer equivalent of Lenny Henry’s poem about Premier Inn, but otherwise, it’s all upbeat nonsense that’s easy to like. 50 Gallons Of Ale sounds EXACTLY like you think it does, and Greatest Drink In All The Land is effortlessly catchy.
It’s only on Rekt where they even try to push the boat out. This track is marginally longer than its fellows and varies the pace up a few times. It’s arguably the best cut on here, although the outrageous Drunken Pirates (Ahoy) gives it a run for its money. If you’re not averse to daft outfits and accordions, you’ll have a blast. Let’s face it though, you wouldn’t go to a band named RED RUM for progressive musicianship or envelope-pushing epics. This is all about getting battered and bellowing out a few choruses.
However there is a massive great elephant on the poop deck that needs to be addressed; like every other pirate-metal band, they can’t help but invite comparisons to ALESTORM. They combine sea shanties, folky instrumentation, and heavy metal into entertaining 30-minute records, and they make no effort whatsoever to distinguish themselves from the veteran Scots. In fairness, you can chalk that up to their choice of genre. After all, there are hundreds of death metal bands who sound just like CANNIBAL CORPSE but don’t receive the same criticism. As a bonus, RED RUM haven’t had any private messages leaked that require a public apology and donation to a suitable charity. Not yet anyway.
This does mean that if you’ve got no time for ALESTORM, you’re almost certainly going to be irritated by these lads too. However if you’re the sort of metalhead who likes turning up to gigs wearing an eyepatch and with an inflatable parrot balanced on your shoulder, RED RUM are well worth checking out. Book Of Legends is tongue-in-cheek nonsense and thoroughly predictable, but if you’re in the right mood it’s an enjoyable way to spend 30 minutes. It’s very silly, and in all likelihood, just listening to it has lowered the collective IQ of Distorted Sound by multiple points, but it’s…you know, it’s good. It’s a laugh innit?
Rating: 7/10
Book Of Legends is set for release on April 14th via Trollzorn.
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