Swashbuckle – Back to the Noose (Nuclear Blast Records)

Saturday, 16th March 2013
Rating: 8.5/10

Totally on board for this and yeah, we’ll pun-the-fuck out of this review if we have to. Pirate metal without the sea-faring sound elements ala Alestorm (who are of equal value), New Jersey’s Swashbuckle prove to be both a rigid, snappy thrash band and self-effacing trio that knows how to play off a theme without going overboard. Zing!

In fact, Back to the Noose rages pretty hard, garnering some ultra-extreme moments during “Attack,” “We Sunk Our Battleship” and “Scury Back.” It’s all in good fun though, as gang-shouts translate into fun, good-time having choruses during “Rounds of Rum,” and the title track.

Mixed in with the thrash barrage are brief acoustic interludes, all of which are quirky bits that would be the only real indicator of the band’s pirate metal leanings. “Cloudy With A Chance of Piracy,” “Carnivale Boat Ride,” “Ley Leyenda” and “The Tradewinds” are borderline strokes of genius, giving the album the latitude to keep its off-balance zeal intact.

Some may deride Swashbuckle because they were winners of Myspace/Nuclear Blast record contract contest or the fact they’re from Jersey and there’s no pirates to be had in the Garden State, but who cares – the joke is on, so is the compact, ferocious thrash that gives Back to the Noose the weight to sail on and on. Fuckin eh.

www.myspace.com/swashbuckle

(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)

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