Aye aye, Captain! The pirates of Alestorm are setting sail to storm Hellfest. What’s in their treasure chest? *The Thunderfist Chronicles*, a hoppy album released in 2025.

Alestorm are giving the metal scene a run for its money! Formerly known as Battleheart, the Scots have been concocting hair-raising ‘true Scottish pirate metal’ since 2004. It has to be said that this (surprising) blend of folk metal and power metal, cooked up in true buccaneer style, hits the mark. Epic and exhilarating, Alestorm’s songs tackle all the themes dear to piracy. By that we mean buccaneers, sea monsters, naval battles, rum and beautiful women… Unpretentious anthems that give you just enough courage to go and provoke a kraken or two…

It was at the 2015 edition of Hellfest that we first encountered Alestorm’s boozy metal. We met up again in 2022 (to mark the release that same year of the album *Seventh Rum Of A Seventh Rum*) and now in 2026, to celebrate *The Thunderfist Chronicles* (2025) in style.