Ahoy mateys! Actually....nevermind, I am not going to be yet another reviewer to use the pirate schtick in my review. Anything pirate related requests should be redirected to Swashbuckle, because after listening to their latest release, Back to the Noose, there is no doubt that they are the current kings of "pirate metal."

Combining the humor stylings of GWAR, with the punk filled riff fest of 80's era crossover, Swachbuckle are the reigning 2009 kings of crossover as far as I'm concerned. Yes, that even includes upstaging current kings in Municipal Waste whose album Massive Aggressive was quite the disappointed with a severe lack of humor that was a hallmark of their two previous outings. Swashbuckle fills the void left by "the Waste" though with a fun filled rompous of humorous pirate takeovers of cruise ships complete with voice overs from annoying New Jersey vacationers. Voice over interludes aside, the fast paced riffs combined with the well oiled pirate voice of Admiral Nobeard creates an atmosphere of its own, and could easily scare away any pirates lead by Johnny Depp. Fellow pirate metallers Alestorm, who take on more of a folk metal execution of the music, should take note of how to play pirate music, because they have been completely upstaged.

Swashbuckle are very early on in their careers, having won an online competition to become the latest signees of legendary Nuclear Blast, and with this release I can only assume their new label will be as pleased as the horde of new land lovers whom are sure to become swabbies after listening to Back to the Noose. Damnit...I couldn't help it. Damn pirate lingo.