- On my first listen to the lead single Dig, Bury, Drink from Lagerstein’s forthcoming third album 25/7 I honestly believed that Brisbane had birthed a German bier-hall band; not realising that they were a pirate metal band. After the second spin of the record, and a visit to their website, I would have to say that these buccaneering Brisbanites -with brandished swords- have composed a pirate metal soundtrack. It's so richly theatrical it feels like there should be a whole pirate musical to go with it, even if it doesn't exist yet.
Each track devotes a little interlude to seafaring, scallywags, saltiness and rum soaked sounds in the vein of the most piratey pirate you’ve ever heard of.
The band taps into hot-button social issues with titles like Shoey Song (only attempt when blind), Drink of the Pirates (about Bundaberg’s finest), Off the Map (going on a bender), 25 Hours (going on a bender), and Aqua Bong. As confronting as these songs are, they can only hint at the gluttony, avarice, and lust that must be going on between the tracks.
Speaking of which -and if we could all sober up for a second- the song Wench My Thirst is actually a little problematic: it relates to the drinking, sailing, and particularly the screwing part of pirate lore, appreciated through the ironic lens of today; but it could just as easily become a dude-bro anthem, the wench in question an object to quench a 'thirst'. Irony without context becomes sincerity and I'm not sure if there's enough context here. Is it a line crossed? Difficult to say, but it is something to think about.
Don't let it derail you though, be assured it’s a good record, worth a listen to. The band has really grown into their stage and songcraft on album three. If you've got to this point and still don't understand why this needs to be staged as a pirate musical, the album's final two tracks should carry you across the line. A New Day transports you straight to the beachfront and after you're there you can kick back to a neatly tweaked cover of Men At Work's Land Down Under. Y'know, it's more than a pirate play, it puts you right into a pair of buckled pirate boots. The album finishes with the sound of washing up on the shores in the land down under: this is the pirate life.
- Simon Perry.