After conquering the Caribbean with cannon-fire and swagger, Italian pirate metal act Calico Jack set sail for colder seas with their brand new EP “Jack Speak Shanties”, a wild tribute to the sea shanties that shaped their pirate souls. Marking the occasion is the new single and music video “Wellerman”, a dramatic reinterpretation of the legendary 19th-century whaling anthem. Fueled by Viking metal grit, Scandinavian flair, and original riffage, the band breathes new life into this maritime classic, now paired with a stunning video where Calico Jack sheds their Caribbean garb and embraces the rugged look of old-school whalers.
5 tracks. 5 tales of salt, rum, and myth. From the fierce cries of “The 24th of February” to the Celtic melancholy of “Spanish Ladies”, the EP “Jack Speak Shanties” is not just a record. It’s a roaring, storm-soaked homage to nautical tradition.
“This is a love letter to the songs that made us,” says guitarist Toto. And it shows.
Hoist the sails. Crank the volume. The shanties have returned — pirate metal style.
Track Listing: 1. Wellerman – 4:12 2. Don’t Forget your Old Shipmate – 4:03 3. Off to Sea Once More – 3:50 4. The 24th of February – 4:43 5. Spanish Ladies – 5:19
Pirate metallers Calico Jack recently unleashed their treasure chest of riches with the sophomore album “Isla de la Muerte” on June 30th via Rockshots Records. For this full-length, the band kept the style of their debut album but improved every aspect of their music. “Isla de la Muerte” is much more aggressive, the songs are heavier, more dynamic, and more powerful than past ones. The fiddle tunes on the release are more epic and refined, and there’s no shortage of some of Calico Jack‘s trademarks such as the Caribbean sounds in ‘Antigua’. The band also added important elements such as a track of pure classic heavy metal Running Wild-style (‘Bad Fortune’) and a journey through the eastern sounds of the Indian Ocean in the final suite ‘Sandokan’.
Today, the band presents one of its gems, “Marauder” with a new music video. The track is an ode to the life of the looter, who thrives only by plundering the property of others.
“To be a pirate is not just to live free and have fun in a tavern, but one must be prepared to commit the most abject crimes to survive, and if that meant amassing wealth and power, many marauders of the sea were just fine with that. ‘Marauder’ is a song written to be engaging and fun, with simple, groovy guitar riffs and Korpiklaani-esque violin melodies designed to unleash nonstop pogoing and headbanging. The lyrics, by contrast, tell of the heinous and cruel deeds of a sea marauder who has no mercy for anyone who stands before him and aims to plunder as much wealth as possible without qualms or remorse for his deeds. The accompanying video is an actual comic book adventure drawn by cartoonist Nico Tamburo, famous for publishing various works with a pirate setting. In the video, a pirate crew made up of the band members storm a Caribbean port and defeat naval officers after a savage swordfight, toasting the mountain of gold accumulated at the end of the song.” adds the band.
Named after the nickname for Captain John Rackham, the English pirate captain who operated in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century, Calico Jack was founded in 2011 by the brothers Toto (rhythm guitar) and Caps (drums) with the aim of merging legendary 80s heavy metal with modern Scandinavian folk metal, wrapping everything in a maritime atmosphere, inspired by folk songs and sea shanties of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. They make sure they present a flashback to those times with stage scenery and costumes.
“If you play pirate metal, you can’t help but fill the stage with bandanas, chests, skulls, cutlasses, and pistols. We are arranging to bring real parrots and cannonballs on stage, but we are meeting some resistance from animal welfare and pacifist associations… Aesthetics aside, our live shows are notorious for creating absolute chaos above and below the stage, so it is not advisable to attend one of our concerts if you are looking for meditative and intellectual listening. We also hold the record of never having played sober since the beginning of our career, and we offer unlimited drinks to any fan who asks!” adds the band.
Cover art by Sergey Vasnev
Recommended for fans of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, and Running Wild, “Isla de la Muerte” is available at https://bit.ly/IslaDeLaMuerteCD
Track Listing: 1 – Broadside Attack (07:24) 2 – Isla de la Muerte (10:32) 3 – Bad Fortune (05:02) 4 – Antigua (06:25) 5 – Three Cheers to the Shanty Man (04:30) 6 – Marauder (04:37) 7 – Queen Anne’s Revenge (06:08) 8 – Haul Away Joe (03:31) 9 – Sandokan (15:47)
Album Credits: Recorded at Elnor Studio by Mattia Stancioiu Mixed and mastered by Calico Jack All songs written by Calico Jack Photos by Chiara Mascetti Cover art by Sergey Vasnev
Named after the nickname for Captain John Rackham, the English pirate captain who operated in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century, CALICO JACK was founded in 2011 by the brothers Toto(rhythm guitar) and Caps (drums) with the aim of merging legendary 80s heavy metal with modern Scandinavian folk metal, wrapping everything in a maritime atmosphere, inspired by folk songs and sea shanties of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. They make sure they present a flashback to those times with stage scenery and costumes.
“If you play pirate metal, you can’t help but fill the stage with bandanas, chests, skulls, cutlasses, and pistols. We are arranging to bring real parrots and cannonballs on stage, but we are meeting some resistance from animal welfare and pacifist associations… Aesthetics aside, our live shows are notorious for creating absolute chaos above and below the stage, so it is not advisable to attend one of our concerts if you are looking for meditative and intellectual listening. We also hold the record of never having played sober since the beginning of our career, and we offer unlimited drinks to any fan who asks!” adds the band.
In 2013, they released the debut EP “Panic In The Harbour”, and first self-titled full-length in 2019. Now signing with Rockshots Records, the band will be rum running their sophomore album “Isla de la Muerte” out on June 30th, 2023.
Cover art by Sergey Vasnev
For this new record, the band kept the style of their debut album but improved every aspect of their music. “Isla de la Muerte” is much more aggressive, the songs are heavier, more dynamic, and more powerful than past ones. The fiddle tunes on the release are more epic and refined, and there’s no shortage of some of Calico Jack‘s trademarks such as the Caribbean sounds in ‘Antigua’. The band also added important elements such as a track of pure classic heavy metal Running Wild-style (‘Bad Fortune’) and a journey through the eastern sounds of the Indian Ocean in the final suite ‘Sandokan’.
Today, Calico Jack shares their second single from the treasure chest. Entitled “Queen Anne’s Revenge”, the song tells the story of the most feared vessel of all time, the infamous Queen Anne’s Revenge of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Through fast-paced, dark-toned folk metal, it tells how this legendary vessel is viewed with dread and is considered almost a supernatural menace, after all, its captain was considered by his opponents to be a real devil on earth.
The band adds:
“‘Queen Anne’s Revenge’ is one of the first songs we wrote for ‘Isla de la Muerte’, completed already a few years ago, and we played it live several times getting great feedback. It is perhaps the track most similar to the style of our first album, with a dark and evil atmosphere that pays homage to the style of Finntroll more than in the other tracks. On the cursed melody of the refrain, Giò, our captain, narrates the terror that Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s legendary ship, arouses in all those who only hear of her. In the lyric video accompanying the single, some of the most famous maritime artwork from the 1700s and 1800s is shown, with dark and belligerent scenes depicted.”
Recommended for fans of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, and Running Wild, “Isla de la Muerte” is available for album pre-order at https://bit.ly/IslaDeLaMuerteCD
Track Listing: 1 – Broadside Attack (07:24) 2 – Isla de la Muerte (10:32) 3 – Bad Fortune (05:02) 4 – Antigua (06:25) 5 – Three Cheers to the Shanty Man (04:30) 6 – Marauder (04:37) 7 – Queen Anne’s Revenge (06:08) 8 – Haul Away Joe (03:31) 9 – Sandokan (15:47) Total length: 1:03:58
Album Credits: Recorded at Elnor Studio by Mattia Stancioiu Mixed and mastered by Calico Jack All songs written by Calico Jack Photos by Chiara Mascetti Cover art by Sergey Vasnev
Named after the nickname for Captain John Rackham, the English pirate captain who operated in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century, CALICO JACK was founded in 2011 by the brothers Toto (rhythm guitar) and Caps (drums) with the aim of merging legendary 80s heavy metal with modern Scandinavian folk metal, wrapping everything in a maritime atmosphere, inspired by folk songs and sea shanties of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. They make sure they present a flashback to those times with stage scenery and costumes.
“If you play pirate metal, you can’t help but fill the stage with bandanas, chests, skulls, cutlasses, and pistols. We are arranging to bring real parrots and cannonballs on stage, but we are meeting some resistance from animal welfare and pacifist associations… Aesthetics aside, our live shows are notorious for creating absolute chaos above and below the stage, so it is not advisable to attend one of our concerts if you are looking for meditative and intellectual listening. We also hold the record of never having played sober since the beginning of our career, and we offer unlimited drinks to any fan who asks!” adds the band.
In 2013, they released the debut EP “Panic In The Harbour”, and first self-titled full-length in 2019. Now signing with Rockshots Records, the band will rum running their sophomore album “Isla de la Muerte” out on June 30th, 2023.
For this new record, the band kept the style of their debut album but improved every aspect of their music. “Isla de la Muerte” is much more aggressive, the songs are heavier, more dynamic, and more powerful than past ones. The fiddle tunes on the release are more epic and refined, and there’s no shortage of some of Calico Jack’s trademarks such as the Caribbean sounds in ‘Antigua’. The band also added important elements such as a track of pure classic heavy metal Running Wild-style (‘Bad Fortune’) and a journey through the eastern sounds of the Indian Ocean in the final suite ‘Sandokan’.
Today, Calico Jack shares their first taste off “Isla de la Muerte” with their music video for the single “Broadside Attack”. The song is about one of the best-documented naval battles in the history of piracy, where pirate Olivier La Bouche defeated Captain John Frost. He attacked Frost’s vessel in July 1717. It took him a 12 hours chase to catch up to the vessel and when he did it was 9 o’clock in the evening. The pirate vessel had twenty guns and a crew of 170. Olivier La Bouche’s ship fired a broadside of double rounds and partridges, and a volley of small shots. The band was inspired by this epic event to write a folk-power broadside with which to cannonball the audience at live shows. The track, and the whole album, begin with real noises of Dave picking up his fiddle and breathing before starting to play.
The band adds:
“‘Broadside Attack’ is our attempt to narrate the epicness and tension of a naval battle through adrenaline-fueled folk akin to speed-power metal. This song contains cheerful guitar and violin melodies that contrast with the speed and rhythmic roughness in a way that results in overflowing energy, and it also contains one of our most beautiful guitar solos. We want this to become one of our wildest and most incendiary live anthems, and we chose it as the first single and album opener because we want it to provoke in the listener the sudden impact of a cannonball broadside.”
Recommended for fans of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, and Running Wild, “Isla de la Muerte” is available for album pre-order at https://bit.ly/IslaDeLaMuerteCD
Next Live Shows 02 June – Rome, Defrag w/Blodiga Skald and Kormak 03 June – Bari, Extreme Music Academy w/Blodiga Skald and Kormak 30 June – Hörnerfest (Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany) w/Subway to Sally and more
Track Listing: 1 – Broadside Attack (07:24) 2 – Isla de la Muerte (10:32) 3 – Bad Fortune (05:02) 4 – Antigua (06:25) 5 – Three Cheers to the Shanty Man (04:30) 6 – Marauder (04:37) 7 – Queen Anne’s Revenge (06:08) 8 – Haul Away Joe (03:31) 9 – Sandokan (15:47) Total length: 1:03:58
Album Credits: Recorded at Elnor Studio by Mattia Stancioiu Mixed and mastered by Calico Jack All songs written by Calico Jack Photos by Chiara Mascetti Cover art by Sergey Vasnev
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