Battleheart and origins (2004–2007) The band was founded in 2004 in
Perth, Scotland as Battleheart, a studio project by Christopher Bowes and Gavin Harper. Originally intended as a standard power metal band, the success of song "Heavy Metal Pirates" convinced the band to permanently adopt a pirate theme and incorporate folk metal elements into their music. The band began to perform live in 2006, with a lineup consisting of Bowes (vocals and
keytar), Harper (guitars), Dani Evans (
bass) and Doug Swierczek (
drums). The album featured the drummer of the band Incubator, Migo Wagner as the session drummer. Drummer Ian Wilson left in June 2008 and later rejoined in August of the same year. Tim Shaw was Harper's replacement, but after a brief period of touring, was fired from the band. To fill the guitarist position, Dani Evans switched instruments from bass to guitar, and Gareth Murdock of
Waylander joined as the replacement bassist.
Black Sails at Midnight and Back Through Time (2009–2011) The band's second studio album
Black Sails at Midnight was released in May 2009. The album peaked at #60 on the
GfK Entertainment charts. In March 2010, Ian Wilson left the band and was replaced with a new drummer named Peter Alcorn. Alestorm's third album,
Back Through Time, was Alcorn's first appearance on an Alestorm album. The album reached #42 on the
German Albums Chart. In October 2011, Elliot Vernon joined the band as keyboard player and also performed
screamed / death metal vocals.
Sunset on the Golden Age and No Grave But the Sea (2012–2019) The band released their fourth record entitled "Sunset on the Golden Age" on 1 August 2014, reaching the #1 position in the
UK Rock Chart. Dani Evans retired from the band in April 2015, and was replaced by Hungarian guitarist Máté Bodor of the band
Wisdom, who is also a part of
Leander Kills. In October 2016, Christopher Bowes announced during a concert on the Super Smashed Turbo Tour that the band planned to begin recording a fifth studio album in January 2017. The fifth record, entitled "
No Grave But the Sea", was released on 26 May 2017.
Curse of the Crystal Coconut and Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum (2020–2022) On 8 January 2020, the band announced the title of their sixth studio album, "
Curse of the Crystal Coconut". This was released on 29 May 2020. Prior to the album's release, Alestorm released the singles "Treasure Chest Party Quest" on 2 April 2020, "Tortuga" (feat. Captain Yarrface of Rumahoy) on 23 April 2020, and "Fannybaws" on 14 May 2020. The fourth single for the album titled, "Pirate Metal Drinking Crew" was released on 29 May 2020. The album peaked at #68 on the
Official Albums Chart. A deluxe version of the album includes the normal track listing, along with what is referred to as "
16th Century Version" editions of each track was released. On 6 August, The Wooden Box was released and it included two bonus tracks on a 7-inch Single which are "Big Ship Little Ship" and "Bassline Junkie". On 28 May 2021, the band released their second live album, "Live in Tilburg". In August 2021, a Twitter account named "GloryhammerC" posted screenshots of what appeared to be an internal chat from 2017 between the members of the band
Gloryhammer, of whom vocalist Chris Bowes was a keyboardist and founding member, that showed misogynist and racist humour along with several racial slurs. Bassist Vincent Jackson Jones of
Aether Realm, who formerly collaborated with Bowes in the band Wizardthrone, released a statement on 26 August 2021, in which he distanced himself professionally from Bowes and urged Bowes to make his own statement; at the time, none of Gloryhammer's members had made public comments on the issue. Subsequently, Aether Realm, who were due to tour with both bands, were replaced with the Bootyard Bandits. On 5 September 2021, Bowes and the rest of the band released statements, admitting the leaked chat was true and apologizing for the remarks. On 16 January 2022, the band announced that they entered the studio to record their seventh studio album,
Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum. On 31 January 2022, the band released a music video for the song "Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship", a song from their sixth album, "Curse of the Crystal Coconut". On 13 March 2022, the band announced that their seventh studio album will be released on 24 June 2022. On 6 April 2022, the band released the lead single, "Magellan's Expedition". On 4 May 2022, the band released the second single, "P.A.R.T.Y.". On 1 June 2022, the band released the third single, "The Battle of Cape Fear River. On 22 June 2022, the band released the fourth single, "Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum".
Voyage of the Dead Marauder EP and The Thunderfist Chronicles (2023–present) On 17 September 2023, the band announced an upcoming EP titled "Voyage of the Dead Marauder", set to be released in 2024. On 14 November 2023, the band announced the release date for the EP, setting the release for 22 March 2024. On 14 February 2024, the band released a new song, "Voyage of the Dead Marauder", the lead single from the EP. The EP featured two cover versions. On 4 March 2025, the band announced their eighth studio album,
The Thunderfist Chronicles, which was later released on 20 June 2025. On 23 April 2025, the band released the album's first single, "Frozen Piss 2". On 20 May 2025, the album's second single, "Killed to Death by Piracy", was released. On 18 June 2025, the album's third single, "The Storm", was released. ==Musical style==