Calico Jack - Jack Speak Shanties

by Kevin Wierzbicki

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Actually, better make that a keg of rum because you're going to need plenty of grog to go around when this five-song EP starts playing and the party gets started. Named after famed buccaneer Captain John "Calico Jack" Rackham (who incidentally invented the Jolly Roger pirate flag), Calico Jack is a six piece band from Italy that plays a scarily delightful amalgam of classic heavy metal and Scandinavian metal informed by folk songs and sea shanties. Sound intriguing? It is! On opening cut "Wellerman" the band offers a brief Celtic intro before singer Gio begins his vocal turn over a metal melody powered by guitar riffs; the Celtic theme recurs throughout the song though and you don't have to be a drunken sailor to want to dance to what fiddler Dave is offering (band members go by just one name.) There's a good reason the song sounds celebratory too; a wellerman is a supply ship and no doubt these freebooters were looking forward to getting their food, ammunition and of course booze replenished as Gio sings "The wellerman comes/To bring sugar and tea and rum." As to Gio's singing voice, it is exactly what you would imagine a tipsy metal marauder might sound like: growls that come close to veering out of "clean singing" and a little intimidating but not threatening. It makes for good fun as the band rocks through the speedy jig "Off to Sea Once More," the pummeling "The 24th of February" and an ode to the lovelies of Iberia, "Spanish Ladies." Perhaps the best example of how Calico Jack blend sea shanties, Celtic music and extreme metal into one glorious sound emanates from EP highlight "Don't Forget Your Old Shipmate." You can abandon any search for buried treasure; all the booty you need is right here in Jack Speak Shanties.

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