Pirate metal pioneers, Alestorm, are setting sail for territory previously unexplored by the Scottish musicians.

While the band may have played in Canada in years previous, their visits have never been quite like this.

On a 15 date tour, the band will travel from coast to coast, gigging at some of the smallest venues they have in years and traversing through towns and cities they have never heard of, including Kelowna!

“Usually we just pop in and do one or two shows in Canada while on a bigger North American tour and that kind of sucks,” said frontman Christopher Bowes.

“It doesn’t really do the country justice, so it is nice to come back and do the entire thing. There are so many new places on this tour that I have never heard of and I am really excited about them all.”

The main reason the band wanted to give Canada its very own tour was to ensure as many of their fans as possible had the opportunity to see them.

“We wanted to make it a proper tour, we didn’t want to do just five or six shows because then people will complain ‘that’s not a real tour’,” said Bowes.

“I expect a lot of people in the small towns we will visit have never had the chance to see us before, so we really wanted to do everything we could. If people come and still complain well then it’s their own damn fault,” he laughed.

To ensure first time Alestorm viewers are left completely satisfied, Bowes and the boys have curated a discography spanning setlist that includes each and every hit.

“We know we have a handful of songs that everybody loves, so we are just going to play those,” he said.

Adding that while the band has in fact completed writing their newest record, they won’t divulge any of the latest material before they hit the studio in early 2020.

Despite playing to crowds of thousands on festival main-stages around the world, the dudes in Alestorm try to never take themselves too seriously, even their various social media bio’s read “S**t band, No fans.”

“Not taking things too seriously keeps us sane,” said Bowes. “Having to keep up the image of being a ‘spooky metal dude’ or whatever can be draining.”

“It is kind of nice to not have to pretend,” he added. “If we go on stage and we feel like s**t, we just tell everyone that once we get there, it just makes life easier for us," he added.

Speaking of not taking things too seriously, this troupe of sea rovers is known for campy stage antics and mustering up a party out of thin air.

“[Our shows] are just an insane party and best enjoyed if you loosen up and sing along,” said Bowes. “If you are there to stand in the back with your arms crossed and judging our guitar solos, you will be let down.”

“Mainly because our guitar solos suck and we are all untalented,” he laughed.

Fan in attendance of the Okanagan show can obviously expect to participate in one of Alestorm’s coveted row pits (the art of sitting on the floor in a line and doing rowing motions as if you’re controlling a man-powered ship) and if we’re lucky, maybe have the opportunity to meet one of their accidentally massive, custom-made inflatable ducks.

Earlier this year, the band broke the news that they would no longer be able to bring out their inflatable mascots due to the fact that the company who created them, halted production.

“Turns out there really isn’t much of a market for giant inflatable ducks,” laughed Bowes.

Luckily, the band was able to source a new company out of China who not only was willing to make the ducks, but customize them with the band’s logo and an eye-patch.

However the next roadblock arrived when the new ducks turned out to be much larger than anticipated when fully inflated.

“We may have done a sort of reverse spinal tap and made them bigger than we actually wanted to,” he laughed. “It is a genuine concern that they won't fit in some of the venues we are playing they are just that huge, so we will have to see what happens.”

Thankfully, the band is set to conquer the larger Rutland Centennial Hall when they roll through on Friday, Nov. 15 — fingers crossed we will get to see one of these pirate ducks in action.

Set to support the band on their entire tour is melo-death group Aephanemer, along with Alberta power/speed metal outfit and Kelowna favourites, Ravenous — who are onboard for the Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Kelowna shows.

“It feels amazing and a huge honour to be the only Canadian band to play multiple dates with them on this tour, especially since we have a lot of inspiration that comes from drunken pirate music as well as heavy metal, it’s a perfect blend of a unique performance and an amazing party,” said Ravenous frontman Robert Antonius Voltaire.

“We are actually doing this set of shows as a four-piece so most people can expect the same heaviness but with me doubling up on guitar and vocals, I haven’t played guitar live in over 10 years so it should be interesting, but all in all the dynamic and raw energy of the performance is no different,” added Voltaire.

“Kelowna is in for a heavy, epic, raging good show from all the bands involved, but above all they’re in for what Ravenous does best - some Heroic Speed Metal!”

Valley support will come from Armstrong groove metal outfit Nomad and Kelowna death metal act, Traceless Dimensions.

Tickets for the pirate party of the century are on sale now and going quickly, click here to get yours and secure your spot in the pit!

Bowes and Alestorm also want to remind those of you who attend to give it your all at the show but to not forget a designated driver for when the rum is gone.

If you happen to be out and about in the city on the 15th, you may just find this band of pirates hunting for the Ogopogo.