Volbeat
Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil

May 2007
Released: 2007, Mascot Records
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

Volbeat are one of Denmark’s biggest metal acts and rose from the ashes of Dominus. Their debut came out in 2004 and it’s now about to be followed up with ROCK THE REBEL/METAL THE DEVIL. It’s kind of hard to describe what kind of music Volbeat plays; it’s a strange but wonderful mix of the older Metallica albums, Motörhead, Misfits, and Elvis. Singer and founder Michael Poulsen sounds a little like Danzig. Maybe it’s easiest to call Volbeat’s music a mix of thrash metal and rockabilly.

The album has a wonderful musical landscape and production. Almost every song makes you want to bang your head really hard. The production by Jacob Hansen in Hansen Studio is absolutely flawless. There’s not a single bad track amongst the 11 songs. It’s really hard to pick any personal favorites, however, the absolute killer tracks and the ones you can listen to several times in a row are “The Human Instrument”, “Mr. and Mrs. Ness”, “Devil or the Blue Cat’s Song”, and “River Queen”. Then we have the amazing “Garden’s Tale” where Johan Olsen from the Danish act Magtens Korridorer lends his voice and sings his parts on Danish. It’s also the first single from the album. Another special song is “Sad Man’s Tongue”, which is inspired by the true sheriff Johnny Cash. The song has a country-esque intro before it breaks into a thrash riffing rockabilly blowout.

It’s really time for Volbeat to get big outside of Denmark and if they can’t make it with this album I have no idea what can. The album is like a kick in the head or a punch in the face with a metal fist. It’s one of those albums that lasts for weeks. Please do yourself a favor and buy this album.