VOLBEAT – Rock The Rebel/Metal The Devil

This is a Danish band that was actually born as soon as Dominus ceased to exist somewhere in the late 2001. Michael Poulsen managed to lead Dominus for 10 years, playing atmospheric Death Metal, eventually releasing four albums that gave them much publicity and significant “air” time in the Danish radio waves. This freshly formed Volbeat band released a demo in 2002 that faced a rather numb response from the media. This situation quickly changed when the Beat The Meat demo saw the light of the day one year after. Songs from this release squeezed in the Danish and the French Radio Top 30 list, giving the band the chance to appear in various television shows, and eventually in big festivals, building strong publicity foundations. Actually, Volbeat is the first Heavy Metal band that has sold more albums than some popular acts like Eminem, Madonna, Franz Ferdinand or even Pink Floyd in the Danish record industry.

All of the above have definitely created anticipation for the second full-length release by this Danish quartet. Well, to stir more things up, one can say that the music in Rock The Rebel/Metal The Devil can be briefly described as ”Elvis Metal”. There is a Southern American aura that surrounds Volbeat’s music that starts from Poulsen’s vocals and stomps to the groovy 12-string guitar melodies.

This aura comes through the speakers as soon as “The Human Instrument” kicks in. The track really grooves with Stoner guitar riffs that fit perfectly with the strangely performed vocals. The guitar solo sounds really “dirty” and mean under the solid-as-hell rhythm section. “Mr. & Mrs. Ness” is next, bringing to the front line the Metallica influences during the Black Metal glorious era, with some Hetfield-esque vocal melodies. ”The Garden’s Tale” comes as a surprise with a clean guitar intro that builds to a fast tempo, almost Punk track, with some Danish lyrics as the icing on the cake! The Punk attitude continues in “Devil Or The Blue Cat’s Song” that follows Glen Danzig’s dark perspective. The Elvis shadow flies over the intro of “Sad’s Man’s Tongue,” and quickly transforms into an ultra-heavy Stoner song that finishes with a Motörhead guitar solo.

Some headbanging time is next, with the guitar-driven almost-Thrashers “River Queen” and “Radio Girl” that additionally includes sing-along choruses. The double-drum pedaling and the low-tuned guitars create the neck-wrecking track entitled “A Moment Forever,” where one can feel the energy floating from the speakers. “Soulweeper #2” slows things down with some mellow and catchy melodies; this short intermission finishes when “You Or Them” comes with another bone-crushing rhythm section. The last track of the album, “Boa,” brings in yet another surprise by incorporating some Soulfly influences, with groovy tribal guitar riffs and some Cavalera shouts to top things off!

Definitely, this is a surprise from Denmark that requires some additional spins to grow inside due to this bizarre mix of Thrash meets Punk with Southern American flavors.