Tuesday, March 19 marks the return of Danish rockers, Volbeat to the Treasure Valley. The band’s July 2012 Boise show was an absolute monster, and with a new album on its way and a new guitarist in the fold, one expects this event to be even more memorable. Joining Volbeat will be Toronto’s Danko Jones who is touring in support of his latest release, along with Arkansas rockers, Spoken who released their new album last month. The show will be held at the new Revolution Concert House and Event Center. Tickets are still available and may be purchased here.
Volbeat’s newest effort, the band’s fifth, “Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies” is a record that’s rich with stories and characters woven throughout its lyrics. Some are real – like the noble lady outlaw Pearl Hart, who held up a stagecoach to buy medicine for her dying mother, or Lola Montez, the erotic dancer with her infamous ‘Spider Dance,’ or Black Bart, the gentleman highwayman who wrote poems for the people he robbed. Others are entirely fictional. "The Nameless One" is a cautionary tale of dabbling in the dark arts, featuring the mysterious and sinister character of the title. Elsewhere, "Room 24," featuring King Diamond, was inspired by a terrifying experience in a hotel room somewhere in the heart of America.
Since forming in Copenhagen in 2000, Volbeat has released four studio albums, and two live offerings, that have turned the band into superstars, collecting platinum discs and prestigious awards making them one of the most talked about bands around the world. Distilling the rebel spirits of metal, rockabilly, country and western and rock’n’roll into a gas-guzzling beast of a sound, they’ve drawn huge acclaim from music fans worldwide, and now Volbeat’s electrifying fifth album, “Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies”, is about to secure them a seat at rock’s top table alongside those very same legends. It finds the core trio of Michael Poulsen (vocals/guitar), Anders Kjølholm (bass) and Jon Larsen (drums) joined by former Anthrax/The Damned Things guitarist Rob Caggiano, who produced the album with longtime Volbeat co-producer Jacob Hansen.
The album was recorded in the legendary PUK Studios, in Randers, Denmark. With Hansen and Caggiano sharing production duties, which brought a new dynamic to the proceedings. Volbeat main man Michael Poulsen reflects:
"I love Jacob Hansen’s work. He’s part of Volbeat, and we worked together on all the albums so far. I started flirting with the idea of bringing Rob in as a producer too because he produced Anthrax and The Damned Things, and I like the sound of what he did there. I thought, ‘That could be a really cool combination,' as both are quality guys with really high standards.”
"It’s a new vibe for Volbeat,” says Poulsen. “You’ve got everything – the rockabilly stuff, the melodies, the ultra-heavy stuff, the Western motifs and the big rock songs. It’s everything that Volbeat are all about, but taken even further.”
The album title is a phrase that evokes another time, an era when elegant lawbreakers were the rock stars of the day. It tips its fedora to everything from the bad men (and women) of the old west to the old school metal bands who influenced the young Michael Poulsen to form his first band, Dominus, back in the early 90s.
You can view our July 2012 interview with drummer Jon Larsen below.
Canadian hard rock rebel Danko Jones is tearing up the road in support of his sixth studio album, 2012’s “Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue”. Danko, who handles guitar and vocal duties is joined by bassist John 'JC' Calabrese and drummer Atom Willard (Offspring, Social Distortion). Seventeen years ago, Jones was a hungry lion trying to break free of Toronto's stagnant indie-rock scene. Today, he's a well-fed beast who routinely shares arena stages with the likes of Axl Rose and Lemmy Kilmister. He's a top charting artist in Europe and he's added the titles of "Spoken Word Artist," "Music- magazine Columnist" and "Internationally Syndicated Radio Host" to his formidable list of aliases (The Mango Kid, Dr. Evening, The Brown Panther).
Spoken hails from Fayetteville, Arkansas. The hard rocking rap metallers formed in 1996. In February the trio of founder/vocalist Matt Baird, drummer Oliver Crumpton, and bassist Ryan Pei, released their seventh studio album, "Illusion". The record marks the band's first release for E1 Music.
"Illusion" was produced by Jasen Rausch (Red, Disciple) in Nashville, TN over the course of two years, the new album will be the band’s seventh studio album. Bassist Ryan Pei comments on the experience, "The process was so long and spread out that it was more of an evolution during the process of making the record. Our producer, Jasen Rauch, has been a huge part of where this band is at sonically and has taught all of us so much."
The band’s frontman, Matt Baird, has a different view when it comes to the time that was spent developing this album:
"We love music, we love our fans, we love seeing the world, but most of all we feel that God has given us an amazing tool. Music is universal, we love to play and perform. We'll do music for the rest of our lives. Hopefully We have not and never will take this for granted. We have great lives and have no plans on wasting it."
The album is summed up in the heart of the first radio single, "Through it All." "The song was written around the time that the tornado destroyed Joplin, MO," comments Baird. "It's a song about going through the fires of life, and actually making it through to the other side without giving up."
Venue Information:
Revolution Concert House & Event Center
4983 Glenwood St. Unit 4
Garden City, ID, 83714
www.revolutioncenterid.com
Rustyn Rose is a veteran music journalist who owns and operates Metalholic Magazine and Metalholic Radio.
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