Volbeat

Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Larsen and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. The band is signed to Dutch label Mascot Records and has released seven studio albums and one DVD. All of their studio albums have been certified gold in Denmark. Their second album Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil received platinum status, and their 2010 release Beyond Hell/Above Heaven was subject to widespread international critical acclaim, receiving double platinum in Denmark, platinum in Finland and Germany, and gold in the United States, Sweden and Austria. Volbeat’s seventh album, Rewind, Replay, Rebound, was released on 2 August 2019.

Singer Michael Poulsen’s first band was death metal act Dominus. In 2000, Poulsen became fed up with the death metal music scene, causing Dominus to break up. In 2001, Poulsen went on to form a new band with some friends and other former Dominus members. This was the beginning of Volbeat.

The band name “Volbeat” was derived from Dominus’s third album name, Vol.Beat (read as: Volume Beat). After selling 1,000 copies of their Beat the Meat demo tape, Volbeat was signed to a record deal by Rebel Monster Records, a sub-label of Mascot Records.

Volbeat released their first album, The Strength/The Sound/The Songs in 2005. The line-up for the album consisted of Michael Poulsen (vocals), Jon Larsen (drums), Franz Gottschalk (guitar) and Anders Kjølholm (bass). The album was a huge success in Denmark achieving a spot at No. 18 in the charts. Critics were generally positive towards The Strength / The Sound / The Songs. The German hard rock magazine RockHard gave it 10/10 in a review. The Strength / The Sound / The Songs also received a handful of awards, including Best Album in the Danish Metal Musik Awards in 2005. Volbeat was praised for its live performances. Their concert at Roskilde Festival 2006 received a 6/6 stars review in the Danish newspaper BT.

Bassist Anders Kjølholm at Nova Rock 2014
The band, featuring the same line-up as their first album, released their second album, Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil, in week 8 of 2007, where it debuted as No. 1 in the Danish Top 40 for CD-sales.

They opened the Roskilde Festival in 2007 and also supported Metallica together with Mnemic at their concert in Denmark 13 July of that year. They were to support Megadeth in Finland and in their home town, Copenhagen, and to make a few festival appearances mid-2008. They hired Thomas Bredahl following the recording of Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil as a replacement for Gottschalk on guitar.

In 2008, Volbeat released their third album, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood featuring guitarist Thomas Bredahl. It topped the Finnish Album Chart straight after its publication. In 2009, Volbeat supported the symphonic metal band Nightwish on their U.S tour in May. On 31 May 2009 they were on the main stage of the Pinkpop Festival. They also supported Metallica on the North American leg of Metallica’s World Magnetic Tour from October to December 2009. In 2009 the band played at the biggest open-air festival in Europe (400,000–500,000 rock fans every year), Przystanek Woodstock in Poland.

Genres: International Rock, Heavy Metal, Rockabilly