Volbeat have grown themselves to be one of the biggest rock acts in Europe, a fact that still stuns many if they’re not particularly familiar with the Danish / US quartet. “HOW MANY?!” is often the reaction when people find out they can sell out an almost 50,000 capacity venue in their Danish homeland. Their star is steadily rising in both the UK and the US, so will new album Rewind, Replay, Rebound take them ever higher?
Album opener Last Day Under The Sun is a bit lighter than one may have expected. It has a cheery, Summery feel to it and singer Michael Poulsen is joined by some impressive female backing vocalists who elevate the song above being average Volbeat fare. The first notable riffs from Poulsen and Rob Caggiano kick in with most recent single, Pelvis On Fire. Pelvis is firmly in the vein of what brought Volbeat to the dance, navigating its way along the heavy metal / country-esque rock n’roll fence like an expert skateboarder doing a grind.
A glorious moment comes in the shape of Die To Live, featuring the generally excellent Neil Fallon from Clutch. The brilliance of this track cannot be overstated. Fallon and Michael Poulsen take turns on vocals and there is the best brass involvement in a rock song since the Sax on You Drive Me Wild by The Xcerts some eighteen months ago combining with old school rock n’roll piano. It’s a ridiculous smorgasbord of styles combining into something that feels joyful. It’ll be a true tr00 metal miser who can’t get some joy out of this one.
There’s a string element in When We Were Kids which, combined with a fantastic guitar solo, makes it another notable moment in the first half of the album. The presence of Exodus / Slayer axeman Gary Holt on Cheapside Sloggers is a most welcome one as it results in the best guitar solo of the album (hardly a surprise) as well as a couple of dark, Slayer-esque riffs which are highly enjoyable.
As with most Volbeat albums, Rewind, Replay, Rebound is perhaps a couple of tracks too long for its own good, but there are still enjoyable tracks to be found towards the end of the album. The mini single Parasite provides a nice lead in for Leviathan, while The Everlasting sees Volbeat doing their best to channel Metallica’s riffery and adding it to a huge Volbeat chorus for a late album smash.
As is usually the case when it comes to Volbeat, Rewind, Replay, Rebound has far more home runs than strike outs. It’s not without the odd misstep, but the attempts to broaden their sound have worked very well while not deviating too far from what makes Volbeat pretty unique among the upper tiers of rock acts around today. This album should continue to see their success rise to new heights, while their fans have a wonderful time listening to the album and watching their success grow.
Rewind, Replay, Rebound is released on the 2nd of August through Vertigo Records.
