Hell yeah!
Michael Poulsen and the boys have done it again in a big way: they’ve pulled off a blistering album that follows right along the footpaths of their amazing debut, ‘The Strenght/The Sounds/The Songs’ (2005).

It’s been a busy year and a half for the rock’n’metal crew since they exploded onto the scene with rave reviews and more than a hundred live appearances both inside and outside Denmark, but luckily, Poulsen has found the time to pen down another 11 tracks for Volbeat and producer Jacob Hansen to get their firm grip on.

What I find ultimately cool about Volbeat is the fact that they avoid the potential cheese factor by keeping their references clear and never loosing the sharp edge. Although there’s so much Elvis and Cash in this, so much rock’n’roll of yonder ages, even a tad of Bon Jovi when he was insisting on Blazing the Glory, there’s never a hint of a doubt that Slayer and Social Distortion have had a huge stake in what made Volbeat.

Listen to a song like Mr. & Mrs. Ness; it’s definitely Volbeat, yeah, but try to compare it to Slayer’s Dead Skin Mask from ‘Seasons…’ – well, I’ll be damned if it isn’t more or less the same eerie intro and the exact same feeling captured right there. On the other side of the fence, you have Sad Man’s Tongue that could make a Johnny Cash fan wonder if the Man had come back for one last round with the rock devil.

There are no fillers on this album, just pure rock ’n’ metal that’ll get you up and dance and let the hair fly.

The best track on there? I think it has to be Devil or the Blue Cat’s Song. The song is in my view the epitome of Volbeat and their unique style. The balance between rock and metal is perfect and the chorus is to die for.

Compared to ‘The Strength…’ , ‘Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil’ offers us a cleaner and more controlled sound, secured by Jacob Hansen’s professional knob-twisting.

If this album doesn’t take Volbeat to the stars, then I don’t know what will. Whoever said that rock is dead was an idiot. 'nuff said.