Band Origin: Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre: Heavy Metal / Rockabilly / Punk
Label: Vertigo / Universal
Running Time: 51 minutes
Release Date: September 10, 2010
Best Part: The thrash inspired tracks Who They Are, and Evelyn.
Favorite Tracks: Evelyn, Who They Are, The Mirror and The Ripper, A Warrior's Call, and 16 Dollars
Grade: 4.5
Side Note: Despite the genre arguments, the track below is the swing vote that made me put this up today. Mark fucking Greenway.
Side Note: Despite the genre arguments, the track below is the swing vote that made me put this up today. Mark fucking Greenway.
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Beyond Hell / Above Heaven in way more than 20 words or less:
While this band from Denmark may not stick to certain puritans definition of heavy metal, they have enough of it laced in their mixed bag of genres to keep you on your toes.
The Band:
Volbeat is a four piece heavy metal / hard rock band from Denmark that play a style of music that is hard to narrow down to one specific genre. Their sound is inspired from a number of genres and artists from heavy metal, rockabilly, blues and punk rock. To try and classify Volbeat by one specific genre or yet even try to define them under one specific track would be nigh-impossible, as their style shifts from song to song, with songs that dabble between the blues driven spectrum of rock and roll as far as thrash and groove metal inspired, hard charging and heavy renditions. The one element of the band that can be said to distinguish them is the vocal work of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen.
Volbeat is a four piece heavy metal / hard rock band from Denmark that play a style of music that is hard to narrow down to one specific genre. Their sound is inspired from a number of genres and artists from heavy metal, rockabilly, blues and punk rock. To try and classify Volbeat by one specific genre or yet even try to define them under one specific track would be nigh-impossible, as their style shifts from song to song, with songs that dabble between the blues driven spectrum of rock and roll as far as thrash and groove metal inspired, hard charging and heavy renditions. The one element of the band that can be said to distinguish them is the vocal work of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen.
Jay's Take on Beyond Hell / Above Heaven:
I debated for a while to put a Volbeat album up on 365 Days of Metal mainly because of how certain people may distinguish the band in terms of genre. More specifically, their primary use of less metal-centric genres would be the issue of debate. Beyond Hell / Above Heaven however is probably a good example of a record where you get prime examples for the type of range the band has in its use of styles, and also their incorporation of heavy metal into their music. Tracks like Who They Are and Evelyn are stand outs in this regard, as they are thrash metal inspired and metal to the core. Evelyn also has the fortune of being graced by the harsh vocals of Mark Greenway of Napalm Death, making it an instant fucking win, in my book. Beyond Hell / Above Heaven is just a fun record to listen to, as I'm a constant fan of all of their associated genres, to have a band that can easily jump between blues, rockabilly, punk rock, and of course metal makes for an enjoyable listen whenever you're in the mood for a slight change in pace. Poulsen's voice, which is superb in its own right is made better by his ability to represent each genres vocal style appropriately from track to track, making listening to each track fresh and interesting. Jon Larsen's drum work even from the least metal inspired track is still distinctly the work of a heavy metal and punk inspired drummer, something that bridges the genre gaps yet again for me.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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