Danish metal band Volbeat is traveling all the way from Copenhagen to the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues to perform this Friday. These Danes have combined Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and modern hard rock to create their sound.
And these days, they have even more American influence with the addition of Rob Caggiano, lead guitarist of Anthrax fame, who has permanently joined the line-up.
“The middle of January is when I agreed to join the band,” Caggiano said. “We just did a five-show tour of Denmark, so it was shortly after that.”
Volbeat formed in 2000 when current band vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen became fed up with the death metal music scene and departed from his first band Dominus.
Poulsen desired a different kind of sound with more eclectic influences. In short, he wanted to focus on more than Vikings, black churches and the challenge of living with too much or too little daylight.
Poulsen drew talent from his former Dominus band mates to create a mix of rockabilly, punk and metal.
In 2010, Caggiano’s former band The Damned Things were on tour with Volbeat.
“They took us out on stage and that’s when I first really heard the music. I was just blown away. All these classic influences … the sound is just killer, it’s just really infectious,” Caggiano said. “It’s got a real classic quality to it that I love. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Metallica, Slayer, King Diamond, I don’t know, it’s just kind of a mix of everything.”
“Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies” is Volbeat’s fifth album and the impetus for its U.S. tour. Caggiano was in the studio to lend his chops during the recording process.
“The new album comes out April 9 and it’s something we’re really proud of,” Caggiano said. “There’s a strong Western theme throughout the whole record and lyrically there are a lot of stories based on actual characters like real cowboys and gangsters.”
It is no easy feat to jump into an already successful band. But that’s what Caggiano has done, joining three original Volbeat members, frontman Poulsen, bassist Anders Kjølholm and drummer Jon Larsen.
“It just happened organically and everything worked really well,” said Caggiano.
“The band is very proud and happy to announce that he (Caggiano) will also be the new guitar player in Volbeat,” Poulsen said in a recent press release. “The collaboration with Rob in the studio was so inspiring and in good spirit that we the decided to keep him. Basically we went into the studio as a three-piece and came out as a whole band!”
As for Caggiano’s favorite tracks, “I love the song called ‘Hangman’s Body Count,’ another tune called ‘Dead But Rising’ and ‘Doc Holliday.’”
Volbeat’s American tour is currently under way. And for those who still want to catch Caggiano’s former heavy metal band, Anthrax, they’re also on tour and perform at the House of Blues on Wednesday, March 27 as part of the Metal Alliance Tour.
