VOLBEAT Frontman MICHAEL POULSEN's Death Metal Project ASINHELL Is Working On Material For Second Album

ASINHELL, the death metal band featuring VOLBEAT's Michael Poulsen on guitar, Marc Grewe (INSIDIOUS DISEASE, ex-MORGOTH) on vocals and Morten Toft Hansen (RAUNCHY) on drums, has commenced work on material for its sophomore album.

According to a new social media post from Grewe, the tentative plan is for ASINHELL for record the follow-up to 2023's "Impii Hora" sometime next year.

"Impii Hora" (Latin for "Ungodly Hour") arrived in September 2023 via Metal Blade.

For more than 20 years, Poulsen has been spearheading Danish rock and roll machine VOLBEAT, releasing nine full-lengths, selling millions of albums, and filling stadiums worldwide. Before fronting VOLBEAT, however, Poulsen formed death metal band DOMINUS, which recorded four fast, brutal albums in the mid-1990s.

When Poulsen was putting together songs for VOLBEAT's 2021 album, "Servant Of The Mind", he wrote a bunch of death metal riffs and saved them on his phone. Then, when he was done with the VOLBEAT record, he reopened the rusty gates to Armageddon and started putting together songs for his new death metal band ASINHELL, whose "Impii Hora" LP is a tribute to Poulsen's favorite old-school groups.

Poulsen has rekindled the death metal fire that fueled his first band DOMINUS. He began jamming on riffs with longtime friend and neighbor, Toft Hansen. The two started playing in Morten's tiny garage: no mics, no P.A. — just a drum kit and a combo amp turned all the way up like they used when they were teenagers. Soon, the pair were completing a new song every time they got together. When it came time to add vocals, Poulsen turned to his good friend, who also happened to be one of his all-time favorite death metal growlers: Grewe, formerly of MORGOTH and currently in INSIDIOUS DISEASE.

"I had known Michael quite a long time and he always mentioned that we should do a death metal project one day, but I never took him too seriously because he was so busy with VOLBEAT," Grewe said. "Then he called for real and said, 'Yeah, I want to do it now. Are you up for it?' Immediately, I was like, 'Yes, of course!'"

With ASINHELL fully formed, the three convened with VOLBEAT producer Jacob Hansen to produce, mix, and play bass on their debut album. When it was time to add lead guitar to the album, Michael looked no further than friend, VOLBEAT touring guitarist and THE ARCANE ORDER axeman Flemming C. Lund.

ASINHELL made its live debut on May 30, 2024 at Pumphuset in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Joining ASINHELL on the road were Hansen on bass as well as Lund on lead guitar, making the band's first live incarnation the same lineup that performed on "Impii Hora".

Photo credit: Brittany Bowman