VOLBEAT Frontman: New Album Contains 'Some Of The Heaviest Songs We Have Ever Recorded'

Former ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano earlier in the month joined Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT. Caggiano served as producer on VOLBEAT's latest album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", alongside longtime production partner Jacob Hansen, who produced and mixed the band's prior four albums. Caggiano's other producer credits include THE DAMNED THINGS, BLEEDING THROUGH and ANTHRAX, and he was a member of ANTHRAX for two tenures — from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2007 to 2013.

Speaking to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, VOLBEAT singer and guitarist Michael Poulsen stated about Caggiano's addition to the band and the upcoming CD: "When you get to the point in your career where you're making a number of albums, I don't really see the point in putting out the same record twice. So I felt it was time to change some of our habits, because in the past we've tended to work in the same way, at producer Jacob Hansen's studio… So this time around, we've come to PUK studios in Denmark and Rob Caggiano has become involved, working alongside Jacob. The result is a new sound for VOLBEAT, a new vibe, although that's not to say the songs aren't still typical of what we are known for; it's still 100 percent VOLBEAT, but everything has been taken to a higher degree, and I can honestly say I've never heard the band playing so well. Everyone has been truly inspired by the new surroundings and the new team — so much so that I've even re-written some of the songs in the studio; there were so many great ideas flying around, that it made me want to push myself even harder… and the recordings are sounding great. Nothing is mixed yet, but it's really strong already, so my main concern is that whoever mixes the record doesn't fuck it up! Having said that, we just heard a test mix from Chris Lord-Alge — it was amazing, so he's now confirmed to mix the whole thing."

He continued: "I know everyone says this, but this IS the best album VOLBEAT has recorded — at least until the next one! I set myself a number of goals for this record, and all of them have been achieved, so I couldn't be happier, and having Rob on board has really worked out well.

"You know, I was really impressed with the sound of the new ANTHRAX album, which he worked on, so we discussed maybe working together in the studio on a couple of songs, but it's now gone way further than that! Rob really knows what he's doing…

"One of the things I'm most happy about this time is the contrast in the material, the range of the music; on the one side, you have the western motifs, the rockabilly/country songs, and the real emotional melodies, and on the other, some of the heaviest — actually, THE heaviest — songs we have ever recorded. There was a record company guy in the studio the other day, and he was absolutely blown away by the ultra-heavy stuff. He said he wasn't even sure he was listening to VOLBEAT! [laughs]"

VOLBEAT's fifth album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", will be released on April 9 (one day earlier internationally) via Spinefarm/Universal Music.

VOLBEAT will embark on a North American headlining tour in the spring. The trek, which will feature support from DANKO JONES, will kick off on March 6 in Dallas, Texas.