VOLBEAT's Ninth Album Is 'Done'; 'A Lot Of Shows' Coming Up In 2025

Danish rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT have completed recording their ninth album. The follow-up to 2021's "Servant Of The Mind" is due later in 2025.

Earlier today, VOLBEAT guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen shared an end-of-year video message in which he said in part:  "Hello people out there. Michael Poulsen from VOLBEAT and ASINHELL here. Happy new year. I'm definitely looking forward for 2025.

"The new VOLBEAT record has been recorded. It's done. It will be out in 2025. You'll know more information about that early in 2025. Can't wait.

"There's a lot of shows being booked for '25 with VOLBEAT everywhere in the world. Can't wait to meet you all out there. Who knows? I might even start working on new songs for the next ASINHELL record, my second band. If you don't have the first record, check it out. Old-school death metal.

"We had a great tour [of Europe with ASINHELL last summer]. We were talking to a lot of new fans and old-school fans. And, yeah, a lot of fans actually ask what we were inspired by, but I'll get back to that in another video where I've been talking about all the old-school death metal that I like so much and old fresh metal and old classic heavy metal from the '80s, early '90s. But that's another video. Right now I just wanna recommend some good new bands that I bought lately or I just bought within a couple of years. There's so many of them. There's not room for every vinyl in this video, but I will make a second video so all the bands get the credit that they truly deserve. I think there's so many good youngsters out there doing amazing job, and actually also some old timers as well."

VOLBEAT returned to the live stage for the first time in 16 months on December 6 as the support act for IRON MAIDEN at Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil.

In October 2023, Poulsen underwent a throat surgery. A month earlier, he told "Paltrocast" host Darren Paltrowitz about the procedure: "It's an operation I've been through before. This one is just a little bit bigger and it's gonna take some time to get back in vocal shape. So, VOLBEAT is not playing [in 2024]. I'll use a lot of time to get my voice back after the operation. But at the same time, I will actually be writing a new VOLBEAT album. So hopefully later [in 2024], I can put down the vocals for the next VOLBEAT album. But in the meantime, I will go out and play shows with ASINHELL."

Asked if this means that he might have to change his singing approach to where he will start doing the vocal warmdowns after each show, Michael said: "I do warm up before a show, but there's no way I'm gonna use my voice after a show. I'm very optimistic about the whole thing. As I said, I tried before and I got good people around me. I've got a great coach in Melissa Cross who has been helping out a lot of singers. She will help me out again to get my voice back in shape after the operation. So I like to stay positive, and I'm pretty sure everything's going to be all right."

Back in January 2021, Poulsen told Denmark's BT.dk that he underwent an operation during the coronavirus pandemic to remove a large polyp. He added: "I have managed to retrain my voice so much that there has been time to record a new album," referencing "Servant Of The Mind", which came out in December 2021.

VOLBEAT parted ways with longtime guitarist Rob Caggiano in June 2023 and replaced him for the band's latest tour with Flemming C. Lund of the Danish extreme metal outfit THE ARCANE ORDER.

VOLBEAT played its first concert with Lund on June 10, 2023 at the Rockfest festival in Hyvinkää, Finland.

Just five days earlier, VOLBEAT announced that it had officially parted ways with Caggiano. No reason was given for the split, but the remaining bandmembers said that they wished their "brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future." They went on to thank Rob "for ten amazing years."

Caggiano played on VOLBEAT's last four studio albums: 2013's "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", 2016's "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie", 2019's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" and "Servant Of The Mind".

ASINHELL's debut album, "Impii Hora" (Latin for "Ungodly Hour"),arrived in September 2023 via Metal Blade. Poulsen is joined in the project by ex-MORGOTH singer Marc Grewe (also of INSIDIOUS DISEASE) and RAUNCHY drummer Morten Toft Hansen.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Q Prime)