VOLBEAT NEWS!

So I noticed how dead this group has been. As a die-hard Volbeat fan who runs a successful blog dedicated to them and what have you... I decided to make a blog entry here on this group. The last/only blog entry I see was back in 2011 by lp-freak-Anna announcing the departure of Thomas Bredahl from the band.

Now, less than two years later, the news of Volbeat's uprising has stunned many fans. Volbeat has a new guitarist, former Anthrax guitarist, Rob Caggiano. He's their full-time guitarist after producing the new upcoming album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies," which is set to drop worldwide April 9th, 2013.

Feb. 04, 2013; VOLBEAT TO RELEASE OUTLAW GENTLEMEN & SHADY LADIES APRIL 8TH, 2013:

We’re happy to announce that the upcoming studio album "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" will be released on in April 8, 2013 (GSA on April 5 and USA on April 9).

The band has also shared that former Anthrax and The Damned Things guitarist Rob Caggiano, has officially joined the band. Caggiano served as producer on "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", alongside long-time production partner Jacob Hansen, who produced and mixed the band's prior four albums. Caggiano's producer credits include The Damned Things, Bleeding Through and Anthrax, amongst others and he was a member of Anthrax for two tenures from 2001-2005 and again from 2007-2013.

Singer and guitarist Michael Poulsen shared:

"The band is very proud and happy to announce that he will also be the new guitar player in Volbeat. 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!"

Caggiano offers a detailed explanation of the chain of events that transpired in adding:

"Wow! I have to say I'm completely blown away by the turn of events over the last few weeks here in Denmark and at this point an update is definitely in order. To start with, I came to Denmark about a month ago to produce the new Volbeat record which in and of itself has been an incredibly exciting adventure from a producer's perspective thus far. However, I'm extremely happy to say my relationship with these guys will not end there as it turns out......it's just beginning!  Michael had asked me on the phone before I got out here if I would play some guest solos on the new album in addition to my other duties and of course I was thrilled about that and agreed to do so. When I actually got to Denmark and started going through the material, this turned out to be so much more than that. After weeks of collaboration between Michael and I it became quite clear that we had an amazing creative chemistry together and a huge mutual respect for one another. It's so refreshing and inspiring to be creative again on a songwriting level that words can't even describe it and the vibe between Anders, Jon, Michael and I is just awesome. I'd say an artistic relationship like this one is very rare and it's also something I don't take for granted. When the guys asked me if I was interested in joining Volbeat the other day, my jaw just about hit the floor! It actually didn't even register in my brain properly until the next morning but I gotta say, it also didn't take me long to decide. It really isn't the way I envisioned the rest of my year to play out but at the same time, THIS feels more "right" to me than anything I could have possibly imagined and I'm going for it! To all my fans, family, friends and overall supporters that have reached out to me over this last month wondering if I'm ever gonna play guitar again or what I'm up to in general etc... See you all soon my friends and get ready for a wild ride!!!"

"Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" will be released on Universal Music and Volbeat has revealed the cover for the upcoming album, and a photograph from the studio featuring the new line-up, both of which are available upon request.

Poulsen reveals:

"Half of the album tracks will take you into the world of outlaw gunslinger stories sometime in the 1800s. Some of the characters are true legends, while others are fiction. The listener will hear inspiration from classic spaghetti western movies which gives you a clue to the album title and cover artwork."

Poulsen also offers additional detail on the recordings sharing:

"We are still ‘rocking out’ in the studio, and working on the last details. We are very excited about this album. We feel that we’ve achieved the goals we set out. The heavy stuff on the album is perhaps more old school heavy riffs than earlier, and the rock songs rock out with tons of melodies and take us into unchartered territory. All that without losing the Volbeat sound that is the cornerstone of our band."

AT THIS POINT, the album is finished and is due for release as early as April 5th (GSA), April 9th (USA) and April 8th (everywhere else)! Album cover art can be seen below:

Mar. 06, 2013; VOLBEAT REVEAL OUTLAW GENTLEMEN & SHADY LADIES DETAIL:

New Album Features King Diamond, Paul Lamb, Sarah Blackwood and many more…

Volbeat has recorded an album that seamlessly brings together all of the band's influences and reshapes them into something gleaming and new. Planned for release on April 9 Worldwide, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies is a record that’s rich with stories and characters woven throughout its lyrics. Some are real – like the noble lady outlaw Pearl Hart, who held up a stagecoach to buy medicine for her dying mother, or Lola Montez, the erotic dancer with her infamous ‘Spider Dance,’ or Black Bart, the gentleman highwayman who wrote poems for the people he robbed. Others are entirely fictional. "The Nameless One" is a cautionary tale of dabbling in the dark arts, featuring the mysterious and sinister character of the title. Elsewhere, "Room 24," featuring King Diamond, was inspired by a terrifying experience in a hotel room somewhere in the heart of America.

You can hear the influence of the Old West right from the start in "Let’s Shake Some Dust," an evocative intro track that features harmonica from acclaimed blues harp player Paul Lamb. You can hear it again in the rampaging "Black Bart," which Poulsen describes as “our country-Motörhead song,” and in the banjos that pepper the chorus of the hard-as-steel "Doc Holliday," a tribute to the legendary lawman and associate of the Wyatt Earp gang. But Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies is no country & western record. If it was a car, it would be a 1973 Stutz Blackhawk with monster truck wheels – vintage and modern, stylish and muscular.

You can hear echoes of classic 50s rock’n’roll in the soaring "Pearl Hart," and the live classic-in-waiting "Lola Montez." The band’s metal roots come to the fore via the heavy riffage of "Dead But Rising" and "The Nameless One," while the ghostly "The Lonesome Rider" – which finds Michael duetting with Sarah Blackwood of Canadian band Walk Off The Earth like a modern day Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – beats with a rockabilly heart. Elsewhere, they bring some greased-back energy to "My Body," a cover of the hit song by US pop-punk outfit Young The Giant, while the brooding album closer "Our Loved Ones" is the nearest thing they’ve ever written to a ballad. Poulsen offers, "When I was growing up, my dad and mother played a lot of old records – Elvis, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. I love that stuff – it’s a drug somehow. My own record collection growing up was metal. But I listen to a lot of different styles of music. If something moves you, I don’t care what it is."

The track "Room 24" features a massive coup for Volbeat with the guest appearance from King Diamond, the legendary front man of Danish metal pioneers Mercyful Fate, and one of Poulsen’s musical idols. He reveals, "I’m a huge fan of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. Having King on the record is a huge privilege. Normally, it’s not something he does. He wrote his own lines, and it is half my lyrics and half his. It’s a weird, scary story, and he’s the perfect person for it." Additional guests include Anders Pedersen on slide guitar, Rod Sinclair on banjo and Jakob Øelund on double bass.

The new album is a hugely anticipated album, and I suggest hopping onto Amazon and pre-ordering your copy today!

Other news: Volbeat has released a number of video teasers for the new album as well as a music video and two singles. The video teasers you must be a Rebels + Angels fan club member, and you can view them via the "Exclusives" section of the site. You can listen to the singles on my blog here:

Cape Of Our Hero: CLICK HERE.

The Hangman's Body Count: CLICK HERE.

And you can watch the new music video over at Volbeat's VEVO. Click here to watch!