For the uninitiated, Volbeat is not just an international success, but a very big deal in their home country of Denmark. Perhaps not yet as ubiquitous as more favorite sons Lars Ulrich (more about him later) and King Diamond, but pretty big. Volbeat has cool albums, but the live experience is what seals the deal (see what I did there?). The band is simply incredible live, playing up to the fans, entertaining every second and making a giant crowd of nearly 50,000 feel intimate. All while the band just jams their hits and deep cuts alike on Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken (Republic). It’s a testament to why they are one of the best rock and heavy metal bands in the world right now.
The band plays an infectious blend of Heavy Rock, Thrash Metal, Outlaw Country inspired Cowpunk, and sometimes a little bit more. Putting together a heavy band that plays this catchy and memorable is tough, but when you see them perform live, it’s obvious why the fans adore them. Expertly filmed, you definitely feel like you are at the show, with a lot of fast cuts that makes every member of the bands seem like the frontman, not just Micheal Poulsen.
The twenty-six song is lengthy, but heavy on hits. The brevity of the tracks doesn’t skimp on the singalongs and often, the crowd does so unprompted! Tracks like ‘The Devil’s Bleeding Crown’,‘Heaven Nor Hell, ‘Lola Montez’, ‘Doc Holiday’, ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’, ‘Goodbye Forever’, ‘Seal The Deal’, ‘Pool Of Booze, Booze, Booza’, has the crowd on their feet, screaming and headbanging along with the energetic band. Great job by the entire band in terms of performance, but make sure to focus on lead guitarist Rob Caggiano (ex-Anthrax), who slays. Also, check out brand new song, ‘The Everlasting’. Oh so good, and making me fiend for more new songs.
On top of all the hits, the band had some guest come out and none of them are slouches! Lars Ulrich, Mille Petrozza, Barney Greenway, Danko Jones, Mia Maja, all bring something different to the party when paired with Volbeat. Mille kills it on ‘7 Shots’, although its weird to see him sans guitar. ‘Evelyn’ featuring Barney Greenway is a lot of fun. Of course, Lars shows up, as a big supporter of the band from the start. He jams out on ‘Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood’, and then gets coaxed into a fast, fun take on about half of ‘Enter Sandman’. Volbeat should just cover Metallica all the time, they were that good.
Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken is a fitting live set for home viewing. We;; produced, great sounding and a neat vision of the band at their best. I might have liked a little behind the scenes flavor, but we’ll need to make do with the lengthy set and two-hour show.
7 / 10
KEITH CHACHKES
Pre-order Let’s Boogie! Live From Telia Parken on all formats here: https://umg.lnk.to/letsboogielive
Tracklisting:
1. The Devil’s Bleeding Crown
2. Heaven Nor Hell
3. Radio Girl
4. Lola Montez
5. Let It Burn (feat. Mia Maja)
6. Doc Holiday
7. Sad Man’s Tongue
8. 16 Dollars
9. 7 Shots (feat. Mille Petrozza and Rod Sinclair)
10. Fallen
11. Slaytan
12. Dead But Rising
13. Goodbye Forever
14. Maybellene I Hofteholder
15. The Everlasting
16. For Evigt (feat. Johan Olsen, Mia Maja and Rod Sinclair)
17. Evelyn (feat. Mark “Barney” Greenway)
18. Lonesome Rider
19. Seal The Deal
20. The Garden’s Tale (feat. Johan Olsen)
21. Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood (feat. Lars Ulrich)
22. Enter Sandman (feat. Lars Ulrich)
23. A Warrior’s Call (feat. Mikkel Kessler)
24. Black Rose (feat. Danko Jones)
25. Pool Of Booze, Booze, Booza
26. Still Counting
Special Guests (In Order Of Appearance):
Mia Maja – Vocals on “Let It Burn,” and “For Evigt”
Rod Sinclair – Banjo on “7 Shots” and “For Evigt”
Mille Petrozza – Vocals on “7 Shots”
Johan Olsen – Vocals on “For Evigt” and “The Garden’s Tale”
Barney Greenway – Vocals on “Evelyn”
Lars Ulrich – Drums on “Guitar Gangsters And Cadillac Blood” and “Enter Sandman”
Mikkel Kessler – Special Appearance on “A Warrior’s Call”
Danko Jones – Vocals on “Black Rose”