release date: Sep. 26, 2005
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Jacob Hansen
label: Rebel Monster - nationality: Denmark
Track highlights: 1. "Caroline Leaving" - 4. "Rebel Monster" - 5. "Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza" - 8. "Soulweeper" - 13. "I Only Wanna Be With You"
Studio album debut by the Danish band Volbeat released on Dutch label Rebel Monster Records. The band is a quartet consisting lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Poulsen, lead guitarist Franz 'Hellboss' Gottschalk, bassist Anders Kjølholm and drummer Jon Larsen. The album contains 15 tracks and with 3-4 decent tracks it doesn't make a really good album. The album was well-received, nationally, but it's not really my style, as it's simply too much heavy metal, and the combination with rockabilly doesn't make it any better. Since this, the band has experienced considerable and increasing popularity in most of Scandinavia. From my perspective, the band summons up standardised hooks and simple chorus-lines without adding anything new to a genre and style that just doesn't appeal to me. To me, they could be playing the same 4-5 melody-lines with small variations leaving me wondering if the album didn't have 15 tracks and not 5. Also, Poulsen's vocal is tiresome after a few tracks and it becomes a bit of a struggle to listen through the whole album. Still, I rate it above mediocre, and sometimes wonder why. But this is their starting point and tracks #1, #4, #5 and the Dusty Springfield cover, track #13 all have some qualities that could be elaborated on, and could make stepping stones for better future albums.
Not recommended.
