Danish heavy metal titans Volbeat have just released their new album Seal The Deal And Let’s Boogie, which is the first to record not to feature bassist Anders Kjølholm. We talk to lead guitarist Rob Caggiano about the new album and how it all came together…
What have Volbeat been up to since the last album came out?
“We put out Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies in 2012 and we toured all over the world a number of times. We worked really hard on that album cycle and we were extremely busy. We played our last show of the cycle in Odense, Denmark about a year ago, and we’ve been off ever since then working on the songs for this new album, Seal The Deal And Let’s Boogie.”
How did the songs for the new album come together?
“We spent a lot of time in the rehearsal room in a pre-production sense, just hashing out ideas and making sure we had the best batch of songs. I was producing on this album again, so during that time I was also thinking about the overall big picture and how everything was working together. Interestingly enough, going into this record we didn’t have a bass player; we’d parted ways with Anders [Kjølholm], and during the whole rehearsal process we had no bassist. I actually ended up playing all the bass on the new record, since I’ve played bass a million times in the past on records, but in the rehearsal room that was a missing element to the sound, so everything ended up being really guitar heavy.”
Are you pleased with how the songs turned out?
“For sure. Having been in the band for a number of years now, we’re all really comfortable with each other and we get along great. I think one of the things that comes with having a group of guys that are out playing together on the road for a while, is their musical instincts become very much aligned. Our vision was very much the same with what we wanted to do with this album, and hopefully that shows in the music.”
Tell us about the album title.
“Seal The Deal And Let’s Boogie is a title that Michael [Poulsen, vocals and guitar] came up with about two years ago. He said it in almost like a joking way, and when I first heard it I instantly thought it would make a great title for a record. So here we are. I think it really fits the music and the band as well, and it sums up the record perfectly.”
Volbeat’s new album Seal The Deal And Let’s Boogie is out now, via Spinefarm.
