Volbeat: Beyond Hell/Above Heaven

Are the Danes finally playing to the right beat?

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Volbeat are already big in Europe, and they’re getting that way in America. But so far us Brits have remained unmoved by the charms of this Danish band. Will their fourth album have us all squealing with delight?

Maybe. Volbeat are not really doing anything different on Beyond Hell/Above Heaven: it’s still the same combination of rockabilly, metal and punk. But perhaps the songs are a little more strident and confident this time. The band no longer appear to be trying too hard, as has been the case with previous records.

Guest appearances from the likes of Mille Petrozza (Kreator), Michael Denner (Mercyful Fate) and Barney Greenaway (Napalm Death) will also give them some added credibility.

For the most part, the songs here are tuneful and thrusting, with 7 Shots (featuring Petrozza and Denner) and The Mirror And The Ripper being the best of the bunch. Maybe with this Volbeat finally got it right for the UK market. We’ll see.

Malcolm Dome
Malcolm Dome

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.