VOLBEAT ANNOUNCE EIGHTH STUDIO ALBUM, SERVANT OF THE MIND, OUT DECEMBER 3 VIA EMI RECORDS

23rd September 2021 0 By Jon Deaux

The wait is finally over. Today, multi-platinum Danish band Volbeat announce the release of their eighth studio album, Servant Of The Mind, coming via EMI Records on December 3rd. The new album will be available in standard/digipack CD, deluxe 2LP vinyl (with various limited-edition variants, more info below), a deluxe digital edition, plus a special box set (including 2CD digipack, 28pg booklet, bandana, and hip flask, housed in a metal box, available from the official Volbeat store). Pre-order the album here.

For Servant Of The Mind, the band – Michael Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Jon Larsen (drums), Rob Caggiano (guitars) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass) – took their signature heavy metal, psychobilly, and punk ‘n’ roll sound up a notch while showcasing Poulsen’s keen ability for songwriting and storytelling.

“I wrote the whole album in three months,” recalls Poulsen, “I was in a good place and mood while at home, and had a captive audience of myself… There are a lot of Volbeat signatures in it. If you go back to the first record and compare it to where we are now, you can hear how the band has developed its style, while keeping the signature sound.”

To coincide with the album announcement, the group has released the new single “Shotgun Blues,” an anthemic track in which Poulsen explores the ghostly events he recently experienced upon moving into a new home. “Every time you move into a house, you bring dead people with you,” he explains. “Weird stuff happens when I move into a [new] house… it’s very otherworldly.”

The album also includes the double barrel of summer songs the band released in June: “Wait A Minute My Girl” and “Dagen Før (feat. Stine Bramsen)” (the former of which became the band’s ninth #1 single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart).

Other songs on the album weave intricate and fascinating tales. “The Sacred Stones” tells the story of “an earthly being who has committed himself to the dark side. He is on a mission, speaking to darker forces and fallen angels.” Meanwhile, “The Devil Rages On” looks at the idea of the devil taking human form. Album opener “Temple Of Ekur” returns to the ancient themes explored in past songs such as “The Gates of Babylon,” while the epic album closer “Lasse’s Birgita” explores the story of the first witch burnings to occur in Sweden in 1471.

Volbeat are two decades deep into a career that has found them sharing stages with genre legends like Black Sabbath, Metallica, Motorhead, Slipknot, Megadeth, Anthrax and more. They have racked up nearly three billion cumulative streams over the course of their career, notched a Best Metal Performance Grammy nomination for “Room 24 (feat. King Diamond)” from 2014’s acclaimed (and gold-selling) Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, and have grabbed multiple Danish Music Awards. Not ones to rest on their laurels, their forthcoming album Servant Of The Mind, which was written and recorded during the shutdown and quarantine necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is introspective but pulls no punches and is no less raucous or driving than their previous efforts.

Tomorrow, the band kicks off their “Wait A Minute… Let’s Tour” run, their first US tour in two years. Special guests The Hu, Twin Temple, and Municipal Waste will be joining them for select dates. Tickets for these dates are on sale now here. Earlier this week the band also announced their 2022 co-headlining arena tour with Ghost and special guests Twin Temple. Tickets for the US tour, co-produced by Live Nation and Frank Productions, will be available here tomorrow, Friday, September 24 at 10am local time. Limited VIP packages are also available at volbeat.dk. The band will return to the UK in 2022, with a slot at the Download Festival in June already confirmed.

Since forming in 2001, Volbeat has gone from the clubs of Copenhagen to headlining stages around the world, including the famed Telia Parken stadium in Denmark (becoming the only domestic artist to ever sell out the venue). Over the course of seven record-breaking albums the band has picked up number one songs (including nine #1s on the US Mainstream Rock chart and counting, the most of any band based outside of North America), multi-platinum certifications, awards, and accolades all over the planet. Their latest album, Rewind, Replay, Rebound, was released in 2019, giving the band their highest national album chart position in the UK yet at #7, and has spawned the hit singles “Last Day Under The Sun,” “Die To Live (feat. Neil Fallon)” and “Leviathan.” A live album featuring songs recorded during the subsequent world tour, Rewind, Replay, Rebound: Live in Deutschland, was released digitally in November 2020. Most recently, they contributed a cover of “Don’t Tread On Me” to The Metallica Blacklist, with all proceeds from the track benefiting the All Within My Hands Foundation and the Børne Cancer Fonden of Denmark.