Volbeat’s Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood
By Kara Olson

What do you get when you combine the charisma of Elvis Presley, the severity of Black Sabbath, the rhythm of Chuck Berry, and the edge of Metallica? No, not a suave dancer with great hair and a sweet tooth for rodents. You get Europe’s own Volbeat.

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Volbeat’s Michael, Thomas, Anders, and Jon have made their name as one of the best up and coming heavy metal groups in Europe, and are working hard to bring their infectious sound to the US. Together since 2001, Volbeat, alternately described as gothabilly, horror punk, and groove metal, have created a sound all their own by fusing hard guitar riffs and huge pounding drum solos with pop-like lyrics and serene vocals.

Already reaching gold status in Denmark on each of their first three albums, Volbeat is sure to make some noise in the US with their latest release, Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood. Haunting vocals reminiscent of the late Johnny Cash (noted as one of the band’s biggest influences), along with an inviting and energetic quality like that of Green Day, create songs that you can’t turn away from ~ and why would you want to? The easy, smooth transitions between tracks creates a sense of storytelling ~ rather than listening to a bunch of random, ill-placed songs that just happened to be finished for the release date, you’ve been invited to sit in on (or get up and move to) a cohesive album.

Volbeat has seemingly done the impossible. Real heavy metal fans appreciative of the true-to- form hard, pounding beats will not leave disappointed, and other music lovers normally scared off by the word “metal” will not be able to resist the magnetic sound of Volbeat. The band has successfully moved across genres, and only time will tell if their journey across the Atlantic will be as successful, but I don’t think they have much to they have much to worry about.

From the Pulse to Volbeat, welcome to America!

myspace.com/volbeat

DevilDriver’s Pray For Villains
By Jillian Locke, Music Editor

Pray For Villains takes all the hard work and road time that DD have logged and fluidly and organically channels it to make this album a shining beacon in the expansive world of metal. With more licks, more diversity, and a pounding, driving force of pure energy and will, this album screams strength, maturity, and an introspective knowledge of exactly who they are and where they are going.
Logan Mader, who spent some time playing guitar for staple metal veterans Machine Head and Soulfly, manned the production reigns, and helped bassist Mike Miller, drummer John Boecklin, and guitar heroes Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer bring their musical vision to life.

The album opens up ferociously with blaring blast-beat, a sonic-guitar assault, and Dez’s guttural, haunting scream with the title track, and we’re off! “Fate Stepped In,” in which lyrics are spit with intensity, sincerity, and serious force, is an initial pummel-fest, but then the song takes a step down into a unique guitar segment that continues to permeate the track. No DD has never pulled me in like this.

Two other tracks that really stood out to me were “I’ve Been Sober,” which opens up with Children of Bodom-esque guitars and a lower, rawer growl from Dez. This song has a truly epic feel to it, especially at the end, where the guitars reach an insane climax; the gravity of the song is very effectively communicated. The other outstanding track, “It’s In The Cards,” is where the groove really shines ~ it’s full speed ahead, with an almost southern feel supporting the grueling beats and gut-wrenching screams. This track screams diabolical ascension. I can only imagine that this song’ll blast your face off live.

These 13 tracks more than live up to any expectations of DD fans – this album goes beyond what I think DD may even have anticipated. But hey, sometimes it just clicks, and this time, it clicked with leaps and bounds.

I’ve seen DevilDriver before, but something tells me that the Thrash and Burn tour on August 15th at The Palladium is going to present something altogether different. Don’t miss Emmure, MyChildren, MyBride, Despised Icon, Veil of Maya, For the Fallen Dreams, Oceano, Periphery and Red River Revival, and, of course, headliners DevilDriver.

myspace.com/devildriver

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CKY
Carver City
By Jillian Locke

Definitely heavier, more solos, more desperation – CKY’s comeback is everything you’d expect, with that hoped-for renewed burst of energy from the band we haven’t heard from in…how long? Since 2005? For loyal CKY fans, the wait has certainly been worth it. The band has solidified their signature sound in their four year sabbatical, delivering a more emotional, more in depth look at what’s been marinating in the famed foursome’s minds with their Roadrunner Records debut, Carver City.

A band that most know from Bam Margera’s early CKY skate/prank/stunt/comedy home videos, CKY has evolved into their own entity, as bassist Chad I. Ginsberg (“CIG”), Deron Miller, bassist Matt Deis, and drummer Bam Margera (also current drummer for two of my favorites bands, The Company Band and Viking Skull) deliver a more complex song structure and writing style than previous efforts.

The album has a darker undertone than any previous releases, telling a different story than what has come to be expected of CKY, and with good reason: the band took an unexpected year off midway into writing Carver City due to the fact that they pretty much wanted to kill each other. But there is always good in the bad and bad in the good, and upon reconnecting, the gentlemen of CKY produced their most solid, tried and true endeavor in their 10 years together.

The 11 tracks boast titles like “Hellions on Parade,” “The Boardwalk Body,” “Plagued By Images,” and “Rats In The Infirmary,” in which they muse, “Symbols of sanity decreasing year by year/Inflated vanity you learn to hold so dear/Opposite, synonymous, withholding every truth/I live to tell the truth for I am living proof.” An almost autobiographical story prevails, painting lurid and vivid pictures of ships, dark boardwalks, bloody bodies, and filthy rats, bringing to the life inner turmoil the band needed to work out and express through the music in order to survive as CKY.

Check out their video for “A#1 Roller Rager” at www.roadrunnerecords.com, and catch them on August 14th at the Paradise Rock Club.

Pre-sale tickets include early entry and free download of “Hellions on Parade.” Parties interested in pre-sale tickets can go here for more info: https://tixx1.artistarena.com/cky/

www.myspace.com/cky