Volbeat was formed in 2001 after frontman Michael Poulsen split up his former band, Dominus. Volbeat plays a fusion of heavy metal and rockabilly. They are inspired by the rock n' roll legends Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. No other Danish heavy rock band Volbeat has been able to get to position 18 at the Danish Top 100 for CD sales in over 10 years. This milestone was reached after their concert at the Roskilde Festival 2006.
Critics have generally been positive towards The Strength / The Sound / The Songs. The German hard rock magazine RockHard gave it 10/10 in a review.
Volbeat is also praised for its live performances. Their concert at Roskilde Festival 2006 received a 6/6 stars review in the Danish newspaper BT.
In week 8 of 2007, the record Rock The Rebel / Metal The Devil debuted as #1 in the Danish Top 40 for CD-sales and at the same time The Strength / The Sound / The Songs re-entered the chart at #21. Recently, the album achieved gold status for sales in Denmark.
Volbeat opened the Roskilde Festival in 2007. Volbeat also supported Metallica together with Mnemic at their concert on Denmark July 13 of that year.
More recently, Volbeat was announced to do a seven-date European spring tour and to support legendary speed metal act Megadeth in Finland and in their home town, Copenhagen. They have also already announced a few festival appearances for the summer 2008.
Volbeat has a large range of influences, which can be clearly heard in their music. On their official MySpace site Volbeat lists their influences in their own recognizable way:
"Everything from Elvis Presley to Napalm Death .. hail: Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Ramones, Social Distortion, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Dio, Megadeth, Metallica, Manic Street Preachers, Iron Maiden and bla bla bla bla..."
Volbeat's lyrics usually revolve around love, failed love or the power of a twisted mind. They thereby distance themselves from stereotypical heavy metal lyrics, although many of their most popular songs have very dark or sincere themes and plots.
Their first single was the cover version of Dusty Springfield's evergreen "I Only Wanna Be With You". The song doesn't differ much from the original with regard to the lyrics, but the accompanying music video is quite typical of Volbeat. In it, the band is seen with a classic microphone on top of a city roof.
Another popular feature of the band's lyrics are the returning "series" of songs. This is best represented with the songs "Danny & Lucy (11 pm)" and "Fire Song" from The Strength/The Sound/The Songs followed by "Mr. & Mrs. Ness" on Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil. The story is about the two desperate lovers, Danny and Lucy, who are killed in a car crash after Lucy runs away from her family.
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ness, I'm so sorry to bring you this - We believe we found your girl in an old burning car way up the hill"
In the successor, "Mr. & Mrs. Ness", Lucy's mother commits suicide and the father is suspected for the murder:
"The old man is crying and he's lying - The blood on his hands' from his wife yeah"
The story is followed further by "Mary Ann's Place" from Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood, and was concluded with "You Will Know" off 2016's Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie.
Lineup
Michael Poulsen - Vocals, guitar (ex-Dominus)
Rob Caggiano - Guitar (ex-Anthrax)
Kaspar Boye Larsen - Bass
Jon Larsen - Drums
Former members:
Teddy Vang - Guitar
Franz Gottschalk - Guitar
Thomas Bredahl - Guitar
Anders Kjølholm - Bass
Official homepage : www.volbeat.dk
Caroline
Volbeat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To shake the coffin or spread the dust
To say hell-o and greet the underworld
Or fly the moment over hill to burn
Feel the lightning, or be the lightning
Enter stellar levigate a name
Among the others we all look the same
[Chorus]
Your time is flying now high in the air
So sad to see you got nothing to say
The ravens are crying you home
'Cause the heaven is not you
You'll feel the fire
And i will be joining you too
Two black ravens sitting on a fence
Cackle laughing at mankind itself
Loving how it feel to be that free
And leaving us behind in misery
Feel the lightning, or be the lightning
Enter stellar levigate a name
Among the others we shall look the same
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Volbeat's song Caroline are intense and loaded with symbolism. The song seems to be about death and the afterlife, with the lyrics being spoken from the perspective of someone who is facing their own death. The verses seem to be exploring different options for how the singer can approach their inevitable fate. They ask the rhetorical question, "Which of you am I to lay down first?" indicating that they have some sort of choice in the matter. They then describe a few different possible ways that they could "lay down" - they could shake the coffin, spread the dust, say hello to the underworld, or "fly the moment over hill to burn." Each of these options seems to represent a different type of death, or perhaps a different approach to facing death.
The chorus of the song introduces a new character - Caroline. It's unclear who Caroline is or how she's related to the singer, but she seems to be someone who has already died. The singer describes Caroline as being "high in the air," implying that she's in heaven or some sort of afterlife realm. However, the singer is quick to point out that Caroline is not in a place of comfort - they say "the heaven is not you" and "you'll feel the fire." It's unclear what this "fire" represents - it could be a reference to hell or some sort of purgatory. Regardless, the singer seems to expect that they will eventually join Caroline in this place.
The lyrics of Caroline are dense and cryptic, but they seem to be exploring themes of death and the afterlife. The references to shaking coffins, lightning, and fire all seem to be allusions to different ways that people can die. The singer seems to be grappling with the idea of their own mortality, and they're using Caroline as a sort of guide to help them navigate this difficult terrain. Ultimately, the song leaves us with more questions than answers - we're not sure who Caroline is, how the singer knows her, or what exactly the afterlife is like. But the song gives us a glimpse into the singer's fears and doubts about what comes next, and it does so through some powerfully poetic lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Which of you am I to lay down first
Who will I bid goodbye to first?
To shake the coffin or spread the dust
Should I give the coffin a shake or let the dust settle?
To say hell-o and greet the underworld
Shall I say hello to the underworld as I enter it?
Or fly the moment over hill to burn
Or shall I take this moment and fly over the hills to my final destiny?
Feel the lightning, or be the lightning
Should I experience the power of lightning or be the lightning itself?
Enter stellar levigate a name
Let me make a name for myself among the stars
Among the others we all look the same
But in the end, we all look alike among the stars
Your time is flying now high in the air
Time is fleeting, and it's slipping away from you
So sad to see you got nothing to say
It's unfortunate that you have nothing left to speak
The ravens are crying you home
The birds of death are calling you to your final resting place
'Cause the heaven is not you
You don't belong in heaven, so death is your true home
You'll feel the fire
And it will consume you, body and soul
And i will be joining you too
And I will soon follow in your footsteps
Two black ravens sitting on a fence
Two dark birds perching on a fence
Cackle laughing at mankind itself
Laughing hard at humanity's folly
Loving how it feel to be that free
Loving the feeling of being free from human problems
And leaving us behind in misery
And leaving us humans behind in our sad existence
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
moonboot
A classic Volbeat song and one of their best by far. To me, this is THE Volbeat song, a perfect combination of all their influences and representative of what the band was all about. A true masterpiece.
itsCAG3
moonboot Although your comment is 3 years old, i could never relate more to a comment.
coemk
VOLBEAT ROCKS! keep on the good work!
Todd Reuter Outdoors
VOL FUCKIN' BEAT!!!!!! \m/
Blazenko Peric
dobra lista!
rockfan143
pretty good song
Bb
🤘🏼🎸🎧
Kailo Ren
Now that I am older, I grin at all of the Presley references!
nodonny8
Dude yes metal Elvis
Paul Allessio
these guys are sick as shit