Volbeat - Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood review
| Band: | Volbeat |
| Album: | Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood |
| Style: | Hard rock, Heavy metal |
| Release date: | September 01, 2008 |
| A review by: | Jeff |
01. Intro/End Of The Road
02. Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
03. Back To Prom
04. Mary Ann's Place [feat. Pernille Rosendahl]
05. Hallelujah Goat
06. Maybelenne I Hofteholder
07. We
08. Still Counting
09. Light A Way
10. Wild Rover Of Hell
11. I'm So Lonely I Could Cry [Hank Williams cover]
12. A Broken Man And The Dawn
13. Find That Soul
14. Making Believe [Jimmy Work cover] [bonus]
To be honest I'm still wondering how Volbeat is so popular. I tried and tried to listen to their albums but even if I cannot say that it's terrible, I just can't understand how they're so praised. I'm really open-minded in general and like a lot of different music but I can't understand how this band is simply labeled as a Hard Rock combo and even sometime Heavy Metal. Sure some of their songs are clearly influenced by those genres but all in all, when I listen to their last album "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood", I have the feeling that I listen to Offspring and nothing else? It's a matter of taste I agree but then this is not for me!
I know that a lot of you like Volbeat and their previous releases but if I can concede that the music of the Danish combo is really "happy" and can be fun to listen to I don't really understand how a song like "Maybelenne I Hofteholder" with its cheesy US Punk riffs and terrible commercial chorus can be attractive. I know of course that Volbeat wants to mix Metal with Rock a Billy and that they're clearly influenced by Mr Elvis but I don't know this just is really repulsive for me and that's weird because in general I like to be surprised and yes definitely Volbeat is surprising. I won't be naughty to be naughty and I think honestly that this kind of release can have a lot of fans but as a fan of Hard Rock, I really prefer to listen to the last The Answer or Pure Inc (two real releases of classic Rock) instead of Rock which is too influenced by boring US Punk.
One other thing that I don't really like is the voice of Michael Poulsen. I cannot say that the guy doesn't sing really well but his voice is too similar to the ones of the US Punk singers (sorry to do this comparison again). This is a bit weak and not really outstanding really and since that the lyrics are not really amazing too, it doesn't help a lot? In the end I only think that a song like "Wild Rover Of Hell" is interesting for me here. With its thrashy big riff, this is cool Metal (despite one more time a really commercial and Pop chorus) but that's all? The production is good at least?
Sorry I know that some of you will not agree with me here and you know what, no problem! I probably don't understand the music of Volbeat and maybe that I will change my opinion about this band with time but right now I didn't find any pleasure to listen to this album, it's was just super boring for me. You know if I want to listen to Punk, I will listen to Punk, if I want to listen to US Metal, I will listen Black Label Society and if I want real Hard Rock I will listen to Led Zep or newcomers like Pure Inc but I just don't need to listen to Volbeat. This album probably deserves a good rating if you're into Volbeat but me and my metalheads friends will not praise it sorry.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 6 |
| Songwriting: | 5 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Jeff | 05.10.2008
Comments
Comments: 25
Visited by: 301 users
| BORT Posts: 98 |
|
| Wes Posts: 424  |
volbeat rocks, but i mean its not metal. Its more along the lines of offspring, deffinately. Better than offspring imo though.
Loading...
|
| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
I almost haven't listened to this band, I saw a couple of songs when they played near my hometown on a free city festival. But it seems that everyone in Sweden believes that they will be the next Ac/Dc or something. Probably need to listen to it!
Loading...
|
| DrunkenFuck Thrasher! Posts: 455  |
So you think the hype for Volbeat is high in your countries? You should try living in Denmark. Jesus, those guys are all over the place...
---- THRASH!!!
Loading...
|
| Jeff Freaky Admin Elite Posts: 7078  |
Well if some people believe that they're the new AC/DC, then those people don't know what Hard Rock is lol... If you want good Hard Rock, please have a look here http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/review.php?review_id=5950 and here: http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/review.php?review_id=4766 THAT'S the new big rock bands... PS: I have nothing against the Offspring if we only talk about the first albums 
---- Come with us to Hellfest 2011!
Loading...
|
| Promonex Cathemeral Elite Posts: 9720  |
The Offspring > Volbeat. By far. At least now I know I'm not the only one who doesn't understand all this Volbeat hype.
---- All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu... This is the truth! This is my belief! ...At least for now. - The Mystery of Life, Vol. 841 Ch. 26
Loading...
|
| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
|
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Volbeat's debut it still by far their best. They only went downhill with every subsequent release somehow.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
Loading...
|
| corrupt With a lowercase c Admin Posts: 3568  |
I've never heard any Volbeat music but this review is just pure fun to read. Poor Jeff not liking an album he has to write a decent review about and not getting into it no matter how he turns it. The whole review is a single funny apology to the reader  But if the comparison to the Offspring really works I'd probably have to agree with him. There's nothing as boring as screamy US kids with guitars. Imho that's music you want to turn the radio off for.
---- 
Loading...
|
| ioannisk Posts: 75  |
I like it! You don't always have to listen to something complicated or technical!! simple songs with a very nice voice and nice guitars. Some themes may remind you of something but i don't bother since the combination of these elements is successfull..
Loading...
|
| DrunkenFuck Thrasher! Posts: 455 |
The new AC/DC is definately Airbourne! Those guys are awesome. ^Great name btw  Like the Castlevania reference..
---- THRASH!!!
Loading...
|
| Jay Perkele Posts: 71  |
I guess they should have tried something new or a bit different this time. This album is ok but boring.... Anyways, you who like rock'n'roll should try out a Finnish band Francine. I think they are way better than Volbeat: http://www.myspace.com/francinerock
---- This one goes to 11
Loading...
|
| Xxel Account deleted |
|
| B.B.S. Account deleted |
B.B.S.
Account deleted
I really like this one.. not so heavy, but saying that this album sounds like sum41 and Offspring is a bit too much   imo
Loading...
|
| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
|
| HardSide Posts: 381 |
|
| V8Thrasher Posts: 30  |
Personally i really enjoyed this album. its not metal thats for sure, but there are some metal riffs in there. its more rockabilly than metal imo. i like to think of it as Elvis meets Metallica. the title track and "Hallulajh Goat" are my favorites of the album, its a nice little listen driving down the road.
Loading...
|
| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094  |
I love Volbeat, they are one of my favorite younger bands. i can see why someone wouldn't like them though, they're always something like "hey, we tried to play an elvis presley cover but somehow we can't seem to tune the guitars higher than D and our distortion pedals are blocked at 10" haha to all the people who complain about their sound being too poppy, overall this album is imo half heavy, a quarter pop-punk, and a quarter rockabilly, best example are the first 4 tracks themselves after the intro. a really heavy opener, then pop-punk cheese(which i'll tolerate only because it's very short), then a really heavy and emotional song(imo by far the best on the album), and after that something that sounds like if johnny cash was resurrected and became a metal star. that's the uniqueness of Volbeat and the main reason why i love this band. they fuse the fun and energy of rockabilly with metal instrumentation and emotion.
Loading...
|
| DeathMetal Posts: 396  |
Loading...
|
| Septicfish Posts: 30  |
Jeff is a pompous pr*ck who thinks he knows what he's talking about. Most negative reviewers have nothing better to do than to curse and tear down someone else's hard work... For the record Jeff, if you wanted to point to "the new AC/DC", make sure you point to someone else's review, and not your own... That makes you look like you have an ego to maintain. I'm certain people will disregard you as nothing more than an incompetent reviewer when it comes to this review in particular. As for the album itself, while it may be "more pop/mainstream", it's catchy nonetheless. For me it's about the music - lyrics are just an added bonus. I thoroughly enjoy the rockabilly/punk overtones, as it compliments the heavy metal/hard rock that is Volbeat.
---- Ave Lucifer cornuta Magnus, Sanctus Satanas, dator vitae aeternae et signifer libero.
Loading...
|
| Scuzzy McDouche Posts: 67  |
Written by Septicfish on 17.04.2013 at 20:12 100% in agreement about this Jeff clown, he is truly pompous prick. He tries to come off like some kind of a "I'm more metal than you" elitist asshole, which is a sure sign of a heinous insecure poser that needs a severe beating (like more than half of the people that comment on this site). I happen to love Volbeat, and listen to a lot heavier shit than he has listed in his profile, and I don't really give a damn if any of you twats like them or not. To Jeff, and to all the other overly critical half retarded haters on this shitty website...go fuck yourself you steaming piles of shit, I hope you all get cancer.
Loading...
|
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Jeff on 06.10.2008 at 10:58 and five years down the line it's clear that Volbeat is way way bigger than those two who faded away into obscurity and rightly so. At least Volbeat has a sound more or less of their own although it is a mix of many older bands.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
Loading...
|
| RicardoRoque Posts: 3 |
|
| joshsteph Posts: 134  |
I'm sorry, but this is not a review. It's a personal whining about what you like and what you don't, which should be the subject of a blog post or something, but definitely not an album review.
Loading...
|
| ikakoika Posts: 13 |
Written by Jeff on 06.10.2008 at 10:58 These aren't big new bands, they're B-rocks.
Loading...
|
Hits total: 14362 | This month: 2