MUSIC | VOLBEAT
BA N D O F J OY With a potent cocktail of metal, rockabilly and more, Danish rockers Volbeat are famed for their upbeat, high- energy live shows. Henry Northmore catches up with guitarist Rob Caggiano as they gear up for their UK tour
M etallica, Slayer and Korn are undeniably some of the biggest names in metal. But they’re not exactly a barrel of laughs. Volbeat bring a big dose of fun to the world of monster riffs. After singer Michael Poulsen disbanded death metal group Dominus in 2001, he expanded his outlook and embraced more diverse influences, mashing
together metal and rockabilly.
‘Volbeat to me is a just a rock’n’roll group,’ says the group’s American guitarist, Rob Caggiano, taking a break between shows as the main support on Slipknot’s current US tour. ‘There are metal and pop influences, punk, rockabilly, country, but at the end of the day, it’s a rock’n’roll band.
‘Why does rockabilly and metal work so well? Who knows. It’s just the stuff we listened to growing up, we definitely wear our influences. A lot of bands take themselves too seriously. We love what we’re doing when we’re up on stage, there’s a certain interaction between us and the fans that we thrive on. We’re definitely having fun doing what we’re doing.’ Caggiano is a relatively new member of the Danish group. ‘When I was younger, the two guys that really got me were Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young; from there that turned into the big four – Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and Anthrax – that really, really helped shape who I am as a guitar player.’ He ended up joining Anthrax in 2001 playing on multiple records and tours. ‘I’m really proud of what we accomplished together; they’ve always been one of my favourite bands and always will be.’
74 THE LIST 1 Sep–31 Oct 2019
He first crossed paths with Volbeat when the Damned Things (a rock supergroup featuring Caggiano alongside Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley, Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley) supported the Danish rockers in 2010. ‘On that tour, I’d jam a song with them on stage every night, it was a blast, we had a really good time. They really liked the Anthrax stuff I’d done and my work as a producer.’ He had produced records by bands such as Cradle of Filth, 36 Crazyfists and Machine Head and was hired by Volbeat to work on 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, ending up adding several guitar solos to the recording. ‘We just really hit it off, it just kind of worked out,’ says Caggiano, who ended up joining the band in 2013.
Now the group are heading back to the UK to play dates in support of their new album Rewind, Replay, Rebound. ‘We spent even more time in the rehearsal room, in the pre-production phase, really hashing out ideas and arrangements. We ended up with a lot of demos before heading into the studio, the whole process worked really well. We ended up with an album we’re really proud of. ‘For me personally, I always feel like I have something to prove when I work on something creative. That’s definitely a healthy way to go about it, we’re all very passionate about what we do. Any time we do something, we want to make it as good as we can possibly make it. It’s definitely not a case of going through the motions.’