Will Volbeat’s sixth full album get everyone to groove along in Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie?
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Text Review:
In theory, a Danish rockabilly band is an anomaly. Paring that description with a vocalist who has been described as a metal Elvis Presley adds even wilder description to a group. Finally add an album title “Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie” and you have a unique entity in the hard rock scene that can only be heard to be understood.
Volbeat have been creating unique music for years and been a major part of the hard rock and metal scene with the dynamic voice of Michael Poulsen. Along with founding member Jon Larsen on drums and well-travelled and prolific guitarist Rob Caggiano, this Danish based outfit has earned their place in today’s music market with multiple platinum selling albums through various nations and an insane amount of psychobilly guitar shredding.
Now in 2016, their sixth full album Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie has swayed from tales and sounds of the wild west to violence and voodoo as their loosely tied theme. But just like their previous album Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, Volbeat continue their fusion of rhythm and rock in their new album.
Volbeat have a unique identity in music in that it’s very difficult to compare them to other groups because of their style and song structure. In many songs a chorus or line will be carried into a blistering guitar solo only to be led to banjo plucking or harmonica playing and then back to a verse based around a funk vibe in Poulsen’s vocal delivery. Like I said, it’s difficult to compare them to other groups, and in many ways even describe.
And speaking of a fusion with rhythm, rock and funk, when you get an album title like Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie, you can get idea of how the music is going to get you to move. And from the opening track you get that exact impression of music having a groove and this Danish “metal Elvis” in all his glory. As far as an album opener, the steady build into the track has a great vibe to it and gets you in the mood for the album. Poulson’s voice comes in brilliantly and the guitar riffs keep a strong rhythm without overtaking the song. The buildup to the bridge and guitar solo at just before two minutes makes the song feel bigger and more eventful while Caggiano lets loose on the fretboard.
This song is a good example of what to expect on the first half of Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie. It has a focus on the hard rock rhythm and emphasizing Poulson’s ability to carry a note and have it resonate through each song. It’s the standard that Volbeat has done many times and is very reminiscent of Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies that way.
At about half way through the album there is a different feeling you get while listening to Black rose featuring Danko Jones. You hear the gruff vocals and the many different speeds of the track that lead to something solid. It’s from this point on the album starts to feel like Seal The Deal has its own unique feeling compared to past works.
Danko Jones adds a GREAT contribution to Black Rose that matches well with the guitar style, but this song like others on the album kind of shift style in a bridge that may not be for everyone. After hearing Black Rose I got excited to see if this album would take a new direction, and While I stand by this track and some of the already released singles are the highlights of the album (including the title track), the album overall feels like a continuation of Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies.
There are moments in several songs on Seal The Deal that you’ll be headbanging and air-guitaring too, but as for replay value you may be straining to find a reason to listen to some of these tracks again. Songs like Battleship Chains and Seal The Deal have a good singalong vibe and again the guitar work is amazing, but it still feels like an incomplete experience when listening to the entire album.
Volbeat is a unique AND talented entity in today’s hard rock and metal scene that may NEVER be duplicated. As for new material in 2016 however, it does feel like the same wheels have hit the ground. The good outweighs the bad, but the album also is weighted down with the same groove and vibe that has been done by the band for years. Overall, Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie will satisfy long time Volbeat fans but may not be their favorite release from the group. There are definitely highpoints on the album to get just about anyone to move, but the deal should have been built up before it was sealed.
