Volbeat have revealed two big piece of news: they have set a release date for their new album and they have recruited Rob Caggiano to join the band. Caggiano recently announced his departure from Anthrax, ostensibly to focus on being a music producer. One of those production projects was Volbeat's new album.
That new album, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, is set to be released on April 9th. For the effort Caggiano teamed with long-time production partner Jacob Hansen, who produced and mixed the band's prior four albums.
Volbeat's Michael Poulsen had this to say, "The band is very proud and happy to announce that he will also be the new guitar player in Volbeat. The collaboration with Rob in the studio was so inspiring and in good spirit that we the decided to keep him. Basically we went into the studio as a three piece and came out as a whole band!"
Caggiano as explained how his joining the band came to pass, "Wow! I have to say I'm completely blown away by the turn of events over the last few weeks here in Denmark and at this point an update is definitely in order.
"To start with, I came to Denmark about a month ago to produce the new Volbeat record which in and of itself has been an incredibly exciting adventure from a producer's perspective thus far. However, I'm extremely happy to say my relationship with these guys will not end there as it turns out......it's just beginning!
"Michael had asked me on the phone before I got out here if I would play some guest solos on the new album in addition to my other duties and of course I was thrilled about that and agreed to do so. When I actually got to Denmark and started going through the material, this turned out to be so much more than that.
"After weeks of collaboration between Michael and I it became quite clear that we had an amazing creative chemistry together and a huge mutual respect for one another. It's so refreshing and inspiring to be creative again on a songwriting level that words can't even describe it and the vibe between Anders, Jon, Michael and I is just awesome. I'd say an artistic relationship like this one is very rare and it's also something I don't take for granted.
"When the guys asked me if I was interested in joining Volbeat the other day, my jaw just about hit the floor! It actually didn't even register in my brain properly until the next morning but I gotta say, it also didn't take me long to decide. It really isn't the way I envisioned the rest of my year to play out but at the same time, THIS feels more "right" to me than anything I could have possibly imagined and I'm going for it!
"To all my fans, family, friends and overall supporters that have reached out to me over this last month wondering if I'm ever gonna play guitar again or what I'm up to in general etc........See you all soon my friends and get ready for a wild ride!!!"
Poulsen had this to say about the album, "Half of the album tracks will take you into the world of outlaw gunslinger stories sometime in the 1800s. Some of the characters are true legends, while others are fiction. The listener will hear inspiration from old classic spaghetti western movies which gives you a clue to the album title and cover artwork."
He adds, "We are still 'rocking out' in the studio, and working on the last details. We are very excited about this album. We feel that we've achieved the goals we set out. The heavy stuff on the album is perhaps more old school heavy riffs than earlier, and the rock songs rock out with tons of melodies and take us into uncharted territory. All that without losing the Volbeat sound that is the cornerstone of our band."
The band will be launching a North America next month which will feature Danko Jones will serve as main support through 4/11/13.
3/06 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
3/07 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
3/09 San Antonio, TX Freeman Coliseum
3/10 El Paso, TX Speaking Rock Entertainment Center
3/11 Lubbock, TX Lonestar Pavilion
3/12 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
3/14 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues at Mandalay Bay
3/15 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
3/16 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
3/17 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
3/19 Boise, ID Revolution Center
3/20 Missoula, MT The Wilma Theater
3/22 Seattle, WA Showbox At The Market
3/23 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
3/24 Calgary, AB MacEwen Hall
3/25 Prince George, BC CN Centre
3/27 Dawson Creek, BC EnCana Events Centre
3/28 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre
3/29 Medicine Hat, AB Cypress Center
3/30 Regina, SA Brandt Centre
4/01 Saskatoon, SA Credit Union Center
4/02 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
4/03 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
4/05 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
4/06 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere's
4/07 Toronto, ONT Sound Academy
4/09 New York, NY Best Buy Theatre
4/10 Baltimore, MD Rams Head
4/11 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
