Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

Ugh, that's terrible...

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A 39-year-old Volbeat fan has died after attempting to enter the band’s concert after being denied access in Texas on Monday night.

And new guitarist Rob Caggiano was among the bystanders who saw the tragedy unfold.

Police say Jubal Colvin was refused entry by security officials at the Lonestar Event Center in Lubbock. He then climbed a security fence to get in, and escaped from staff who apprehended him.

Colvin ran into a restricted area, tried to jump across a gap and fell 20ft, striking his head on a concrete floor. He was given first aid on the scene but failed to recover, and died in hospital soon afterwards.

Wes Nessman, rock show host on local radio station FMX, reports: “We had a death at the concert on Monday night and it really didn’t have to happen.

“An individual, who appeared to be drunk or had been drinking, was stopped at security for having a knife. He got agitated and threw the knife at security and started running. He was told to stop several times by security and police. He ran past several fences and barricades before either running off the roof or attempting to jump roof to roof.

“This was witnessed by several people, including some innocent bystanders and Volbeat’s new guitarist.

“This guy was running from officials in a clearly marked area. He was told to stop. There’s just no good reason why this happened. It’s important that the moms and dads and brothers and sisters out there know this wasn’t a guy dancing or fooling around who had an accident. The guy did not fall. He jumped.

“It’s not fair that some, including the news media, will try to portray this as some type of dangerous environment. It’s not. It is horribly unfair to place this tragedy at the feet of the venue, police or security.”

I really like the new song and I can understand why they'd want to go with this one. Speaking soley from experience with the radio stations that are around me, Volbeat is a relatively new band on the scene and they only play about two or so songs from them when they are played. Both of those songs have a similar feel. Leading off with this one gives them some variety to their radio presence and shows the audience that they aren't a one trick pony.

Rex wrote:

I really like the new song and I can understand why they'd want to go with this one. Speaking soley from experience with the radio stations that are around me, Volbeat is a relatively new band on the scene and they only play about two or so songs from them when they are played. Both of those songs have a similar feel. Leading off with this one gives them some variety to their radio presence and shows the audience that they aren't a one trick pony.

I guess that kind of makes sense. I tend to forget that there are still people out there that listen to FM radio in this day & age.

Just caught volbeat in concert last night having never listened to them for a second. I am VERY impressed with these guys. I guess I always steered away from them cuz I figures they'd be one of those lame trendy bands like avenged, or black tide. But lo and behold they are the real deal... Don't I feel sheepish.

I'll be getting the new one and catching up on there back catalogue. They were very right live as well, I would recommend catching them if the opportunity presents itself. New fan right here.

They're definitely not a follow-the-trend kind of band. They have their own unique style.

Eyesore wrote:

They're definitely not a follow-the-trend kind of band. They have their own unique style.

I hear tons of other influences in their music (Metallica, Social D, rockabilly, metal, Elvis, Danzig, Johnny Cash, etc.) but noone that sounds like them. They are unique for sure.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

They're definitely not a follow-the-trend kind of band. They have their own unique style.

I hear tons of other influences in their music (Metallica, Social D, rockabilly, metal, Elvis, Danzig, Johnny Cash, etc.) but noone that sounds like them. They are unique for sure.

When I first heard them, I described them as Johnny Cash meets The Misfits meets Load-era Metallica. I still think that's pretty accurate.

King Diamond appears on the new album apparently
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=188397

Yeah, I just got an email from the fan club for a free download of that track. I'll check it out tonight.

Yep, killer track!

That's the most full on metal Ive heard from volbeat yet! Bare in mind I'm still pretty new to them and haven't checked out most of the discography yet.

Wow, that track was really cool, and I have not liked this band before! Rob has given this band life!

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it, but there is an exclusive 2-disc edition only available at Best Buy for $13.99. Disc 1 is the standard release 14 track, disc 2 is an additional 4 bonus tracks (3 studio/1 live).

I just picked up a copy at lunch today and haven't listened to it yet so I can't tell if the extra disc is worth the few extra sheckles.

Just passing along the info if anyone is so inclined.

Just got it. Of the bonus tracks, only "Ecotone" is really worth it. There is a "harp version" of one song, which isn't all that different; a demo from the last album; and a live track. So one great song and three non-essentials.

Eyesore wrote:

Just got it. Of the bonus tracks, only "Ecotone" is really worth it. There is a "harp version" of one song, which isn't all that different; a demo from the last album; and a live track. So one great song and three non-essentials.

I debated whether to get the deluxe or standard, so I went for the few bonus tracks. Oh well. Better than a dvd I guess.

Eyesore wrote:

Just got it. Of the bonus tracks, only "Ecotone" is really worth it. There is a "harp version" of one song, which isn't all that different; a demo from the last album; and a live track. So one great song and three non-essentials.

'Ecotone' is very good. The harp version of 'Lola Montez' is thankfully harp as in "mouth harp" aka harmonica, not the stringed instrument. It's an ok song though. The demo version of 'Evelyn' is one of the few tracks I don't like by these guys. The harsh vocals don't cut it for me. The last live track is ok, but meh, it's a live track.

Well, first impressions, the bonus disc was kind of a bust for me. 4 extra bucks for really only 1 worthy track. Poop.

Take heed kids. Buy the standard version.

Picked it up after work yesterday. I'm diggin it.

Favorites are room 24 (of course ), lonesome rider, and Doc Holliday.

The only one that leaves me cold is sinner is you.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Sarah Blackwood guesting. I'm a big fan of hers.

I feel like they've knocked off some of their rough edges a bit on this release, maybe leaning for some more mainstream/radio appeal. Not sure how I feel about that.

I listened to it a few times yesturday. I like it but yea they did tone it down a bit and went a little mainstream but its not like they weren't already going for that to begin with.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

I listened to it a few times yesturday. I like it but yea they did tone it down a bit and went a little mainstream but its not like they weren't already going for that to begin with.

I don't think it bothers me. Well, maybe a little. It was more of an observation more than a critique. I played it on the ride to & from work and it just seemed like it didn't really kick in to "heavy metal mode" till about the 5th or 6th track. It's still catchy and there is no mistaking that it still sounds like Volbeat. Just maybe more rock than metal.

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I was pleasantly surprised to see Sarah Blackwood guesting. I'm a big fan of hers

I don't know who that is, but she sounds good on whatever that tracks she's on.

yea I felt the same way, but its not a bad album so its fine. They still have that crushing guitar sound. Theres actually a lot of great guitar work on this one. Some of the leads are really cool.

Yep, i think bringing rob on board was a good idea. It's cool that they let him do his thing in a lot of spots. There are some spots on this record where the rythms are really dark and super metal too. To me it just seems like they are more integrated and used as textures in the songs rather than driving the pace like the heavy stuff on previous efforts.

I could be mistaken, though, because I'm still pretty new to volbeat and have only heard a smattering of stuff from each album.

I'm thinking this disc is gonna earn a spot on "The Biggest Disappointments of 2013".

I've been giving it plenty of airtime since I got it and it's just not grabbing me with anything great. I feel like the band has been neutered. Their past albums have been "metal" with a few rockers thrown in to the mix. This new album is hard rock with 3 or 4 tracks that are metal. And to me, that's a disappointment.

It's really mediocre until the 6th track (the King Diamond one) kicks it up a notch. After that, it falls back to some decent rock tracks, but no crunchy guitars or double-bass drumming until tracks 10 or 11.

It's really not a bad or unlistenable album. No mistaking it's Volbeat. And it's a good rock record, but a little too radio-friendly for me. I miss their older metal sound. And no cover tunes this time around either. They've always put a cool spin on covers in the past, but allas, none to be found here.

I suppose this new direction is working for the band. They cracked the Top 10 Billboard charts (#9 in the US), so I'm happy for them if that get's them some recognition and raises their profile. I just don't see this album being one that I go to very often if I want to hear some Volbeat. It's gonna linger around the bottom of their discography for me.

One last thing, like so many other bands these days, I think this disc suffers from being 3 or 4 tracks too long. Instead of boring us with filler, leave the listener wanting more. 10 or so tracks around 35-45 minutes is plenty.

I agree that it's disappointing there are less heavy tracks, but I'm finding I like it more with each listen. I think maybe that's because I expected more. The band made a big deal about the heaviness of this album, so I expected more metal, not less. I don't get that at all. Why talk that up?

There is a cover, though. "My Body" was originally done by Young the Giant, a band none of us old farts has ever heard of.