Jon Larsen
Volbeat
Overview
Volbeat. One word. One band. One inimitable sound. One matchless approach to music. Yet the possibilities are endless. And why shouldn't they be? When you have a band that is more than willing to break musical boundaries and the world's preconceived notions about musical styles you have a rarity-one that is anchored by a heady mix of rockabilly, early rock & roll and metal held together by a handful of pomade and nine gauge super slinky strings...
A Danish wonder that has the metal world standing up, taking out their ear plugs and removing their blinders. What you hear and what you see leaves you with a musical tattoo - indelible, significant and most importantly, long lasting. Formed in Copenhagen in 2001, JON LARSEN with Volbeat has released four studio albums and one live DVD all chart toppers and/or certified gold in Europe, with their seminal release "Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil" certified Platinum. Steadily increasing their fan base with their unique blend and style of music and uncompromising stage shows, Volbeat continues to marry Heavy Metal and Rockabilly, smear it with a kiss of crunchy guitars and drive away in a vintage Cadillac stuffed with Pearl drums. Their arrival on the Metal scene brought about a colossal explosion in Europe heralded by "Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil".
Entering the Danish music charts at number one this bottle rocket landed Volbeat on nearly every musical radar screen. Proving that they were no flash in the pan aberration - the album stayed in the top 5 ranking for five months. Propelled by this reception, Jon and Volbeat went out on their second European tour pushing even further into the pages of Metal's history.However, Volbeat's sound is more than just an amalgam, or even a fusion, it is the sonic antithesis to current trends in Metal and Rock. It's a musical rebellious hot rod chugging out heavy guitars, pounding bass and a Jon’s relentless drum backbeat that grabs you in the gut and with a wink, says, "now listen to this!"Since their first release in 2005 of "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs", Jon and Volbeat have relentlessly toured Europe, sacrificed their selves to the music, dedicated their passions, given up jobs all with a singular vision that sometimes doing it the hard way means doing it the best way. That first album was a mammoth success in Denmark achieving a spot at #18 in the charts, critics were raving about this new sound, their live performances were already becoming legendary and the year culminated in "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs" snagging Best Album in the Danish Metal Musik Awards in 2005.That perseverance paid off two years later when "Rock the Rebel/ Metal the Devil" became a massive hit, charting to number one in Denmark and outselling the likes of Britney Spears and Bruce Springsteen.
Charting number one was an accomplishment, being the first and only metal band to ever do so in Denmark was yet another inauguration of Volbeat into the historic archives of music. 2007 was a vintage year for Jon and the guys-they opened the Roskilde Festival (one of the five biggest annual music festivals in Europe ). The news quickly spread that there was something infusing the European metal scene with a new kind of melodious adrenaline and the fans, critics and industry pros were reaching a fevered pitch. As if this wasn't enough, Lars Ulrich, founding member of metal giants Metallica, got bored and started asking questions about what was the big fuss in Denmark currently and everyone's lips whispered the same answer "Volbeat".Volbeat got the opportunity to play in front of Metallica, and James Hetfield joined the growing Volbeat fan club as well, telling Jon after a show, "I heard you translate some kind of Elvis metal...I really like it!"So much so that all it took was an exchange of CD’s at a release party, and a few transatlantic phone calls and Jon with Volbeat suddenly found themselves opening for Metallica on two world tours.In 2008, Volbeat released their third album, "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" which topped the Finnish Album Chart straight after its publication. That year also saw Jon and Volbeat touring in the US with Nightwish and playing to 400,000 of their closest fans at the largest open air festival in Europe, Przystanek Woodstock. It was a legendary combination of all the characteristics of a new age in heavy metal music and the reigning kings of metal and Volbeat brought to the stage an onslaught.
Taking all of the pre-conceived barriers and shattering them with Jon’s thick, massive drum sound, distorted amps, unmitigated guitar solos, insistent rhythms and vocals that escape categorizing, Volbeat continued to thrust themselves front and center and they haven't stopped since.With the much anticipated 2010 release of "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" which continues the storyline from where "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" left off, Jon notes, "it's different but still holds true to the Volbeat style-We have fast, slow and mid-tempo songs. We still blend different styles of punk, rock'n'roll, rockabilly, metal, heavy metal, thrash metal, and country.” Guest performers include such legends as, Mark "Barney" Greenway (Napalm Death), Michael Denner ( Mercyful Fate/King Diamond), Miland "Mille" Petrozza (Kreator), Henrik Hall - (Love shop (harmonica)),and Jakob Oelund (Taggy Tones (slap bass)). "I'm very proud to have these fine gentlemen with us, since they inspired us a lot for a long time. "With a relentless 2010 touring schedule across Europe and in the US, (including such stops as the Download Festival and joining Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer for Sonisphere) Jon and Volbeat are still as uncompromising and vigilant as they were when they first started… their matchless sound is the result of a band with the guts to push musical boundaries, the undeterred individuality often not seen in the musical landscape, and a genuine artistry and talent. A talent that is anchored by an indefinable style and attitude that taps into your inner rebel grabs it by the jugular and takes it for a ride down a new highway... headed straight for an anachronistic reverberation that puts a much needed new spin on music today... modified for a linear race to the top.