Wheatland, California’s Toyota Amphitheatre saw Volbeat’s “Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide” make its long-awaited tour stop. The crowd ranged from young to old and represented all the different styles of metal. You couldn’t tell if they were there for the retro vibe of Volbeat or the latest and greatest from Lzzy Hale and company of Halestorm. The foreboding clouds did nothing to deter the crowds, and the crowds showed up early, openly embracing the incoming inclement weather.Continue reading
At what point do we (I? Is it just me by now…? in which case, I’ll get with the programme asap!) change our default position that bands twenty years deep into their careers shouldn’t be producing their best stuff in a heavy music arena? Cos it’s bollocks. Our staff voted-for album of the year top 3 picks for this year to prove it. The last ten years of evidence proves it. A whole plethora of written-off bands pushing well into their second, third, even fourth, decade with career best releases prove it. There’s a pervading feeling that age dilutes quality and / or heaviness, yet nothing could be further than the truth. Particularly in the Volbeat camp, because, Servant of the Mind (EMI), their twentieth anniversary and eighth studio release, is their best to date. Form is temporary when class is permanent.Continue reading