Volbeat: Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie

Hard rocking and hard touring Danish band Volbeat is back with a new album, their sixth overall, titled Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie. The band has consistently captured a wider audience with each new album, and it’s clear they know why. When the catchy, melodic, radio-friendly rockers like “Heaven Nor Hell” and “Fallen” from 2010’s Beyond Hell/Above Heaven hit big, they gave us twice as many of them on 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies. Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie is pretty much one ultra-catchy rocker after another, with truly heavy moments coming few and far between.

The album starts on a heavy note with the crunching, metallic “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown,” which is one of the album’s best moments. From there it’s roughly ten mid-tempo melodic hard rock songs that are ridiculously easy to sing along with. “The Bliss” is one of the early singles, and it’s beyond catchy, as are songs like “Let It Burn” and “Goodbye Forever.” Another major highlight of Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie is “Black Rose,” which has a harder rocking (but still very melodic) vibe and features Danko Jones on guest vocals alongside Michael Poulsen. Towards the end of the album the band brings back the metal on songs like “Seal the Deal” and “The Loa’s Crossroad.”

While it’s not necessarily a concept album the way Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies was, there does appear to be a storyline running loosely throughout Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie. One song (“You Will Know”) even ties up some of the themes from the first three Volbeat albums. Another recurring theme is the band giving us some interesting cover songs. This album has two: Teenage Bottlerocket’ “Rebound” and “Battleship Chains” by Georgia Satellites. Both songs are beyond catchy and are the most simply fun tracks on the album. You will sing along to both, and you will sing loud.

Longtime Volbeat fans who liked the heavier, more metallic edge of those early albums may be disappointed by Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie, but fans who discovered this band in the past few years ought to find this pure ear candy. If nothing else, this album is catchier and more fun than pretty much any other modern rock album out there, and is the kind of album that fans of melodic rock n’ roll will find themselves playing over and over again. And if it brings the band more fans and more radio airplay, it’s safe to say that Volbeat has earned it.

Edition Notes: As with the previous Volbeat album, there is a 2-disc version of Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie that is exclusive to the Best Buy chain. The second disc features four songs: a short (as in one-minute) thrasher called “Slaytan,” an alternate version of “The Bliss” titled “For Evigt,” that features Johan Olsen on Danish vocals alongside Poulsen, a version of “Black Rose” with Poulsen on all vocals, and a live version of “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown.” The dual vocals on “For Evigt” take you right back to “The Garden’s Tale,” and that alone is worth the few extra bucks the deluxe edition sets you back.

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