Volbeat sends out "Thanks" to Teenage Bottlerocket and No Use for a Name

by Steve Newton on March 25th, 2011 at 3:36 PM

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In the liner notes for its latest album, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, Danish metal band Volbeat includes a message about the CD's closing track, "Thanks".

"This song is written for all the Volbeat supporter/fans/listeners," it reads. "The music is also inspired by two bands called Teenage Bottlerocket and No Use for a Name. If you like this song check these cool bands out. If you don't like the song check them out anyway because they are better than us."

Now, it's arguable whether the two American punk-rock acts that Volbeat cites as inspirational are better than themselves. Judging from the sound of Beyond Hell/Above Heaven—which smartly blends contemporary metal stylings with elements of classic '50s rock 'n' roll—I kinda doubt it. But it's nice of Volbeat to give credit where they think it's due. When the band's frontman Michael Poulsen talked to Ear of Newt last Friday, I got him to expand on the subject a bit.

"Sometimes you're pretty much aware of where you get your inspiration from," he said on the phone from Copenhagen, "and other times you really don't know where you got it. So when I do know where I have the inspiration from, the bands I got it from definitely deserve the credit. Maybe our fans don't know the bands yet, so they can go out and check them out and suddenly perhaps you help other bands with selling records."

Volbeat seems to doing pretty good in the record-selling department itself these days, at least in its home country of Denmark, where all four of its albums have been certified gold, and one has gone platinum. And as far as moving concert tickets is concerned, the quartet's show in Vancouver next Sunday (April 3) at the Commodore is completely sold out.

For more on Volbeat see the story in next week's issue of the Georgia Straight.