VOLBEAT — Rewind, Replay Rebound (review)

VOLBEAT — Rewind, Replay Rebound album cover

Album · 2019 · Hard Rock

3.5/5 · 2019-11-15
UMUR

"Rewind, Replay Rebound" is the 7th full-length studio album by Danish heavy rock/metal act Volbeat. The album was released through Universal/Vertigo Records in August 2019 just little over three years after the release of "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie" from June 2016. Three years spend touring and gaining more and more fans and commercial success. "Rewind, Replay Rebound" is the first Volbeat album to feature bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. Anders Kjølholm left Volbeat before the recording sessions for "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie (2016)", but Larsen was not in place for the recording of that album (he joined in May 2016), and the bass was therefore recorded by lead guitarist Rob Caggiano.

Stylistically the material on "Rewind, Replay Rebound" continue the hard rock/heavy metal style of "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie (2016)". A polished and melodic hard rock/heavy metal style with great mainstream appeal. The tracks feature regular vers/chorus structures and typically great anthemic sing along choruses. The influences from 50s rock´n´roll (Elvis, Johnny Cash) are still strong as well as heavy nods toward 90s-Metallica. Volbeat have had a unique sound (built with tried and true musical elements) from day one and with lead vocalist/guitarist Michael Poulsen´s distinct sounding voice in front that is not gonna change anytime soon.

Volbeat have become a little more melodic, polished, and mainstream oriented over the years, and that tendency is continued on "Rewind, Replay Rebound", which at times is more melodic hard rock than heavy metal. Occasionally a really heavy riff appears, but the polished sound production even makes the most heavy sections easily digestable for a mainstream hard rock audience.

Upon conclusion "Rewind, Replay Rebound" is pretty much another Volbeat album by the numbers. You won´t find many surprises here. There are melodic tracks, 50s rock´n´roll influenced uptempo tracks, a couple of more soft/mellow type tracks, and a couple of harder edged heavy tracks featured on the album, so the band are as diverse as always, yet sounding unmistakably like Volbeat all the way through the album. The two first singles off the album "Last Day Under the Sun" (which features a semi-funky guitar riff, reminding me slightly of the guitar riff on Michael Jackson´s "Black or White") and "Leviathan" are both among the highlights of the album, and to my ears especially the latter ranks among the band´s strongest compositions. It´s great to hear they are still capable of producing standout tracks this far into their career.

The remaining tracks on the album are a bit up and down in quality. Some are strong compositions which are instantly catchy and memorable, while others are a little less remarkable. Featuring 14 tracks and a total playing time of 56:45 minutes, the album is a bit too long for its own good, and had the band chosen to trim the fat and release "Rewind, Replay Rebound" leaving out a couple of the least remarkable tracks, the album would overall have been a stronger release. It´s still a quality release through and through though, featuring a couple of standout tracks and several good quality tracks and therefore a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.