Firing up the crowd a bit later with their homage to Johnny Cash, Hank Shermann takes over the acoustics to "Sad Man's Tongue", giving it his own unique touch and displaying the versatility the seasoned veteran of metal has been come to be known for. Drummer Jon Larsen steadfastly pedals and pounds away behind his kit, often hidden from view behind the flurry of drumsticks. Anders Kjølholm, a man of many faces, most of them comically hilarious, like he just picked up the bass for the first time and went, "Did I just make that sound?", provides a thundering bass line that defines the underlying rhythm of Volbeat. But it's Michael Poulsen, some who would worship him as the modern day coming of the "Man in Black" himself who captivates the crowd, reaching deep in to his voluminous lungs of hell to deliver his bellowing vocals that are unmatched in most styles of today's music, and indeed, are the epitome of the Volbeat sound.
Raging forward, never slowing down, they break in to "Hallelujah Goat", with Hank again leading in to the song with his own blistering finger work on guitar, blazing out a solo intro that compliments the song perfectly. Poulsen leads the crowd in to "Fallen", with a request to the crowd to ‘make some noise’ for all the lost souls out there. The song was written by Poulsen in tribute to his father who had passed away, and the respect, love and honor that he carries forth in remembrance of him.
Rounding out the night with a good number of tracks from their new album "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" such as "Heaven nor Hell", "16 Dollars", and "The Mirror and the Ripper", to the early favorites such as "Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza" and the crowd beloved cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You", Volbeat knows they have much love and support in Detroit. The number of flailing bodies flying through the air over the barricade to keep the security crew busy were testament to that.
Catch up with Volbeat, Hellyeah, and Iced Earth at the following dates:
6/21 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
6/23 Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
6/26 Saint Paul, MN @ Myth
6/27 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
6/29 Weyburn SK @ Crescent Point Place
6/30 Gibbons, AB @ Boonstock 2012
7/8 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
7/10 Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
7/11 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
7/12 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
7/15 Colorado Springs, CO @ City Auditorium
