As much as the mainstream media tries to deny and denigrate hard rock and heavy metal, it remains in ruddy health and that’s thanks in no small part to Danish rockers Volbeat. With their roots stretching back to 2001, they’ve become a mainstay on the scene releasing a succession of critically-acclaimed albums that have propelled them to new heights. Album number nine is no exception, featuring ten tracks that sparkle and fizz with panache, God Of Angels Trust is certain to shoot the band further forwards, towards the outer reaches of the stratosphere.

With Dream Theater dropping a concept album around the theme of sleep (reviewed here) and Katatonia about to do so, it feels as if the metal scene is tapping into a shared zeitgeist. Therefore, it feels only natural that Volbeat’s primary composer Michael Poulsen should put a lot of dream analysis into his songwriting this time around. He also took a different approach to lyricism, using a kind of muscle memory to capture those melodies and ideas at their most freshest and in doing so God Of Angels Trust is undoubtedly the band’s most direct and accessible work. If proof were needed to their vivaciousness and vitality, we need look no further than open track ‘Devils Are Awake’. With a riff that swings like an axe, Volbeat aren’t here to take names or prisoners and get straight down to business delivering a sound that exists in the sweet spot somewhere between rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal.

With the dark lyrical themes stitching this album together, the whole aesthetic is of the nocturnal and it’s one that Volbeat seem to revel in. Poulsen’s vocals are particularly vampire-like, whilst tracks such as ‘By A Monster’s Hand’ are sleek and dynamic and flit through the shadows like a thief in the night. Recorded as a three-piece (Poulsen, vocals/guitar), Jon Larsen (drums) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass), the band form a tight unit whilst the wide and expansive production gives each instrument plenty of room to breathe and subsequently ‘Demonic Depression’ swings with wrecking ball force and has come to demolish your speakers. It all adds up to a weighty listen and one which renders Volbeat a contemporary force.

Not only does ‘In The Barn Of The Goat Giving Birth To Satan’s Spawn In A Dying World Of Doom’ get my award for the year’s best song title, it picks up the prize for best song, too. Exploring Poulsen’s love of psychobilly, it’s a deliciously dark slab of rockabilly and, as with all the tracks on this record, comes with an adhesive, earworm quality and will float around your cranium all night (not unlike a friendly ghost). Written in just five weeks and recorded live in the studio in thirteen days, it feels as if Volbeat have come full circle and God Of Angels Trust exudes the same kind of energy as their debut album.

Volbeat are back to brighten up the dark, you’d better grab your shades.

• God Of Angels Trust is released via Universal/Vertigo on 6th June 2025.
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Track List:

1. Devils Are Awake
2. By A Monster’s Hand
3. Acid Rain
4. Demonic Depression
5. In The Barn Of The Goat Giving Birth To Satan’s Spawn In A Dying World Of Doom
6. Time Will Heal
7. Better Be Fueled Than Tamed
8. At The End Of The Sirens
9. Lonely Fields
10. Enlightening The Disorder (By A Monster’s Hand Part 2)