Together since 2001, Denmark’s Volbeat has become one of the most well-known and successful Heavy Rock bands around. Traveling a fascinating journey, Volbeat attained significant success in the Euroepan market with their first three albums (2005’s The Strength/The Sound/The Songs, 2007’s Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil, and 2008’s Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood), it was around a decade before the North American caught on. Primarily in part due to limited distribution in the US market, 2010’s Beyond Hell/Above Heaven began an upward trajectory for Volbeat in America, before explosive fanfare with 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, 2016’s Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie, and 2019’s Rewind, Replay, Rebound.
A fantastic time for Volbeat, they even earned a Grammy Nomination for the song “Room 24” (featuring King Diamond) in 2014. With multiple top-selling, highly charted albums and singles, Volbeat has toured consistently and sustained a level of excellence into 2021’s Servant of the Mind. Now in 2025, the band returns with their latest evolution, the new album God of Angels Trust. Released on June 6, 2025, through Republic/Universal, Volbeat seems to be as driven as ever before with this album.
The band’s ninth overall studio album, it is the first since 2013 not to feature Guitarist Rob Caggiano, who bowed out in 2023. Leaving the core of Vocalist/Guitarist/Main Songwriter Michael Poulsen, original Drummer Jon Larsen, and longtime Bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen, Volbeat’s God of Angels Trust was born in the summer of 2024. Put together by Poulsen, with Larsen and Larsen as he recovered from throat surgery, the album is complete with ten songs that strike hard.
Getting back in the studio with longtime producer Jacob Hansen, the band spent a revolutionary thirteen days working together on their latest album, God of Angels Trust. With the album complete and ready for release, interviews with Michael Poulsen go in depth about his creative process on the album and conclude that this –
“Doesn’t feel like we’re doing our ninth studio album, it feels like we’re on our first album again, and something is refreshing about that.”
That being said, some may have skepticism about the sound this new album will take on. Piquing curiosity, “Devils Are Awake” opens the set and introduces a familiar, heavy guitar sound that makes Volbeat intense and highly authentic. Bringing Guitarist Flemming C. Lund in for some recordings on God of Angels was probably one of the smartest things Volbeat could do for the band. With Lund’s ability to rip one’s face off with a quality sounding riff, who wouldn’t want to hear that on the new songs?
Joining this energy, “By a Monster’s Hand” kicks off with heavier drums and takes on an anthem-like tone. This song, along with tracks “Time Will Heal” and “Lonely Fields,” adopts a more requiem-like melodic sound. These are the songs that emphasize Poulsen’s voice and the dynamic range.
Beyond these, some other intriguing songs include “In The Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom” and “Better Fueled Than Tamed”. More instrumentally elevated, with very profound ‘out there’ lyrics, the breakdown in “Better Fueled Than Tamed” stands out with cymbals ringing hard and guitar riffs flying around.
With a classic lineup and a refreshing feeling, Volbeat brings you a whole new experience with God of Angels Trust. One of their best albums in some time, Cryptic Rock gives God of Angels Trust 5 out of 5 stars.
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