Volbeat’s sound is one of the more unique ones in music. Incorporating heavy metal, rock and rockabilly music, their sounds echo the notable points of American music without sounding like a blatant copycat of any one particular band. Add in lead singer Michael Poulsen’s slightly accented voice, the energy of the band, and the imagery associated with such albums as Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, and Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies, and you wind up with a lot to like. I’ve seen Volbeat live, and it is probably the only concert I’ve ever witnessed that had the crowds singing, mosh pits, head banging and actual swing dancing at the same damn time. It was an awesome experience.
“16 Dollars” is off of the Beyond Hell/Above Heaven album and out of all of the Volbeat singles released, the video is the most likely candidate for being BangShift worthy. I won’t pretend to understand the 1950’s Ghost Rider-meets-greaser imagery, but the bad-girl Bettie Paige lookalike and the Mercury cop car are just sweet. With Jakob Øelund of Taggy Tones on the upright bass in the middle of the desert adding to the song’s flavor, it was hard to pass up. If you haven’t heard of Volbeat, do yourself the favor and investigate a little bit. Meanwhile, it’s time to get a little old-school spooky:
“I won’t pretend to understand the 1950’s Ghost Rider-meets-greaser imagery…”
Expecting a music video’s imagery to make sense is often expecting a bit much. But it is a fun video even if you can’t figure out if the guy on the bike was dead to begin with or not.
100% cannot deal with Volbeat’s lead singer’s voice.