THE FIRST SONG that

I REMEMBER HEARING

SWEET CAROLINE

ELVIS PRESLEY (1970)

“Elvis was a

big element in

my childhood

because my

parents were

constantly playing his records around

the house. There was something

about his voice that I was really

drawn to. My father had a lot of

videotapes and when watching

those I found myself drawn to his

personality, too. He was a really big

presence in my life. This is actually

a Neil Diamond song, but the Elvis

version is so much better.”

THE SONG THAT Turned

ME On to METAL

BLACK SABBATH

BLACK SABBATH (1970)

“My mum’s

brother lived

next door to

us, so I went

through his

record collection and found an

album with a sleeve that scared the

crap out of me. It was a woman in a

graveyard or something, and he told

me I was way too young to listen

to it. So when he was out I snuck

into his house and put the record

on, and that was my introduction to

Black Sabbath. That was the song

that made me want to dig into that

scene. Hearing that opening riff

made me want my first guitar.”

THE SONG THAT MADE ME

WANT TO BE IN A BAND

CAUGHT IN

A MOSH

ANTHRAX (1987)

“I came home

from school one

day with two

friends, and we

turned on the TV and there was this

live show on. There was this weird-

looking heavy band wearing shorts,

Hawaiian shirts and caps, but they

sounded great and they looked like

they were having a great time. We all

looked at each other and said, ‘That

looks like fun, we should do that.’

That band was Anthrax, and they

were amazing from start to finish.”

THE SONG THAT REMINDS

ME OF MY FIRST TOUR

THE LAST IN LINE

DIO (1984)

“We always

took a ghetto

blaster out in

the van with

us, so we could

play the mixtapes we made while

THE FIRST SONG

I EVER MOSHED TO

THE VICIOUS

CIRCLE

KONKHRA (1990)

“Konkhra are

a Danish death

metal band who

I had a great

time moshing to in this little club

that no longer exists. Back in the

‘90s when death metal was at its

best and strongest worldwide, they

were one of the leading bands in

the Danish scene, alongside my own

band Dominus, and Invocator.”

THE SONG I LISTEN TO

WHEN I WANT TO PARTY

LONG TALL SALLY

LITTLE RICHARD (1956)

“Throw it on and

you know you’re

going to have a

good time. The

rawness is one

of my favourite things about it.

You can tell it wasn’t just made

yesterday, and there’s such honesty

to it. There’s a lot of emotion,

innocence and danger as well.”

THE SONG I WISH THAT

I HAD WRITTEN

WHISKEY IN

THE JAR

THIN LIZZY (1972)

“I remember me

and [Metallica’s]

James Hetfield

were talking

about music and we both said we

wished that we had written this

song. I bet we’re not the only ones.

There’s something uplifting about

it, even though there’s melancholy

in there, too. Mix those elements

together and that’s beautiful.”

THE SONG I’d like

PLAYED AT MY FUNERAL

DOWN HERE

(WITH THE

REST OF US)

SOCIAL DISTORTION

(1996)

“This is probably

my favourite

song of all time. The lyrics are how

I relate to life. You can work so hard

yet nobody gives a flying fuck,

but you still do what you have to

do, because you are who you are.

’ Down here with the rest of us’ –

whether things are good or bad,

you’re still connected to your roots.”

VOLBEAT’S NEW ALBUM REWIND,

REPLAY, REBOUND IS set for

release on VERTIGO ON AUGUST 2.

THE BAND TOUR THE UK LATER THIS

YEAR – SEE THE GIG GUIDE

drinking beers. There were a lot

of different bands in the mix. You

had your classic metal, with Dio

and Iron Maiden and Rainbow

and Metallica, and then later

on we were listening to a lot of

death metal bands from Sweden

like Entombed and Unleashed,

Cemetary and Grave – all that kind

of stuff. A lot of songs remind me

of that first tour, but this one in

particular takes me right back.”

THE SONG I EXERCISE TO

OLD STAR

DARKTHRONE (2019)

“I’ve never

been attached

to listening to

certain songs

when I’m angry,

happy, or in a crappy mood. I don’t

actually listen to that much music

when I’m at home, because I hear

it in my head all the time and I want

some peace and quiet. So the only

times I listen to stuff is when I’m in

my car or out running. Right now

I’m loving the new Darkthrone

album when I go out exercising.”

B I R T H.

SCHOOL.

ROCK.

DEATH.

THE SOng THAT MAKES

ME feel MOST PROUD

FOR EVIGT

VOLBEAT (2016)

“It’s a Danish title that means

‘Forever.’ When I wrote the song

I had a really good feeling about it.

What I didn’t know was the impact

it would have on Denmark. They

play it at so many events it’s almost

like a Danish national anthem, and

to see how much that song means

to a lot of people here; for funerals,

weddings, birthdays, or whatever.

And I created that.”

VOLBEAT frontman MICHAEL

POULSEN unpacks key points from

his musical past, in an effort to learn

a thing or two about himself...

LIFE IS HEAVY

14 KERRANG!

words:

dan slessor

PHOTO:

ROSS HALFIN