Servant of the Mind

Servant of the Mind is the eighth studio album by Danish rock band Volbeat. The album was released on 3 December 2021. The album was proceeded by four singles: "Wait a Minute My Girl", "Dagen Før", "Shotgun Blues", and "Becoming". The album marks a return to a heavier sound in comparison to their previous album, Rewind, Replay, Rebound.

Servant of the Mind
Studio album by
Volbeat
Released3 December 2021
Studio
Genre
Length61:15
Label
Producer
Volbeat chronology
Rewind, Replay, Rebound
(2019)		 Servant of the Mind
(2021)
Singles from Servant of the Mind
  1. "Wait a Minute My Girl"
    Released: 2 June 2021
  2. "Dagen Før"
    Released: 2 June 2021
  3. "Shotgun Blues"
    Released: 23 September 2021
  4. "Becoming"
    Released: 28 October 2021

Background and recording

The band had a tour in North American planned for April and May 2020 with the opening acts Clutch and The Picturebooks had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] According to bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen , the band used this time to write new songs, also because the musicians couldn't do anything else. The album took three months to write.[2] In an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, lead vocalist Michael Poulsen stated:

"I know for sure that what I'm writing right now is not really similar. That's gonna be another different Volbeat album, because if I was writing an album like that again, I would be old before I want to. So right now I'm doing a lot of spontaneous Volbeat songs that have really a lot of… [It's] uptempo, it's heavy, it's very riffy, there's even thrash songs, but again, there's also these really huge rock songs. Right now, I'm in a place where I'm kind of revisiting some of more uptempo and more heavy stuff. So I'm very excited about my whole situation when it comes to writing for Volbeat."[1]

The band recorded a cover of Metallica's "Don't Tread on Me" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.[3] The album was mainly recorded at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark.[4] Rob Caggiano recorded the lead guitars at Sonic Debris Studio in West Babylon, New York.[4]

Release

On 2 June 2021, the songs "Wait a Minute My Girl" and "Dagen Før" (featuring Alphabeat's Stine Bramsen) debuted as the first two of four singles before the album's 3 December release.[5] On 23 September 2021, the third single, "Shotgun Blues" was released. On the same day, the band confirmed the release of their eighth studio album Servant of the Mind for 3 December 2021.[6] On 28 October 2021, the band released the fourth single from their new album, "Becoming".[7] On 11 November 2021, a music video was released for "Shotgun Blues".[8]

Composition

Servant of the Mind has been described as hard rock,[9] heavy metal,[10] psychobilly,[10] rockabilly,[11] and rock and roll.[12] According to AllMusic, "Servant of the Mind is arguably the darkest, loudest, and heaviest album in their catalog --as well as their most accessible."[13] The album has been compared to Metallica and contains thrash metal experiements.[11] The song, "The Sacred Stones" has been described as thrash metal and progressive rock. Where as "Dagen Før" featuring Alphabeat vocalist Stine Bramsen has a "pop-rock sensibility."[11]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Blabbermouth.net8/10[14]
Classic Rock[15]
Distorted Sound6/10[11]
Kerrang!4/5[16]
Metal Injection7.5/10[9]

Servant of the Mind received generally positive reviews from critics. Thom Jurek of AllMusic cdescribed the album as "wonderfully crafted" and "beautifully recorded."[13] Steve Beebee of Blabbermouth.net called the album their "most complete record yet."[14] Malcolm Dome of Classic Rock was positive towards the album stating, "The whole album shines and flows with a real sense of purpose, and you know that not only did they have fun putting this all together, but also they achieved it with the attention to detail that marks it out as a firm step forward for the band."[15]

Jack Press of Distorted Sound was a little less positive stating "When Volbeat stick to what they know, they sound more vital than ever. However, their moments of mutation on Servants Of The Mind sound like a blockbuster band running out of steam."[11] Steve Beebee of Kerrang! considred the album to be a "beefed-up career high" and was positive towards the guitar work from Michael Poulsen and Rob Caggiano.[16] Chad Bowar of Metal Injection stated "Servant of the Mind has a lot of memorable songs, a couple of filler tracks, and follows in the path of Rewind, Replay, Rebound and 2016's Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie with catchy hard rock singles augmented by some metal moments."[9]

Track listing
Servant of the Mind track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Temple of Ekur"4:19
2."Wait a Minute My Girl"2:28
3."The Sacred Stones"6:14
4."Shotgun Blues"4:28
5."The Devil Rages On"5:10
6."Say No More"4:40
7."Heaven's Descent"4:10
8."Dagen Før" (featuring Stine Bramsen)4:09
9."The Passenger"3:37
10."Step Into Light"4:56
11."Becoming"4:13
12."Mindlock"4:48
13."Lasse's Birgitta"7:56
Total length:61:15
Digital deluxe bonus tracks[2]
No.TitleLength
14."Return to None" (Wolfbrigade cover)2:35
15."Domino" (The Cramps/Roy Orbison cover)2:56
16."Shotgun Blues" (featuring Dave Matrise)4:27
17."Dagen Før" (Michael Vox version)4:10
18."Don't Tread On Me" (Metallica cover)3:36
Total length:78:59

Personnel

Credits for Servant of the Mind adapted from AllMusic[17]

Volbeat

Additional

  • Doug Corcoran – saxophone
  • Stine Bramsen – vocals (8)
  • Mia Maja – backing vocals
  • Ray Jacildo – piano
  • Martin Pagaard Wolff – guitar

Production

  • Jacob Hansen – engineer, mastering, mixing, producer
  • Tue Bayer – technician
  • Jerry Carillo – guitar technician
  • Karsten Sand – illustrations
  • Henrik Siegel – graphic design
  • Frode Sylthe – cover photo

Charts

References
  1. "Volbeat's Michael Poulsen Is Writing A Lot Of 'Uptempo,' 'Heavy' And 'Riffy' Songs For Next Album". Blabbermouth.net. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. "Volbeat Announces Eighth Album, 'Servant Of The Mind', Shares New Song 'Shotgun Blues'". Blabbermouth.net. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. He, Richard S. (10 September 2021). "Every Metallica Blacklist cover ranked from worst to best". Louder Sound. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. Servant of the Mind (CD booklet). Vertigo Records, Republic Records, Universal Records. 2021.
  5. "Volbeat Debuts Two New Songs For The Summer, 'Wait A Minute My Girl' And 'Dagen Før'". Blabbermouth.net. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  6. Roche, Sam (3 December 2021). "Volbeat announce new album Servant of the Mind, share destructive new single, Shotgun Blues". Guitar World. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  7. Childers, Chad (23 September 2021). "Volbeat Unveil Thrashy + Anthemic New Song 'Becoming'". Loudwire. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  8. "Volbeat Releases Music Video For 'Shotgun Blues'". Blabbermouth.net. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  9. Bowar, Chad (1 December 2021). "Album Review: Volbeat Servant Of The Mind". Metal Injection. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. Sterdan, Darryl (3 December 2021). "Albums Of The Week: Volbeat Servant of the Mind". Tinnitist. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  11. Press, Jack (29 November 2021). "Album Review: Servant of the Mind – Volbeat". Distorted Sound Mag. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  12. Weckmann, Matthias (3 December 2021). "Volbeat Servant of the Mind". metal--hammer-de. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. Jurek, Thom. "Volbeat Servant of the Mind". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  14. Lawson, Dom (3 December 2021). "CD Reviews - Servant Of The Mind Volbeat". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  15. Dome, Malcolm (3 December 2021). "Volbeat open up an exciting future with Servant Of The Mind". Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. Beebee, Steve (3 December 2021). "Album review: Volbeat – Servant Of The Mind". Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  17. "Servant of the Mind - Volbeat Credits". Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  21. "Volbeat Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  22. "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 49, 2021". Hitlisten. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  24. "Volbeat: Servant of the Mind" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  25. "Top Albums (Week 49, 2021)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  27. "Album 2021 uke 49". VG-lista. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  29. "Veckolista Album, vecka 49". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  30. "Swisscharts.com – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  32. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  33. "Volbeat Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  34. "Volbeat Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  35. "Volbeat Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  36. "Jahrescharts 2021 Album". GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
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