Volbeat's Doc Has The Prescription For Metal Malaise

Volbeat, my hat's off to you. Not only does "Doc Holiday" put the heavy back in heavy metal, it gracefully nudges in some country a la the banjo. Its bob and weave between straight shooting metal meanness and country doesn't fail to have me sitting up to take notice. Michael Poulson sits us down for a yarn focused on one Doc Holiday, a charmer with the femmes but stoic stone cold business with the guys at high noon when gunplay is called for. Oddly the obligatory metal guitar solo doesn't rise to the surface until the 4 minute mark. In and of itself that's not objectionable. The strangeness lies with the truism we're talking about a 5 minute 45 second song. If Rob Caggiano wanted to express to us how committed he was to his craft he might have been better served having let 'er rip around halfway into the desperado doings. On the other hand when he does unleash his rock god golden chords it proves worth the wait. Like a chorus equal parts cheese and ballsy brash? "Doc Holiday" is bound to leave you with a stupid grin on your face that years of plastic surgery couldn't erase. Michael is at his best reaching for the lower pitches in his octave range. Tends to highlight the ominousness the not necessarily exclusively good doctor tends to bring with him wherever he goes. Anders Kjolholm ups the ante on the prickly heat through a swagger infused bass that intensifies the longer it's thrust along the storyboard. Jon Larsen slams home potent drum expertise, the kind that makes you want to jump off the sidelines and clutch a pistol of your own. "Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies" gifted us with this ride back to the Old West. Volbeat's foray into the cowboy catacombs is campy carried to the most engaging possible extreme. Anyone of you ladies and gents recall Europe's "The Final Countdown". Yes, the Swedish metal band's major silly ode to space travel that has in recent years been used as a tension mounter for the closing stretch of NBA basketball. Volbeat matches the Swede tale on any level you can name. Volbeat's musicianship likely is taken more seriously as well it should. Volbeat is comfortable enough straddling heavy metal and country that it doesn't come off awkward in either enthusiast's rooting section. The Doc is polite if ladies enter his view. A sturdy "How are you today" isn't far from his lips. Get him eyeball to eyeball with men who are light in loafers during fighting situations and he'll not hesitate to drop you where you stand. He doesn't tolerate slugs. Fight like a man or don't live to fight another day. The doc lives by this oath. Moonshine tides over whenever his palate begs for a decent cleansing. FYI: one shred from the lyrics is wrong. "Claims all the dams" should read "Charms all the dames". Guess some metalheads are too quick to demonstrate their passion to do a quick fact check. Nothing to hold over his head. "Doc Holiday" is the kind of hombre you need to make an appointment to listen to. His tale is the stuff legends are made of. Volbeat does him favorable justice. His buddy Wyatt Earp would be proud.