Album Review: Volbeat - Servant Of The Mind

I've had quite the up-and-down relationship with Volbeat. They are on my list of the most inconsistent of bands, going from some epic heights to some truly boring lows. "Rock The Rebel/Meet The Devil" and "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" are awesome albums, and I for one enjoyed "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie", but everything else falls flat. I don't quite understand it, either, since it isn't as if the band is changing things up in ways I wouldn't like. They simply don't always write songs I find myself enjoying. Whether they're trying to be heavier, or more pop, isn't important. Volbeat is destined, I think, to be a band who serve as a reminder how fickle art and the creative process are. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

So coming off yet another of their albums I wasn't a fan of, the band is going to try to right the ship with several tracks going back to their heavier, metal roots. Sounds promising, right?

Yes and no, is the answer. Having a little more attitude is welcome, but Volbeat has been playing with such clean productions for so long that even when they do try to dig in and be heavier, the sound doesn't allow the record to have the same kind of crushing sound as their early years. Take the opening "Temple Of Ekur" as an example. The main riff to the song is a bit of palm muting that would be right in line with anything off those early records, but between the tone and the mix, it comes across weak enough it barely sounds like they were hitting the strings while playing the song. This is where perfect is the enemy of the good. I like the song, but it shouldn't sound this soft. A few flaws might have given it some personality.

Repetition has become a problem for Volbeat, as well. There are a few melodies here and there that sound too familiar to long-time listeners, which has been popping up on the last few records too. But the biggest issue is "The Sacred Stones", where the entire intro is essentially Volbeat playing Ghost's "Cirice". The riff has a similar tonality, and with the particular cymbal hits in the background, it's way too similar for my liking. It would be one thing if it was a deep cut you could say they never heard, but "Cirice" was (for a modern rock song) a big hit. It doesn't feel quite right to me.

Nor does the album as a whole, if I'm being honest. Whether it's the old-school piano and sax in "Wait A Minute My Girl", or the surf guitar that leads "The Devil Rages On", these songs quite often don't have any sort of energy behind them. It truly sounds like the band going through the motions, as if these are the twentieth take of every song they've attempted, and they're tired of playing them. When the choruses come along, the songs never swell into the big moments we've come to expect. Part of that is the lack of sticky melodies, but part of it is the way they're delivered. Volbeat has become too tame for their own good.

And with this album running an hour long, that sense of ennui becomes intolerable. The album is solid, don't get me wrong, but to spend that long listening to a flat album devoid of highlights is dangerous. Trying to keep my focus as song after song came and went without grabbing my attention was the sort of effort a record shouldn't require.

Ultimately, thsi album comes across as a lithograph of a better Volbeat record. Whereas a painting has brush strokes and layers of paint that give the eye depth and texture to admire, this album is akin to the flat recreation that gives us the gist, but none of the details. It sounds like Volbeat, and it's enjoyable enough in its own right, but it's a far cry from the heights of Volbeat I still go back and listen to.

In other words, it's not a surprise at all.