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Shortly after the release of their newest album, God Of Angels Trust, multi-platinum Denmark-based metal band Volbeat have taken the trek to North America for their “Greatest of All Tours” World Tour. Starting in the middle of July, the band has been making stops at amphitheaters and arenas across the country. On August 9, Volbeat stopped at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, NJ, performing a massive 18-song set that spans almost their entire discography and is full of their biggest hits. Even on a hot summer day in the outdoors, Philly and South Jersey Volbeat fans showed up and brought all their energy for an unforgettable night.
The first opener of the night was California-based metalcore band The Ghost Inside. Right off the bat, the band’s stage presence was contagious; each member was bursting with energy, constantly moving around the stage and getting the audience hyped for the rest of the night. With dynamic cleans and screams from vocalist Jonathan Vigil, catchy riffs, and brutal breakdowns, the crowd easily became engaged with the performance. The performance was tied together by drummer Andrew Tkaczyk’s thunderous rhythms, who was drumming with one leg! Before they went into their song “Avalanche”, Vigil mentioned that it was a song about second chances. After being in a horrific bus crash 10 years ago that resulted in major injuries for everyone involved and even resulted in Tkaczyk losing his leg, Vigil expressed how grateful he was to be on stage that day performing and how being in front of an audience is the band’s own “second chance”. The band closed with their 2020 hit “Aftermath”, and by that point, everyone in the seated sections of the venue were standing up, invested until the last note.
THE GHOST INSIDE: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The second and final opener to hit the stage was iconic rock group Halestorm. Formed in Red Lion, PA by siblings Lzzy Hale and Arejay Hale, this was almost a hometown show for the band, and the fans definitely showed up for it. Not only that, but it was also Halestorm’s “birthday”, having done their first ever show 28 years ago that very day. Having just released a new album, Everest, the day prior, the band opened with the first track of the album “Fallen Star”. Singer and rhythm guitarist Lzzy Hale has one of the most distinctive voices in modern rock, and immediately got the audience hooked with her exceptional vocals. After the first few songs, which included the band’s major hits such as “I Miss the Misery” and “Love Bites (So Do I)”, Lzzy commented that rock and metal are the best genres of music due to the sense of community among the fans, and how they always feel right at home at a rock show. As always, Halestorm added fun elements into their show to make it even more memorable, such as extended guitar solos, a drum solo from Arejay Hale with giant drumsticks, and a power ballad twist to “Familiar Taste of Poison”. Needless to say, Halestorm made quite an impression on everyone in the audience, especially fans hearing them for the first time.
HALESTORM: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok
When the clock hit 9:15, the lights dimmed for the final time that night, anticipating Volbeat. As recordings of goat noises began to play, symbolizing the goat mascot of the band’s new album God Of Angels Trust, the band soon walked on stage with their backs to the crowd, lined up performing the instrumental intro of “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”, one of their biggest hits. Once the band turned around, the venue filled with cheers, and the energy ramped up tenfold. Frontman Michael Poulsen delivered powerful vocals and fiery riffs, bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen offered dynamic rhythms, and touring guitarist Flemming C. Lund added electrifying solos. Completing the performance was drummer Jon Dette, who was filling in for Jon Larsen for a few dates of the tour.
After opening with several major hits, such as 2012’s “Lola Montez” and 2010’s “A Warrior’s Call”, the audience was already bursting with enthusiasm, singing and jumping along. For the fifth song of the set, Poulsen equipped an acoustic guitar and opened with the first few verses of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash, to which the entire crowd seemed to know the words. Poulsen mentioned that they “stole” the upcoming song from Johnny Cash, then went into their country-themed rock track “Sad Man’s Tongue”. After a few new and old songs, Poulsen joked that the next song is a “beautiful love song”, aptly titled “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom”, and Poulsen jokingly tried to get the audience to repeat the lengthy title back to him. Before the song began, Poulsen reminded the crowd “The real devils are the ones you see on the news”, to which everyone cheered in agreement.
As the show continued, some crowdsurfers started making their way across the pit, including someone dressed as Santa. Poulsen even commented on the Santa cosplayer, asking “Did I just see Santa Claus crowdsurfing?”. Thanks to the Santa crowdsurfer, the band decided to make a game out of crowdsurfing: the next person to crowdsurf gets a free t-shirt. Right after that, the surfing started to increase, and the first surfer received their prize. Crowdsurfing continued to intensify throughout the end of the set, and even Santa came back to surf.
Before the end of the set, Poulsen asked if there were any kids in the crowd, and if there were, they were welcome to come up on stage to join the band for the final song of the night, adding that they are the future of rock and metal. As the band began playing their biggest hit, 2008’s “Still Counting”, tons of kids and teens were helped up on stage by security to rock out with Volbeat, a memory that will surely last forever. Concluding the set with such an impactful experience, Volbeat made sure that this night in Camden would be remembered by everyone in the crowd.
