Scotty Mars of "The Scotty Mars Show", which airs on the Live 105 radio station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen of Danish/American rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the lyrical themes covered on VOLBEAT's forthcoming album, "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie": Poulsen: "There are a few songs that are flirting a little bit around with the voodoo environment from the 1800s, as with this 'Marie Laveau' song and 'The Loa's Crossroad'. But it's not really a theme at all. I would more call it a spiritual album, because the lyrics are very spiritual. They're not religious; we're not religious believers, but we do believe in the spirit world. So it has those lyrics with old characters, like Marie Laveau, which was the voodoo queen of New Orleans; it has a song about Ishtar, which was the Babylon queen; it has a song about Mary Jane Kelly, which was the last victim of Jack The Ripper. And some of the other songs are more my input on my inspiration for the spiritual world, how I look at certain things in life." On what got him interested in voodoo: Poulsen: "I've always been very interested in the spiritual world and all those kinds of things. Also dark, spiritual things… I guess it's just something that a lot of guys in the metal and rock scene are very into. I just remember very interested in it since I was a teenager, seeing a lot of horror movies, which I still do. But as I do believe in the spirit world, it is a very interesting world, because it has a very strong power. And the song 'Marie Laveau', it's not that much about her; it's more me trying to bring her back to life to use her spiritual powers to get in contact with my dead father." On whether he has ever had a paranormal experience, seen a ghost or something along those lines: Poulsen: "Oh, yeah. That's a big part of why I believe in the spirit word. Through my life, there have been so many different occasions where I'm pretty much one hundred percent convinced in the spirit world, so yes." On whether Kaspar Boye Larsen, who played bass on VOLBEAT's recent run of U.S. dates, will join the band as a permanent member: Poulsen: "We just came home and Kaspar did an amazing job in the U.S. I've been knowing the guy pretty much since I was 18. Actually, the first European tour we had in VOLBEAT, he was the bass player, because Anders [Kjølholm], our former bass player, couldn't make the first two weeks because of his kids at home. So Kaspar is not actually that new; he's just an old member [that's playing with us] again. Now we're back home, and in a few days we're gonna sit down with Kaspar and go through the whole U.S. run and the future. So, who knows? He might actually end up being the steady guy for VOLBEAT." "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie" will be released on June 3 via Republic Records. Fans who pre-order the album will receive an instant download of the first single, "The Devil's Bleeding Crown". Produced by longtime collaborator Jacob Hansen and co-produced by Michael Poulsen and lead guitarist Rob Caggiano, "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie" includes a total of 13 new tracks, reflecting their signature hybrid of rock prowess, metal power, blues soul, and rockabilly swing.
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