Volbeat's Michael Poulsen Talks New Death Metal Album

On Friday, Sept. 29, Volbeat frontman Michael Poulsen celebrated the release of the debut album for his new death metal band, Asinhell. The record, Impii Hora, is much more than a new hobby or an experiment; it takes Poulsen back to his roots.

"Some people might not know that back in the day, I was actually playing death metal," Poulsen told Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights' Friday night show (Sept. 29). "I was 10 when I discovered classic heavy metal and probably around 13 when I discovered extreme music. I started my own death metal band in 1990. That's over 30 years ago."

His first death metal band was called Dominus and as he recalled, releasing music in the early-'90s created a different type of excitement than it does today.

"It was the good old days when we were tape trading. The internet was not blowing up yet and so you were connecting with people at record stores. There were so many vinyl record stores at the time — we were tape trading and buying underground magazines."

Even though times have changed over the last three decades, Poulsen admitted that he's having a lot of fun releasing "old-school death metal" again.

"It really feels good," he said. "It's like jumping on your bike again that's been standing in the garage for many years. You've just been looking at it and you've been watching it and you've been talking to her like, 'One day, I'm going to ride you again. Just wait and see.'"

Why Michael Poulsen Is Influenced by '50s Music, Blues, Classic Rock + More

Along with discovering metal at a young age, Poulsen was surrounded by what he describes as "'50s music" thanks to his parents. It was that music — blues, gospel, classic rock and more — that actually led him to start Volbeat.

"I could hear the stuff I was starting to write. It had a lot of the '50s melodic tunes in it and that was definitely something that you could not incorporate in death metal."

When Chuck asked Poulsen about other genres he might want to explore one day, he was pretty quick to answer.

"Just as I have a lot of friends in the metal community who have been waiting for me to pick up the death metal guitar again...I've got a lot of good friends in the rockabilly environment," he said.

"I would do a rockabilly album one day. It could be something that could happen ... I'm already flirting with that in some of the Volbeat recordings."

Though Poulsen was fast to respond with rockabilly as another genre he'd be interested in exploring, he admitted it's not going to happen anytime soon. He remains focused on Asinhell and helping it take off and he also reminded fans that Volbeat will start writing and recording a new album in 2024.

Even so, a rockabilly album led by Poulsen remains a possibility.

"It could happen, many years later. I could be tempted to do something like that ... Who knows? There might be that kind of psychobilly album out there waiting for me."

What Else Did Michael Poulsen Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

What it's like working with vocalist Marc Grewe, bassist Jacob Hansen and drummer Morten Toft Hansen in Asinhell
Which death metal bands he thinks fans should check out: "We wear our inspirations on our sleeves with a lot of pride."
Whether or not fans should expect to catch Asinhell on the road soon: "We will try to play the right shows and do as many as we possibly can."