Recently, Volbeat’s longtime drummer Jon Larsen tested positive for COVID-19. While that could have meant the end of the tour, Volbeat took things in stride and brought in a pretty impressive replacement, ex-Slayer drummer Jon Dette. As of press time, we don’t know which amazingly talented drummer will grace the stage at the Heritage Bank Center, but we know that fans will be extremely lucky to witness either drummer in action.
Volbeat is touring in support of the band’s most recent album, 2021’s Servant of the Mind, which frontman Michael Poulsen said he wrote over about three months during the pandemic. In a way, you might look at Servant of the Mind as Volbeat’s version of a sourdough starter.
The band has matured and developed across their eight studio albums. This new one, though, still clearly showcases Volbeat’s signature ingredients found all the way back on its debut album, 2005’s The Strength/The Sound/The Strongs. Volbeat’s newest single, “Heaven’s Descent,” speeds through the entire birth of an undead revolution. It’s driving and wild… and exactly what you’d expect from Volbeat.
Tourmates Ghost will bring their own smart, Dark Rock with a side of sarcasm and spooky makeup to the Heritage Bank Center.
Ghost frontman Tobias Forge has said the band’s new album, Impera, dives back into the 19th century and the Victorian Age, but that the devastation and the destruction of all the progress will no doubt seem like he’s holding up a mirror to what our country has been through in the last few years. In an interview with Kerrang!, Forge said, “I believe in the fall of the shitty empires and the rise of the good ones — you can decide yourself which you think I’m talking about.” Oh, we know.
Ghost’s albums over the years have dealt with everything from the biblical story of how the world began to the Dark Ages and more. Forge (playing the part of a costumed “Papa Emeritus” pope-like figure) and his band the Nameless Ghouls bring to stage not only precise and powerful Rock but nothing short of wild theatrics. Don’t let the costume makeup and dark robes fool you, though. Ghost has a lot to get off its chest, and this new tour, featuring “just bangers,” is exactly where we want to be as our world falls apart.
And if you want to commemorate seeing Volbeat and Ghost’s Cincinnati tour stop? The bands have put out a double-sided 7-inch that is only available on tour. Make sure you get there on time so you can nab the limited-run single and to see Twin Temple, the satanic Doo-Wop group that will open the show.
Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Heritage Bank Center (100 Broadway St., Downtown). Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $39.50-$99.50. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test from the past 72 hours is required for entry. Tickets and more info: heritagebankcenter.com.
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