Danish rock band Volbeat has shared “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom,” the second single and video from its upcoming ninth studio album, “God of Angels Trust” (June 6, 2025, Republic/Universal; pre-order here.
“I had so much fun writing these lyrics,” vocalist/guitarist Michael Poulsen said. “It’s about the outcasts and fallen angels of God—all the angels that were cast out of Heaven. And I’m being told to collect them in this big wagon and bring them to a barn.
“There’s a ritual going on where the fallen angels are being sacrificed to Satan’s spawn to create soldiers for a new dark kingdom. So, instead of inviting my lady out to go to the cinema, I say, ‘I have something better. You have to see what’s going on in this barn … we’ve been invited to see the birth of Satan’s spawn and watch the world go down. How about that?’
“I think some people will read the lyrics and go, ‘What’s wrong with this dude?’ But it’s all for fun. It’s like a silly horror movie. Or is it?
With “God of Angels Trust,” Volbeat— which has scored 10 number 1 songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock airplay chart, the most ever for a band based outside North America—has thrown caution to the wind, ignored comfort zones and paid little heed to traditional songwriting in the search for something more immediate and surprising.
“In the past, I’ve taken a long time to write and obsessed over so many elements of the songs before finishing them,” vocalist/guitarist Michael Poulsen said. “This time, I wanted to make a Volbeat record without thinking too much about it. Instead of following any kind of structure I said, ‘Okay, there are no rules. I can do anything I want. I can start with a chorus or do songs that are just a bunch of verses stacked on top of each other. Anything goes.’ That was freeing for me and made it exciting to write this album.”
Poulsen started working on songs for the follow-up to “Servant of the Mind” in summer 2024. Volbeat was taking a year-long break from touring to give him a chance to recover from throat surgery and to tour with his death metal band, Asinhell. Driven equally by his excitement to record a new Volbeat album and by his determination not to follow convention, Poulsen worked on songs for a mere three weeks with bandmates drummer Jon Larsen and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. Three weeks into the process, Volbeat had arranged half of “God of Angels Trust.” That’s when Poulsen decided that having no rules meant he could follow his muse wherever it took him, and he veered off on a different path. He and the band still wrote and rehearsed two songs a week, but they started composing more familiar rock songs that drew from traditional elements.
The band entered the studio with longtime producer Jacob Hansen in fall 2024. As with the songwriting, Poulsen wanted to work quickly and rely on instinct, so they just plugged in and started to play. To keep the music sounding urgent and immediate, Volbeat recorded live in the studio, playing as few takes as possible before moving from one song to the next.
When it came time to add lead guitar, there was no question that Volbeat would tap Flemming C. Lund, who currently tours with the band and worked with Poulsen in Asinhell. A mere 13 days after they started working with Hansen, Volbeat was finished.
“In some ways, it feels like we’ve come full circle,” Poulsen said. “If you start drawing a circle over an extended period of time, eventually you’ve going to get back where you started, and that’s how I feel now. I’ve dealt with medical operations, lineup changes, and all these things, and now it feels like a rebirth. It doesn’t feel like we’re doing our ninth studio album, it feels like we’re on our first album again and there’s something really refreshing about that.”
“God of Angels Trust” track listing:
“Devils Are Awake”
“By a Monster’s Hand”
“Acid Rain”
“Demonic Depression”
“In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom”
“Time Will Heal”
“Better Be Fueled Than Tamed”
“At the End of the Sirens”
“Lonely Fields”
“Enlighten the Disorder (By a Monster’s Hand Part 2)”
Available formats:
- 180g Black LP
- “Grandma’s Wallpaper” LP — Exclusively at volbeat.dk
- “Lamplight Glow” LP — Exclusively at Republic Records/Universal Music’s websites
- “Mystery Color” LP — Exclusively at independent retailers
- Glow in the Dark LP — Exclusively at EMP
- Oxblood LP – Exclusively at Revolver
- Red and White Danish Flag LP —Only available in Denmark
- Limited Edition Cassette
- CD
- Deluxe Hardcover Book CD With Expanded Artwork
The new album will coincide with plenty of summer touring on Volbeat’s Greatest of All Tours Worldwide, starting with a Canadian co-headline run with Three Days Grace (also featuring Wage War), a U.S. headliner with Halestorm and The Ghost Inside, and an E.U./U.K. headline run with Bush and Witch Fever.
Volbeat tour dates:
Co-headline with Three Days Grace and Wage War
6/7 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena
6/9 — Calgary, AB — Scotiabank Saddledome
6/10 — Edmonton, AB — Rogers Place
6/12 — Saskatoon, SK — SaskTel Centre
6/13 — Winnipeg, MB — Canada Life Centre
6/16 — Laval, QC — Place Bell
6/17 — Quebec City, QC — Videotron Centre
6/19 — Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage
6/21 — London, ON — Canada Life Place
6/22 — Ottawa, ON — Canadian Tire Centre
Headline with Halestorm and The Ghost Inside
7/17 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena
7/19 — Salt Lake City, UT — Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
7/21 — Auburn, WA — White River Amphitheatre
7/22 — Ridgefield, WA — Cascades Amphitheater
7/24 — Wheatland, CA — Toyota Amphitheatre
7/25 — Inglewood, CA — Kia Forum
7/26 — Phoenix, AZ — Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
7/28 — Irving, TX — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
7/29 — Houston, TX — 713 Music Hall
7/31 — Rogers, AR — Walmart AMP
8/2 — Franklin, TN — FirstBank Amphitheater
8/3 — Alpharetta, GA — Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
8/4 — Tampa, FL — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
8/6 — Charlotte, NC — PNC Music Pavilion
8/7 — Bristow, VA — Jiffy Lube Live
8/9 — Camden, NJ — Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
8/10 — Holmdel, NJ — PNC Bank Arts Center
8/12 — Bangor, ME — Maine Savings Amphitheater
8/13 — Gilford, NH — BankNH Pavilion
8/14 — Mansfield, MA — Xfinity Center
8/16 — Hershey, PA — Giant Center
8/17 — Cincinnati, OH — Riverbend Music Center
8/19 — Clarkston, MI — Pine Knob Music Theatre
8/21 — Noblesville, IN — Ruoff Music Center
8/22 — Tinley Park, IL — Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Headline with Bush and Witch Fever
9/18 — Herning, DK — Jyske Bank Boxen
9/19 — Copenhagen, DK — Royal Arena
9/23 — Amsterdam, NL — Ziggo Dome
9/24 — Antwerp, BE — Sportpaleis
9/26 — Stuttgart, DE — Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
9/27 — Cologne, DE — LANXESS Arena
9/28 — Oberhausen, DE — Rudolf Weber-ARENA
9/30 — Vienna, AT — Wiener Stadthalle
10/3 — Prague, CZ — O2 universum
10/4 — Berlin, DE — Uber Arena
10/6 — Munich, DE — Olympiahalle
10/8 — Frankfurt, DE — Festhalle
10/10 — Leipzig, DE — QUARTERBACK Immobilien Arena
10/11 — Hamburg, DE — Barclays Arena
10/13 — Warsaw, PL — COS Torwar
10/15 — Tampere, FI — Nokia Arena
10/17 — Stockholm, SE — 3Arena
10/18 — Oslo, NO — Unity Arena
10/19 — Gothenburg, SE — Scandinavium
10/21 — Hannover, DE — ZAG Arena
10/22 — Rotterdam, NL — Rotterdam Ahoy
10/23 — Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU — Rockhal
10/25 — Zurich, CH — Hallenstadion
10/28 — Bilbao, ES — CUBEC — Bilbao Exhibition Centre
10/30 — Barcelona, ES — Sant Jordi Club
10/31 — Madrid, ES — Palacio Vistalegre
11/2 — Paris, FR — Zénith Paris — La Villette
11/5 — Nottingham, UK — Motorpoint Arena
11/6 — Cardiff, UK — Utilita Arena
11/8 — Manchester, UK — AO Arena
11/10 — Glasgow, UK — OVO Hydro
11/12 — Birmingham, UK — Utilita Arena
11/13 — London, UK — OVO Arena Wembley
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