Clarkson – In the barn of the goat, giving birth to Satan’s spawn in the dying world of doom. A lyric and song title from Volbeat, but also the location where you will find Thor, the tour mascot. You can find his mugshot on the band’s album cover, merch, and more. A scapegoat, if you will, he is a manifestation of humans being “the real devils . . . the ones on the news when you turn on your television.” Volbeat would continue, “We are not a satanic band, and there is nothing really wrong with the goat; it is mankind that you have to fear.”
Thor would play a decent role in the band’s set on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. But before that, The Ghost Inside and Halestorm took the stage.
I arrived late to the party, just as The Ghost Inside took the stage for their set, but I was able to hear for the rest of the night how much the crowd enjoyed them and were going to look into their songs in the coming days. It seemed like most of the crowd enjoyed the performance and found a new band to get to know.
Lzzy Hale and her bandmates of Halestorm came out to a booming applause. Quite a few audience members had the band’s merch on, and you could tell there was a buzz around the venue about seeing them live.
When you talk to people who have seen them live, you always get one response for sure: they are consistent with their sound. Show after show, year after year, it will sound amazing. Tuesday night was no different. Hale could not have sounded better, with her crisp vocals and guitar shredding abilities. The other two guitarists constantly switched locations, playing with Hale and one another, and it was like watching a well-oiled machine. The drummer was full of energy as well. When I wasn’t watching what was going on upfront, I’d find myself captivated by the drummer.
The songs would go from full-on rock show to an emotional ballad-like song and then ramp back up to hard rock. It was a rollercoaster of thrills during their set, which included hits like “I Miss the Misery,” “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “Freak Like Me,” while also playing “Everest,” “Rain Your Blood on Me” and “Darkness Always Wins,” which are featured on their newly-released album Everest.
Volbeat hit the stage to Thor “baahhing” away in his barn. Coming together as the first song began, they would eventually break off and go to their designated playing spots. Starting the set off with “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown,” the crowd was immediately engaged with not only a powerful song but a crowd-pleasing one at that. I was thrilled to hear “Lola Montez” come on next, as that is one of my all-time favorite songs from them.
With the help of the crowd, lead signer Michael Poulsen had the crowd singing “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. He would go on to talk about how it’s often assumed they use Cash as inspiration, and Poulsen quipped, “F*ck no, we stole it. We pretty much stole from Mr. Cash.” To some cheers, he went on and joked, “Yep, and there is not a thing Johnny Cash can do about it now!” “Sad Man’s Tongue,” which has a lot of Cash influence, was also played.
The set was a never-ending good time. Fans from the pit all the way back to the grass area were standing all night long. Headbanging, dancing, singing along, though there was only one thing missing, and Poulsen figured it out. He would ask for crowd surfing, and the first person to get to the front would receive a shirt. Immediately, people began to do just that.
Just as Halestorm is with consistency, you can say the same about Volbeat. Their sound stays true to who they are, night in and night out. The drums you can feel way in the back, still feeling like an earthquake on some songs. The guitars are loud and played to precision. The band moves around so often, it allows for everyone to get a good look at the band from all directions, no matter your seat.
Thor’s presence came out again as the song “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in the Dying World of Doom” was next up. The goal, according to Poulsen, was to wake Thor up. After three attempts, the singer thought it was enough, and so the song began.
As the night came to a close, the band would play another personal favorite of mine, “For Evigt.” For this song he wanted the crowd to sing so loud it’d wake his son up in Denmark. Covers of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” and “Still Counting” ended the night of fun.
Fellow Michigan rocker Amanda Marie, out of Eva Under Fire, was in attendance at the show, giving her approval with the following statement on social media:
The Greatest of All Tours continues through November. Check out Volbeat’s website for tour information and if they will be in a nearby city.