The members of VOLBEAT are surely smiling today! Their song, “Room 24” off of their fifth studio album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies, was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award last night in the category of “Best Metal Performance.” The track features King Diamond and was a standout song on the album from the beginning.
The heavy metal icon King Diamond had this to say about the nomination: “Thank you to everyone involved with voting. This is a great way to come back from the dead…literally.”
In an interview with Michael Poulson (Guitar/Lead Vocals) for the May/June cover story in RockRevolt®Magazine, Michael talked at length about all of the songs, and the meanings behind them. Poulsen doesn’t mind sharing the stories behind his lyrics, which sets him apart from many other artists who prefer to keep their inspiration for songs to themselves. By giving his fans the back stories to his lyrics, Michael has endeared himself to millions of fans that can enjoy the songs so much more with their own imagery while listening. He animatedly says, “I always wonder what’s behind songs by other artists that I like, so since I have that same desire to know, I just put my lyrics out there and enjoy talking about what inspired me to write.
Of special interest to me personally was the story behind “Room 24.” The song is one of my favorites on the album; coupled with such a cryptic title, I wanted to know exactly what the hell really happened to him in that room to inspire such a song.
He somberly said, “Room 24” is a true story that happened to me in a hotel room somewhere in the US while we were on tour a few years ago. But, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I was going to have a heart attack or a stroke. I was completely paralyzed. I couldn’t move my arms or legs and there was definitely something ominous in the room. It felt as though there was a presence sitting on my chest; literally pushing me down into the bed. It freaked me out so bad. I really wish I could remember what town that was in because I never, ever want to go back to “Room 24.”
I told the story told to King Diamond in the studio, where he had come to be a guest on the new album and he said, ‘Have you heard of sleep paralysis?’ I hadn’t, so I looked into it and every person who has experienced it has the same story almost identically – they feel that some kind of hag is sitting on top of them; some dark force. I am sure I have experienced it three or four times in my life before, because I realized there were other times that I didn’t necessarily have the same physical reactions but woke up going, “What the fuck happened?” and then spent a couple of days in kind of a trance. Regardless if you put it down to the supernatural, science or a little of both, it’s still a terrifying experience. So I asked King if there was any way he could help me tie that dark force to my experience. He jumped write in and wrote half of the song and I wrote the other half. I really feel like between the two of us that we captured it perfectly. I’m such a huge fan of King Diamond, so having him on this track is an honor and privilege, as it’s not something he normally does.”
“Room 24” (HD w/ Lyrics):
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We discussed “Room 24” for quite a while, sharing my own experience with sleep paralysis, how freaky it is, and what Michael thought it really was and he said, “Well I think it’s always a really dark, evil spirit or energy of some kind. It was like a real pressure – I could FEEL it sitting on my chest! It’s always like that in the few times it’s happened to me, but for some reason the time that this happened, in “Room 24″ it was so much more intense. I’m thinking it was perhaps lingering around just that particular room and it didn’t like me being there…at all.” Asking if he could recall exactly which town “Room 24” was located in, he laughingly replied, “You know it’s weird because I’ve stayed in thousands of hotel rooms, but I know for a fact that it was Room 24 because this was such a profound experience that I wrote it down the next day – just the room number though. I’ve racked my brain to try to recall exactly where it was, but I can’t. By the time I got around to writing the song, I had been in too many other hotel rooms to try to go back and figure it out!”
Being out on tour puts Michael in the position of staying in a different hotel room almost nightly. We talked about all of the energy that can be in all of those rooms – where good things and sometimes very bad things happen. Ever since his experience in Room 24, Poulsen is sometimes apprehensive, and will check into another room if “it doesn’t feel right” like if the hair stands up on the back of my neck – I’m outta there.
I suggested burning sage incense (which will cleanse a room of bad vibes) and he thought that was an excellent idea (I wonder if he took my advice?). We finished up the topic of “Room 24” with Michael saying, “I will tell you this though – everyone on the tour knows that I will NOT stay in Room 24 at ANY hotel. Not even Room 240 or anything that even resembles that number. No way man – I’d rather sleep in the parking lot!”
Hopefully that harrowing experience for Poulsen in “Room 24” will translate into Grammy gold for VOLBEAT! Congratulation on this well-deserved Grammy nomination from all of us at RockRevolt®Magazine!
VOLBEAT IS: Michael Poulsen (Guitar/Vocals), Jon Larsen (Drums), Anders Kjølholm (Bass) and Robb Caggiono (Lead Guitar)
Listen to the whole album on Volbeat‘s album player HERE!
CONNECT WITH VOLBEAT HERE:
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By: Valerie King, Co-Founder/Editor in Chief
Photo Credits: Thomas Woroniak (top – Rockfest 2013 in Kansas City, MO) and Josh Rienecke (2013 Rock Allegiance Tour – at The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA)
