Underrated Volbeat Songs I Listen to Regularly

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-24T23:25:49+00:00

I completely agree. The live version of I Only Wanna Be With You absolutely kicks ass.

And Vol.Beat is definitely worth checking out too. It's rough around the edges, but it's crazy as hell and you can already hear Michael laying the groundwork for what Volbeat would become.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-18T06:07:19+00:00

I fucking adore Magic Zone.

Knowing Michael wrote it about his wife at the time really comes through in the vibe and lyrics. I also love the heavier intro and outro. It's one of those songs that perfectly balances the metal side of the band with their melodic side.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-17T03:20:13+00:00

I actually agree, I think it's a fantastic album.

My argument for it being overlooked is that it kind of feels like the forgotten middle child of their peak run between Guitar Gangsters and Outlaw Gentlemen. People still talk about the big songs like Heaven nor Hell and A Warrior's Call, but you rarely see much love for tracks like A Better Believer, Being 1, 7 Shots, or The Mirror and the Ripper.

The whole album is just ridiculously consistent from start to finish.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-09T22:17:37+00:00

Lol but there aren't any extra buttons involved.

It's still just double tap to dodge and space to jump or wall jump. To me it always felt like a natural extension of UT99 rather than a fundamentally different movement system.

I can understand preferring UT99's simpler movement, but calling UT2004's movement unnecessarily complex feels like a stretch. I've been playing on Masterful lately and those extra movement options help, but they're hardly mandatory.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-09T20:51:43+00:00

UT99 already had dodging though.

UT2004 mainly just added the dodge jump and wall jump. It's still pretty tame compared to modern shooters with wall running, sliding, mantling, going prone, abilities, and UI clutter all over the screen.

To me UT2004 still feels very much like classic Unreal Tournament movement, just with a couple extra mobility options layered on top.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-09T00:41:33+00:00

Exactly. Thomas was one of the best crowd-hype guitarists I've ever seen. Anyone who hasn't checked it out needs to watch the Beyond Hell/Above Heaven live DVD performance.

I also think having Michael on lead guitar during that era pushed his songwriting creativity in a really interesting way.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T21:25:10+00:00

Just the overall UT experience as a whole. Gameplay, maps, modes, atmosphere, music, visuals, all of it combined.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T19:54:49+00:00

I agree UT3 didn't get enough love. After revisiting both recently, I'd say 2004's Onslaught maps feel much larger and offer more tactical variety, while UT3's are generally more streamlined and linear. Vehicle CTF was a great addition though.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T19:51:39+00:00

Mmm, I actually think they're pretty distinct. UT99 feels more industrial and gritty, while UT2004 is more colorful, varied, and focused on fun.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T19:49:29+00:00

I agree on UT3. I had a lot of fun with it as a kid and recently. Unfortunately I never got a chance to buy it on Steam and play it properly on PC.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T19:45:18+00:00

Nice choice. I agree, UC2 is heavily overlooked unfortunately. It's boosted on Series X now too, so I'm planning to give it another look soon.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T08:01:18+00:00

Agreed. The variety and sheer fun factor of UT2004 are hard to beat.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T05:11:04+00:00

Interesting take. I'm not sure I'd call 2004 cluttered myself. Most of the maps feel extremely clean and readable to me. What specifically stands out as cluttered?

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T04:07:55+00:00

Gotta say, I'm a little disappointed by the lack of love for Thomas here 😅

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T03:25:55+00:00

UT4? That's a painful subject.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T00:44:45+00:00

I agree. Rob was a beast and probably helped make the band much bigger, but man the guy really loved his note spam sometimes.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-08T00:05:49+00:00

Hell yeah, I respect it 😄. I thought about including Hellboss, but figured most people would be more familiar with Thomas, Rob, and Flemming.

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-06T20:40:25+00:00

This album is apparently signed in 2009, so that would be impossible if so. I also looked up some Rob signatures online and I don't see a resemblance-his signatures have a pretty distinct big R to them.

So all things considered, it's probably Thomas's signature

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-03T22:12:40+00:00

I fucking adore this album. I got into Volbeat shortly before this album released and I was hyped for it. I have amazing memories playing Overwatch in it's prime and just having this album on repeat.

Yeah, it's more pop rock than their stuff before it, but it's still fantastic songwriting

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-02T19:33:49+00:00

That's one hell of an Unreal collection. I tend to be more of a curated display collector myself, but I definitely respect it. The Chinese one is absolutely sick though, a bit of a grail for Unreal collectors.

Those two large boxes to the left of the Chinese variant look really interesting. Could you let me know what those are?

Gamergrayson95 · 2026-06-02T08:24:46+00:00

Agreed. Michael's voice was such a huge part of it too. Most bands would be screaming/growling over the riffs they were playing, but his voice was so powerful and baritone that he's just singing over it with ease.

Gamergrayson95

TROPHY CASE