The frontman for the Danish powerhouse says his hefty alter ego is inspired by his love for Bolt Thrower, Death, Entombed, and Motörhead.
Having reached the heights of heavy rock as the vocalist/guitarist for Danish titans Volbeat, Michael Poulsen’s credentials are long established as a veteran of the last two decades. Prior to his sweeping success in Volbeat however, Poulsen spearheaded the death metal band Dominus, which recorded four dominant albums in the mid ’90s.
Revisiting his pedigree of extreme music, Poulsen enlisted the talents of Morten Toft Hansen on drums and vocalist Marc Grewe of Insidious Disease and formerly of Morgoth to form a creative outlet for musical brutality in ASINHELL.
READ – MICHAEL POULSEN OF VOLBEAT: ’10 METAL ALBUMS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE’
“I had known Michael quite a long time and he always mentioned that we should do a death metal project one day, but I never took him too seriously because he was so busy with Volbeat,” Grewe says. “Then he called for real and said, ‘Yeah, I want to do it now. Are you up for it?’ Immediately, I was like, ‘Yes, of course!'”
Set to make their full length debut later this month, Impii Hora (Latin for “Ungodly Hour”), ASINHELL have already shared two maniacally heavy cuts in “Fall of the Loyal Warrior” and “Island of Dead Men”. Paying tribute to their foundation of metallic classics, ASINHELL have shared another savage sonic assault with the single, “Desert of Doom”.
Clearly articulating the lineage that inspired the track, Poulsen offered tribute to the trailblazers that left a indelible mark on the culture and stirred his love for all things heavy. “‘Desert of Doom’ was inspired by Bolt Thrower, Death, Entombed, and Motörhead. Bang your head ’til it doesn’t bang no more!,” says Poulsen.
Speaking about the personal importance of the album, Poulsen added “It’s such a dream come true for me to get to be on fucking Metal Blade Records. When they said they wanted to put out the album, I felt like I was 17 years old again. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m making a deal with Metal Blade! How cool is that?’ It was like I was finally getting the record deal I dreamed of when I was a teenager.”
Impii Hora is set to land September 29 via Metal Blade Records. Order the album – HERE
