VOLBEAT Parts Ways With Guitarist ROB CAGGIANO

VOLBEAT has officially parted ways with guitarist Rob Caggiano.

Earlier today, the Danish rock and rollers released the following statement via social media: "After ten incredible years we must sadly announce that VOLBEAT and Rob Caggiano have parted ways. During our time together we've traveled the world sharing great experiences and released four albums that we are immensely proud of, and we wouldn't change a moment of it.

"We wish our brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future (we know it's going to be great)!

"Filling those shoes on stage will be a herculean task, but our good friend Flemming C. Lund (THE ARCANE ORDER) will be jumping in to handle lead guitar on our 2023 shows.

"Thank you to all of our incredible fans for their support, and more importantly, thank you to Rob for ten amazing years."

Caggiano played on VOLBEAT's last four studio albums: 2013's "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", 2016's "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie", 2019's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" and 2021's "Servant Of The Mind".

An acclaimed musician, songwriter and producer, Caggiano joined ANTHRAX as lead guitarist in 2001, appearing on 2003 album "We've Come For You All" and 2004's "The Greater Of Two Evils". He was onstage with the band during the famous 2010-2011 "Big Four" tour alongside SLAYER, MEGADETH and METALLICA, and he played on and produced ANTHRAX's 2011 critically acclaimed album "Worship Music".

Over the years, Caggiano has also garnered five Grammy nominations as a record producer/guitarist and has worked with a very wide range of artists including CRADLE OF FILTH, ANTHRAX, VOLBEAT, THE DAMNED THINGS, H20, Jesse Malin and even Bruce Springsteen.

When Caggiano was enlisted as producer for Danish heavy rock quartet VOLBEAT in early 2013, the collaboration was so phenomenally successful that he was quickly invited to join the band as well. The resulting album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", achieved major chart success on both sides of the Atlantic, as did "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie".

In a 2022 interview with Metalshop TV, Caggiano spoke about how he went from his previous gig with ANTHRAX to producing the VOLBEAT album "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" to joining the Danish band as their guitarist. He said: "I decided to leave ANTHRAX back then because I kind of felt like… At that point I had been in the band for a long time, and I kind of felt like my role in the band ran its course, so to speak. And I just kind of felt like I was hitting my head up against a glass ceiling a long time. And it just felt like I needed a change. I wasn't feeling inspired. Don't get me wrong — I love those guys and I loved every minute of my time with them. It was such an amazing, wild ride. But I just felt like I needed to do something else at that time. And the VOLBEAT thing just happened, and it was organic, and it felt right. So, here I am."

Regarding what it was about VOLBEAT's music that appealed to him, Rob said" "I think for me, the thing with VOLBEAT, it's like a mixture of all the sounds that I like. [Laughs] It's a lot of stuff that I grew up listening to all wrapped into one package. When I first VOLBEAT, I heard the MISFITS, I heard METALLICA, I heard a little bit of the RAMONES… There's some SLAYER-vibe riffs. There's just a lot of different stuff. And it's all fun — it's a lot of fun; the music is a lot of fun. And it definitely connects with a lot of people. That's why I do it."

Photo credit: Ross Halfin