Caggiano got sick of producer role

Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano says his work behind the production desk temporarily "ruined music" for him.

The former Anthrax axeman was behind the desk on their albums We’ve Come for You All and Worship Music and he’s also produced records by Cradle Of Filth, Ill Nino, Machine Head and his current employers Volbeat.

And pouring all his energy into producing meant he was unable to enjoy music as he spent too much time “picking apart” the songs.

Caggiano tells TeamRock Radio’s AOR Magazine Show: “When I’m working on music, I think about the whole picture. I think about what the kick drum’s doing, what the bass player’s doing.

“I got heavily into producing a long time ago and I was aways in that mode. It actually ruined music for me to a certain extent because when I was trying to just sit down with a CD and listen to it and enjoy it, I couldn’t even do it. I was always picking things out and hearing all these different things.

“It took me a while to get away from that and turn that part of my brain off and chill out and listen to it for what it is.”

Caggiano also talks about next year’s Volbeat tour of the US and Canada alongside Anthrax. The run of 23 shows kicks off on April 24 in Denver.

He left Anthrax in 2013 and joined Volbeat soon after, although he remains friends with Scott Ian and co.

He says: “It’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be a really good time. It’s something I guess we talked about for a while. There’s no bad blood between us, we’re all really good friends.

“Obviously I’m a huge Anthrax fan. I was in the band forever and even before that they were a big influence on me growing up. Same with the rest of the Volbeat guys. It’s gonna be really cool for the fans.”

Volbeat released their latest album Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies in 2013, and they plan a studio return sometime next year.

Hear Kylie Ollson’s full interview with Rob Caggiano on the AOR Magazine Show on TeamRock Radio at 6pm on Sunday, November 30.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.