This widely acclaimed Danish designer’s first exposure to metal music came as a youngster when his uncle sent him tapes made by some of the genre’s pioneering bands like Deep Purple. In the following years, Bjerregaard would go on (after an extensive dues-paying process in small clubs!) to become one of metal music’s foremost lighting designers.

For the past 13-plus years, he has been designing shows for the multi-platinum, award winning band Volbeat, During this period, the quartet from Copenhagen has attracted a global following of fans with their deep dive into the most intense hardcore soul of metal music, all while managing to maintain an uplifting lyrical aura around their sound.

Lighting their complex shows is never simple. Challenges are always present, as the band incorporates an endless stream of new ideas into their performances. Feeding off this energy Bjerregaard thrives on his association with them, as his shows have gone from small floor packages to massive 22-truck arena productions. He explains how it all happened in this interview, while sharing insights into the fierce creative forces that drive this designer-band collaboration.

Your collaborative relationship with Volbeat is well-known throughout the industry. What do you contribute its success to?
“The willingness to keep working at it, I would say. It’s no secret that a long term collaboration between a designer and band only exists if both parties are able and willing to communicate and find common ground. It takes time to get comfortable working together and get a feel of the dynamics with in the relationship.

“All four members in Volbeat are grown men; and they come from very different walks of life. They bring their own perspectives of how a rock show should look; so, it’s been my task to try to form a script that works for all parties as best I can.

“This is a delicate balance that takes time to get right and for me. It’s an ongoing process. As we all move forward in life and get older, our outlook and perception changes constantly, which I find very interesting by the way. But that’s what is so exciting about being a lighting designer to me. It’s not so much the technology and technical progress in the industry, but the proses of getting a good idea from paper to the road. With all the hard work and emotions involved, this is the greatest feeling on earth. The fantastic and nervous feeling you get when the band steps into the venue for the first time to have a look at the design you made together is just the absolute best!”

You’ve designed shows for artists other than metal bands. What makes metal music different from a lighting perspective?
“The dynamics and power you find in metal music is unlike anything else, and they’re such a clever way of expression. Some people will say metal music is all about aggression, and not very deep, but often if you take time to read the lyrics you will find an exciting story line or emotions that you can utilize in your design and lighting.

“Doing lights for a metal band will give you all the necessary tools to bring out the big guns and looks and there are so many elements you can play with. Often the story line and lyrics are extreme and the possibility to work with those in a visual way are so much fun. Michael Poulsen has made an entire cast of carters in his lyrical world, and together with Volbeat art designer Karsten Sand they come alive on paper.

“Our design team are now working closely with the band and management to make most out of the content that exists and gets produced, to make sure the stories and characters come to life. This is such a giving proses and makes the designing part very exciting and fun.”

Have you always been a metal music fan?
“Yes, I guess so. My uncle sent me deck taps with music when I was very young and lived in Northern Jutland. I quickly fund the more extreme music more my passion than other music types that was around in the 80´s. Black Sabbath – Deep Purple, Frank Zappa, Devo, The Ramones, Led Zeppelin and many more.”

So how did you hook up with Volbeat?
“By pure chance. The Sound guy back then, who I knew from before, asked me if I would do lights for them on a festival in Denmark. This was in August, 2008. I did not really know them even though they already had a name on the club scene around Europe; but to be honest, I didn’t really get the music; so for me it was a one-time gig. I just did the gig, and that was that… or so I thought.

“One week after that gig, they called me up and asked if I was interested to go with them on a European tour later that year. That was the beginning of it all. I quickly adapted to the music. From the get-go, I tried to develop my own style to fit their musical universe, which was confusing at first. I got to know the Volbeat music by listing and reading the lyrics and talking to Michael Poulsen about the process and making of his music, learning which music and shows he liked to listen to and watch. I quickly found out we had a common musical interest and it got easier to figure out how to light Volbeat.”

Can you elaborate on how your impressions and appreciation of the band changed over the years?
“I was actually very impressed with Volbeat from the beginning. Once I saw the tour schedule, I knew that these guys didn’t mess around. They have always been a hard working band with 150 shows a year, playing everywhere in the world. They stared in very small clubs and worked their way up to be the stadium band they are today. That is very impressive.

“Also, the size of productions we have carried over the years is insane. I started with them in a tour bus with a trailer and a very small floor package of lights and back drops. Slowly year by year worked our way up to a 22 truck stadium size production. It has been very hard work to keep up with them and their success, as expectations rightfully rise for a bigger bolder exciting show.

“It’s a constant battle of budgets and ideas to have the best outcome for the best price mixed with a true Volbeat experience for the audience. This is a challenge I would not be without as its constantly evolving and never gets dull or stagnant. I consider myself very lucky and fortunate to be a part of this ride.”

You talked about the individual members of the band earlier. Do you try to reflect their unique personas differently in lighting?
“Absolutely. As I mentioned, Michael Poulsen has created a full universe of concepts to pick from and some of the looks I create link directly to him. Especially now, since we’re carrying a lot of video screens it’s become easier to make a certain look come to life to reflect the mood and meaning of a particular segment of a song. The Guitar player Rob Caggiano has a particular color he likes for his solos; and he also likes to be well lit up. The Drummer Jon Larsen has some intro parts I light up for him as he leads the band into the songs. The Bass Player Kasper Larsen has a more Punk approach on stage and likes the lights off him.

“It’s all about helping the band to get their story and energy out to the audience best way possible without taking control over the show, but supporting the musical direction and show flow. If you look at Volbeat live shows, you can see that the guys are very comfortable on stage and they love moving forward and getting close to the crowds and interacting with them, so they are all lit from various positions to make sure they are seen everywhere they go on stage to highlight their presence and performance.”

What is the best thing about working with Volbeat?
It never gets boring. We are constantly moving forward looking at the next big idea and possibility to enhance the show. There is a budget to actually make an impact and develop the future shows. I see myself as a very fortunate and lucky as a Danish LD to experience this way of touring and doing shows.

“Also, since you’re asking about the things I like best, I have to say that high up on that list is the chance to work with such a great group of people like Guy Sykes, my co-show designer and TM, Michael Morobitto, our PM; Shelby Cude our video and content director; Alec Spear, our contend designer; Karsten Sand, our artwork designer, QPrime Management & Content Design; Katja Forup our content designer; and Britt Bowman our excellent photographer. In the end it’s all about the people, not just the band, but our entire team.”