What We Do in the Shadows

Volbeat's Rob Caggiano talks ongoing projects his current rig and his new signature workhorse model, the Jackson Shadowcaster

- By Brad Angle

ROB CAGGIANO REFUSES to be put in a box. Not only is he the renowned lead guitarist for Danish heavy rockers Volbeat, and before that Anthrax, he’s also an accomplished producer, whose client list includes his current and previous bands, as well as Cradle of Filth, Jesse Malin, the Damned Things, Chthonic and more. He’s just as comfortable playing live in front of thousands of screaming fans as he is being tucked behind a mixing board helping other artists realize their creative vision. So when the time came to partner up with Jackson on a new signature guitar, it made perfect sense that his goal was to create a multi-purpose, workhorse ax.

“The Shadowcaster is a guitar you can play any type of music on,” says Caggiano of his new signature model. “I didn’t want it to be pigeonholed. You can play any genre of music with this.”

It’s early March when we speak to Caggiano, and the musician is at the tail end of a five-month stretch of downtime from Volbeat. But, true to form, he’s been keeping busy with production work and is currently holed up in a Delaware studio with a budding alt-pop act. “I’m always working on different records with different people,” he says. “I’m working with a singer named Grant Dawson right now. It’s an interesting project. Genre-wise it’s a little different for me and it’s a lot of fun.”

After Caggiano wraps the sessions later this month, he’ll pivot back to Volbeat mode. The Copenhagen-based group was scheduled to hit the road in April on a headlining U.S. tour in support of their seventh and latest full length,