Children Of Bodom

I think our experience or perception of things we encounter at any giving moment can be altered by the music we are listening to. I still remember what I was listening to when I played ‘Doom’ the first time. Similarly, I remember where I was the exact moment I heard Children of Bodom. I was on Party Patrol, and it was a good one. Maybe not the best but there was a good ruckus about, and then there was a solo. Not just any solo, a solo that had been fired from the sun to intercept my partying and say, “Matt if you don’t ROCK right now you will have missed a moment in your life and will forever be consumed by a thousand black holes of guilt.” Obviously this is an unbearable amount of guilt, and I proceeded to rock everyone and everything in the room. A wall to wall party cry on the back of a song (turned out to be called ‘Kissing the Shadows’) that doesn’t stop for Satan or his spawn. In fact, it probably crushes them with an unheralded amount of guitar and keyboard lightning backed by a thunderclap of drums and bass.

This is what Finland’s Children of Bodom has to offer. The most technically perfect thrash high speed metal. There is an underlying classical aspect to this music that makes it sound like Mozart on awesome. The newest album “Hatecrew Deathroll” (2003) is nothing short of amazing. If you’re into metal and you don’t own this, go get it. Get it now! (Matt uses new Thai style ninja skills to affect your mind) “You want to buy it. Metal is hyper-happiness go forth and pursue it to no end!”

It’s hard to compartmentalize this album. Oh ‘this song was this and then after that ‘another song was more like this’ and ‘left me with this feeling’. C.O.B. doesn’t really work like that for me. I have favorite songs on this album, no doubt, but it’s the experience of the thing as a whole. You can’t pick one song from this band and say this here, this is C.O.B., and this one song stands above the rest. No, no song stands on top, all the songs stand on top. This band is the metal equivalent to a straight ‘A’ student. The guitar of Alexi Laiho has no comparison today. This guy is seriously the best of the best for ripping me a new love hole for solos. And here is where the uniqueness of C.O.B comes in. The Keyboarding of Janne Warman intertwines with the solos of Alexi to make a metal D.N.A. that twists and turns into a magnificent black dragon of excellence. These two musical geniuses (and this is not a misuse of the word) are back and supported by some very sweet bass (Hennka Seppala), drums (Jaska Raatikianen), and rhythm guitar (Roope Latvala).

Now I will try to wrap some words around the beast that is Hate Crew Deathroll…

Like most tourists I could just hang in Thailand, tour around, take pictures, ride hot buses, and basically be a boring normal tourist. But what I do is I wake up, look at my stereo, put on my C.O.B. and start getting pumped up. It starts with a slight head nod and grows. Before you know it you’re pumping some fists and making guttural noises along with the music. Why live the day when you could consume it? That’s what this album is about. I hop on my motorbike and pound down the Thai streets. The locals look up and see two things a white guy with a weird look on his face. Why the weird look? Cause C.O.B. has its grip on me. I’ve joined the hate crew and I’m ripping threw my day challenging Thailand to put up or get out of my way. “Hate Crew Deathroll” is my power-up. Like Mario on his mushroom I get bigger, stronger and faster. From kicking the bags at Muai Thai to teaching the Thai kids about metal as an English lesson, I’m doing things I wouldn’t normally do. If you want this and more, get it, and hit it hard, ‘cause it hits back.

…Now I must go turn shadows into weapons.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Needled 24/7
02. Sixpounder
03. Chokehold (Cocked ‘N’ Loaded)
04. Bodom Beach Terror
05. Angels Don’t Kill
06. Triple Corpse Hammerblow
07. You’re Better Off Dead!
08. Lil’ Bloodred Ridin’ Hood
09. Hate Crew Deathroll

Run Time: 40:07