If you have ever gotten the bloody piss beat out of you and you were left with no clue what hit you, chances are you just heard
Hate Crew Deathroll, the fourth effort from Finnish power metal gods Children of Bodom. A powerful album from start to finish,
Hate Crew Deathroll is the very embodiment of Alexi Laiho's rage, personal struggles, and bitter hatred. The music is an aggressive, at times MELODIC, pulverizing force that punishes, awes, and downright kicks a
s.
It can be said that
Hate Crew was the beginning of the bands departure from their patented harsh power/death metal sound, which they have all but abandoned since. It can also be said that the album was Bodom's heaviest, most aggressive pissed off record, surpassing 2000's
Follow The Reaper as Bodom's finest hour. Oh yes, I went there.
I was excited to get this album when I heard of its release. Unfortunately, it hadn't been released in the United States yet, so I had to order it from Germany. When I got it, I threw it in my stereo, excited as a fat kid buying a cake. The first riffs in
Needled 24/7 pulsed through the speakers, and I could tell right off the bat that
Hate Crew Deathroll was a special album. Different, yes. A bit of a change of pace in the music, yes. but oh, what a great change.
Through the course of the album, Alexi Laiho and the rest of the Hate Crew let you feel their rage, their anguish, and their frustration with whatever was going on in their lives at the time on nine tracks of furious, unrelenting metal.
Needled 24/7 begins the slaughter with a fast-paced orgy of guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards. Alexi cries out with vivid poetry: "A foot away from you is like being closer to heaven, then again it's like being needled 24/7". One of the best lyrics he has written, in my opinion.
Sixpounder begins the band's venture into the world of drop tuning, and goddamn is it heavy. I'd say this is definitely their heaviest song, by far. Perhaps a taste of what is to come on the next album (and I'd say I was about correct). immediately, the track starts off with a crushing groove which later mixes with some standard Alexi Laiho lead guitar playing. What stands out on the track is the chorus - it might be the first time we've ever heard Alexi "sing", and lo and behold it fits the song! it kind of sends a shiver down your spine, not necessarily the singing, but again the lyrics..."I refuse to be brought down by you". Very uplifting, I'd say.
At this point of the review, I should make it known that every instrument (with a small exception of the bass guitar) stands out on this CD. the drums and keyboards especially stand out; drums adding to the aggression, keeping the rhythms tight, and keyboards adding to the melodicism. Alexi's leads, as always, reign surpreme, and Alexander's tight rhythm precision makes its last mark on the music of Children of Bodom. With that being said, the rest of the album clearly exemplifies all of what I just said.
Chokehold, one of the best tracks on this CD, is a barrage of lightning-fast riffing and one of Alexi's most beautiful solos (which soon turns into an all-out shred fest between him and Janne Warman). janne's lead is just amazing. Once again, all throughout the song there are tight rhythms. The whole band is in sync and while there are no Bach passages like older Bodom, it still knocks you flat on your a
ss.
Bodom Beach Terror, to me, is dominated by the drumming throughout most of the song. It's great to hear the drums go perfectly with the guitars and not just rely on cymbal crashes to keep in rhythm with the guitars. 2:30 into the song, Alexi decides to melt our faces off and doe a da
mn good job in doing so. I have got to say that Alexi's leads are the best they have ever been on this album. Don't get me wrong, the shred virtuosity on the past albums was great and brilliant, but he seemed to find his own "voice" in writing
Hate Crew .
The next song,
Angels Don't Kill , is the most melodic, slowest song on the CD. Wait, hold the phone...Bodom, doing a slow song? hell yes, buddy, this ain't no love ballad either. Think of a slower-paced
Every Time I Die . The poetry of Alexi's lyrics also come into play in this song. there is so much anguish that you feel, and the whole song sends chills down your spine. Great, great song.
Enter
Triple Corpse Hammerblow . I immediately thought this was the cheesiest song on the CD, with the keyboard intro and all. It has such an 80's metal vibe to it. hell, even Alexi's lead recalls Randy Rhode's solo on Ozzy Osbourne's "Over The Mountain". Still a good song, but not the best.
What can easily be described as the most pissed off Bodom song ever,
You're Better Off Dead wants you to be battered and bloodied after the first listen. Ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and realized you were being ganged up on by an angry mob? This is the feeling that "You're Better Off Dead" is trying to achieve, and achieve it, it does!. Thrashy, in-your-face guitars, Alexi shouting at you like a madman ("What's the matter with you, whatcha tryin' to do?!")...there has never been such a pulverizing song in this manner by Children of Bodom. At times it is reminiscent of older Slayer. Other times, it's reminiscent of getting your friggin' a
ss kicked. Nevertheless, this song is intense, in-your-face, and no-stop. This to me is pure, unadulterated Children of Bodom.
Little Blood-Red Riding Hood Follows "You're Better Off Dead" and continues the a
ss-whoopin'. The lead lines and solos in this song are pure gold. this song is melodic, but still aggressive and heavy as hell.
The next, and final track,
Hate Crew Deathroll , serves as an anthem for Children of Bodom (they're the hate crew; they stand and they don't fall). It certainly isn't the best song on this CD but still, as ShadowsFallen and I like to say, "delivers the beatdown". Nothing really amazing about this song, it's just a headbanging anthem throughout.
All in all, you know a great album once you listen to it. I have never grown tired of this CD and I would go as far as to say that this is Children of Bodom's
Master of Puppets . This CD defines Children of Bodom to me, and I am sure it will be highly influential in the years to come.
Pros
-Top notch musicianship as a whole
- Never boring or repetetive
- ALEXI LAIHO!
Cons
-Bass doesn't stand out as much as other instruments (but serves its purpose).
- Alexander Kuoppola's last album with the band :(
- It's not
Follow The Reaper, LAWL!
