Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
Children of Bodom is:
Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho - Guitars / Vocals
Alexander Kuoppala - Guitar
Henkka T. Blacksmith - Bass
Jaska W. Raatikainen - Drums
Janne Warman - Keyboards
Recommended Songs
Needled 24/7
Sixpounder
Bodom Beach Terror
Angels Dont Kill
Hate Crew Deathroll
Silent Scream
Needled 24/7
A fiery opener, bursting right out of the speakers into a thrashy riff, with double bass pedals a' thumping to keep the tempo. Around 10 seconds in Alexi opens with a short but sweet guitar solo, and then a quick yelp; and we're off into the song.
Overall its a fast paced song with really melodious chorouses, it has 2 guitar solos and 2 keyboard solos and some of CoBs best riffs. All in all, it gets a
4/5
Sixpounder
This is a much slower song compared to Needled'; it chugs away with a really addictive riff and some light keyboards in the background. It's a very thumping song with its chugging guitars, double bass work and Alexis screeching vocals. The verses are a bit faster and flowing with an awesome riff. It has 2 guitar solos again; before the first there is a chant of "Six! six! six! pounder", which adds greatly to the coolness. The song is also chockablock with some excellent drum and guitar fills.
5/5
Bodom Beach Terror
A cool slow drum intro leads into a very cool guitar riff, after a few bars and a screeching "Lets go!" from Alexi; a very very catchy verse begins; really can't tell what he says but it just grooves like hell :cool:
The choruses are slow and the keyboards really show through in them, about 2 minutes in is a cool, very powerful interlude of sparse powerchords and keyboard attacks. After this a blistering solo from Alexi begins and the chorus begins again, after that a relaxing, slower keyboard solo leads the song out. When it's finished, there is a sample dialogue from the film, "American Psycho".
A low 4/5
Angels Don't Kill
This is a bit of a departure from the previous songs and albums by CoB; it's a kind of relaxed slow track with some very harmonious keyboards all the way through. The way Alexi sings it actually holds quite a bit of emotion and some of the guitar work is very relaxing and melancholic. The solos in it are very slow and suiting; it's a very cool track which stands out from the rest, if only for its different style.
4/5
Hate Crew Deathroll
It's a bit of an odd title but dont let that affect your opinion of the song. It starts out with a slow keyboard but then within a matter of seconds it absolutely explodes into a fast paced, upfront song; the vocals are very upfront and in the second verse is some cool vocals from the rest of the band. A short build up leads us right into another of Alexis fast paced solos and as abruptly as it started, the song is over.
4/5
Silent Scream
This is a Slayer cover for the uneducated :P; it stays rather true to the origonal and still retains the ferocity of Slayers version. It's a rather thrashy affair with a very cool build up intro into the song, theres also a VERY cool guitar/keyboard solo trade off in the middle of the song. All in all its one of, if not their best cover.
4/5
Well, thats only the main standout tracks that i'll be reviewing, but, don't get me wrong; the rest are very cool also, i jsut felt these were the best on the album. This album is closer to 'Bodoms Death side than they've ever been, mostly due to the lack of their classical influences that were on previous offerings.
The songs as a whole are very "groovy"; they have great riffs and a cool flow to them, the songs are full of great fills and all the instruments are used very well. The keyboards arent ignored, but they arent overpowering and the guitars dont overpower the bass and drums.
All in all, it's a great album, but next to their others, it lacks that special 'Bodom feel. If you're a fan of CoB but don't have this, you wont be disappointed by it, but prepare for something a tiny bit different to Follow the Reaper and Hatebreeder. If youve never heard them before - i
really suggest you try them out, they have some great aspects to them which will surprise you.
Overall score - it gets 4 smilies out of 5.
:) :) :) :) :evil:
( also please comment on my layout etc, this is only my second review )
