Children of Bodom is probably my favorite band right now. They have Alexi Laiho, who is arguably the best lead guitarist in metal at the moment, one of the best drummers in metal, great bass, and easily the best keyboarder in metal with Janne. Hatebreeder is a very good album, though it is pretty repetitive, It's still a very good album. It starts off excellently, then sinks down into a slump in songs 5-7, but comes back with the two best COB songs ever in the last 2 tracks. Imo, this album's vocals aren't great compared to the next album, but they are still pretty good. I enjoy Hate Crew Deathroll and Follow the Reaper more than this but Hatebreeder definitely shows the immense amount of talent that Children of Bodom showcase.
track analysis:
Warheart: As with first songs on an album, this is one of the best songs on the album. It stars with a short quote, which is followed by an amazingly speedy bass intro. The lead guitar and keyboards then come on with machine-gun drumming by Jaska. The main riff is extremely catchy, I love how Alexi practically solos while singing (err..screaming) The guitar solo is equally amazing. 10/10
Silent Night, Bodom Night: The lyrics here are kinda cheesy but that doesn't matter at all really. Starts with another fast guitar riff. The bridge after the chorus is definitely the best part of the song, though the Neoclassical solo is definitely a highlight. 9.5/10
Hatebreeder: Other than the last two tracks, this is probably the best song instrumentally on the album. It's very fast and heavy, one of the heaviest songs by COB. The chorus is very catchy though a bit annoying at times, though the guitar and keyboards are great. If you listen closely to the last line of the chorus, it sounds like Alexi says "Shut your f**king mouth, bring me a beer" It really doesn’t if you listen to it that way, (I have no idea why the hell I just said that.) The song ends with a kickass dueling solo with Alexi and Janne, I love it. 10/10
Bed of Razors: Starts off with a harp-sounding keyboard effect. The guitar then comes in mimicking the same tune, followed by Alexi's signature scream. The lyrics are very morbid, but are clearly a love story 0_o. I love the chorus here. 9.5/10
Towards Dead End: The album starts to get a bit repetitive and boring starting here. I love the intro to this song though. It starts extremely fast and heavy, and makes good use of triplets. The chorus is catchy, but a bit annoying, kinda like the chorus to hatebreeder. It ends with another solo which is pretty good. This is a pretty good song, the two songs after aren't as good though unfortunately. 9.25/10
Black Widow: Meh.....the intro is pretty cool, but the song overall is pretty bland. I like the chorus but that's about all I really like about the song. 8/10
Wrath Within: I have no idea why exactly, but this is the only song by COB that I have really don't care for much. It's not ba at all, just uninteresting. The intro is pretty good, but the chorus isn't so much, The solo’s pretty good like all COB, but could've been better. 8/10
Children of Bodom: I though that the album was getting bad after the last 2 songs, but damn was I wrong! This is my favorite song EVER by ANY band EVER!!!!. It starts sorta like an Iron Maiden song, then the most amazing melodic riff I've ever heard comes in at 22 seconds into the song. The verse is amazing, and this song features several breakdowns. This is the best song instrumentally on the album, and maybe the best ever by COB. The guitar solo is amazing, and the double bass is amazingly fast, you'd think Jaska's feet would have fallen off by now. The chorus, is extremely catchy as well, one of the best by COB. It ends like Hatebreeder, with an amazing solo by Janne. I don't know what's wrong with you if you like metal and don't like this song. 10/10
Downfall: This is the only song comparable to the previous song. This song features excellent keyboarding. In fact, it starts with just the keyboard, before a fantastic riff comes in. The chorus rivals the chorus of the previous song, in that it is very catchy. Alexi does an extremely long and loud scream before the chorus that pumps me up like no other song. The solo is another amazing one, the best on the album probably. After it, a lone keyboard part comes in again, followed by the chorus. That part gives me goose bumps every time I here it. The chorus is then repeated with the guitars an octave higher for an absolutely amazing effect. I freaking love this song. 10/10
This album starts strong, then gets kinda boring, but revives its self with my two favorite songs ever. Though overall, this is only my third favorite bodom album, it still features enough amazing songs to be very good. I suggest this.
