Review Summary: Flame Fest!
"From now on, we are enemies. You and I."
A thunderous bass riff rips through the speakers. It skitters and bumbles frantically for a split second, and before you can gather your wits, the main riff bursts through the speakers, and we're off to the races.
Or not.
The opening sequence that I just described is probably the most memorable part of the album. Yes, Laiho's guitar work is quite "technical" (more on this later) & the music is energetic, upbeat & full of neoclassical melodies... and yet what do these factors bring to the table? Ultimately, music is about more than technicality and energy, a truth that I'm sure the vast majority of music listeners accept to be true. Music is about emotion, creativity, and power. Children of Bodom's enigmatic frontman Alexi Laiho attempted suicide about half a year before this album came out. Any suicide attempt is the product of a storm of complex and convoluted emotions. Oftentimes, musicians use their music as an outlet for these emotions. Not Laiho, though. You cannot feel even the tiniest shred of emotion peeking through the onslaught of cheesy guitar solos and godawful keyboard leads on this album. This, more than any other factor, makes Children of Bodom's music as trivial and forgettable as any bubblegum pop diva - there is no passion, no creative drive behind this storm of plastic guitars and vomit-inducing lyrics. So yeah, I can listen to this album and pick up one or two melodies that I enjoy, and once in a while I feel those good ol' headbanging pangs. But once Downfall has run its course, I forget about this album. Even now, listening to the album and writing this review, I would be hard pressed to give you a favorite song, or indeed a distinctive feature of any individual song.
Back to Laiho's guitar skills. What does technicality mean to you? It means nothing to me. Do you know why? Because any pimply teenage kid with some time on his hands can rip off a few brain-bending riffs now and again. What I'm trying to say is this - technicality, in and of itself, does not mean anything. Saying that Laiho is technically skilled is not, I repeat, is
not a reason to praise Children of Bodom. As for my opinion on Laiho's guitar work? I think that Alexi Laiho is a horrible guitarist. Laiho's playing style offers no chromaticism, no creative scales, no unorthodox techniques. It's boring wank that once in a while produces some semi-rememberable melodies. He's definitely nothing spectacular in my book.
My final take on this album - this is a great gateway drug for those new to metal, because it's accessible, it's energetic, and it's damn catchy (in a trite kind of way). But this is something we all eventually grow out of.
