Children of Bodom's fifth full-length,
Are You Dead Yet?, is more of an experience than a music recording. As soon as the chugging riffs and powerful drumming commence, you know this is not the same Children of Bodom you've known from before. Instead of a strong keyboard atmosphere, piercing vocals, and pure guitar virtuosity, we have an entirely new style. CoB now comes as an in your face, heavy f
ucking metal band. No gimmicks or fancy tricks - just heavy riffing, soloing, and screaming. With AYDY?, Children of Bodom has shown a completely new side, and ultimately started a new beginning.
Comparing this album to CoB's past work is virtually impossible. AYDY? is not power metal - it is something completely new. Actually, I've never heard anything like this from any band. In Bodom's quest to become a more traditional straightforward metal band, they ended up releasing something more fresh and unique than anything I've heard in quite some time. Even
Hate Crew Deathroll, with its style of brutal power metal, is drastically different compared to this. A brief, low quality glimpse of this can be seen of the
Trashed Lost & Strungout EP via
Knuckleduster, but that song pales in comparison to the masterful writing we see here. Songs are with a less predictable structure, solos and keyboards and in full force, riffs are catchy as hell, and the vocals accent the music beautifully. Like every CoB album prior to this, every song is good. I could put this record in and listen to every song without having to skip tracks.
The soloing on this album must be emphasized. If you think Alexi is toning down his guitar work, then you obviously haven't heard the album.
If You Want Peace... Prepare For War, despite having an incredibly long title, has a f
ucking thrash shredfest going back and forth bewteen Alexi and Roope. Without Janne's keyboard wizardry,
Living Dead Beat would be much less interesting.
Next In Line has some great melodic soloing reminiscent of
Hatebreeder.
"Just go to hell...BY THE EDGE OF MY SCYYYYYYYYTHE!!!!"
Sound familiar? It should. Alexi hasn't lost his love for aggressive vocals and death-by-reaper style lyrics. That's not the only thing left of the old style either. You didn't think they could make an album without any hint of power metal did you? Of course not.
Trashed Lost & Stroungout is obviously a classic CoB song.
Bastards of Bodom still has riffs and licks littered all over it that reak of old old-school CoB power metal.
Next In Line has great harmonized leads, as well as cheesy keyboards.
Speaking of lyrics, Alexi's words on the new album impress me, a CoB first. The classic aggressive lyrics bordering on hilarious are still dominant.
In Your Face, the first single, has the original "I don't give a flying f
uck mother fucker" line repeated at least 20+ times. What I love are lines such as the
Are You Dead Yet? line, "Tainted flesh polluted soul...should I regret or ask myself: are you dead yet!!??", which I love beyond belief.
The album opener,
Living Dead Beat, is a very interesting track. It has some great guitar/vocal interplay, but it is built around Janne's keyboard playing. The intro is easily the most unique CoB clips you'll ever hear. The riffs are a heavy as ever and the song flows very well. The title track,
Are You Dead Yet?, is better. The riffs accent Alexi's screaming beautifully. Keyboards are less dominant here, but the riffing is again very interesting. Some great guitar licks and harmonizing are featured.
If You Want Peace... Prepare For War is as militant as it sounds. As soon as the chaotic guitar riff/heavy drumming starts, you know you're in for a treat. The highlight would be the insane thrashing shredfest between Alexi and Roope.
Punch Me I Bleed is probably the most emotional song they've ever done, thanks to the incredible chorus melody. Aside from that, it has some great guitar playing to go with the emotional feel.
In Your Face should be pretty well known by now. Just as the name states, this song would be the best example of their new found "heavy f
ucking metal IN YOUR FACE!!!" attitude. The main riff is catchy as hell, while the verses have some decent melody. Not bad at all, but I'm sure it was a shock for CoB fans to listen to for the first time a month ago.
Next In Line progresses from a cheesy intro into more sweet, original melodic moments. It's fast and flows well, what more do you need?
Bastards of Bodom is another power metal flashback. It has great keyboards over the riffs, and the cheesy melodies are excellent! During the intro, you'd think it would fit onto
Follow the Reaper.
Trashed Lost & Strungout was first seen on an EP of the same name, so no surprises here. This is classic CoB style power metal. IT almost like
Hatebreeder meets
Hate Crew Deathroll. The album closes with
We're Not Gonna Fall, probably the album's most lighthearted song, is a very solid way to end the album. The harmonized guitar leads and solos are very uplifting and very catchy.
To wrap up, keeping an open mind with this album is absolutely essential. It would be wrong to compare this to past CoB, because they are incomparable. Think of this as something completely new. If you think of it in the sense that, "this doesn't sound like Follow the Reaper or Hatebreeder", you'll reject it because of what it isn't, while missing out on what it is. It is a new side of Bodom - completely original. I'm rather glad they went this way, as I'd rather have them experiment with new stuff instead of re-releasing a popular album five more times. Just give it a listen and enjoy!
Recommended tracks:
Are You Dead Yet?
If You Want Peace... Prepare for War
Bastards of Bodom
Trashed Lost & Strungout
But again, every song is incredible. It's so hard to narrow it down to a few.
Pros: include:
- Heavy, catchy riffs
- Keyboards and solos aren't dumbed down at all
- Some power metal is interwined throughout
- Alexi's vocals work very well with this style
Quite a ways away just to wait for one bonus track. Very disappointing.
Anyway, their riffs are nothing to overlook. They write damn catchy riffs, and the keyboards along with sound are incredible. The solos are still crazy as hell too.
