Finland's heavy metal sons Children of Bodom are a unique
band. There's no doubt about who you're hearing when you listen
to one of their CDs. The band began its career by introducing
a combination of death and power metal with a twisted sense
of humor. After several popular albums and building a decent
following, Bodom has shifted gears somewhat with recent releases,
adding more accessible material and, to some extent, Americanizing
their sound. Don't get me wrong; this isn't radio-rock. Bodom
is still incredibly heavy, though the style is more thrash
metal than it was in the early years. Their last album, 2005's Are You Dead Yet, was successful using this new formula,
but also received criticism from longtime fans.
Perhaps sensing this, the band cranks up the speed dial on Blooddrunk for a nine-song thrashfest.
Blooddrunk is a darker take of Bodom's sound. It's unforgiving,
fast and rough around the edges. Don't fret, the band's signature
keyboards are still the driving force of the band (every song
has keyboard and guitar solos), along with master shredder
and vocalist Alexi Laiho. If you're a fan of the band,
you'll be satisfied with this album. Songs like “Hellhounds
on My Trail,” “Blooddrunk,” “Smile
Pretty oor the Devil” and “Banned orom Heaven”
are all classic Bodom. The shouted gang chorus and thrashy
guitars in the title track make this one sound just plain
tough. The guitar harmonies, soloing and playing in “Banned
from Heaven” are near god-like and this may well be
the best song here, even though its tempo is the slowest.
How does this release stack up against the Bodom discography?
I'd rank it slightly behind Hatecrew Deathroll. There's
nothing as catchy as “Next in Line” or “Living
Dead Beat” (from Are You Dead Yet?), but there
are similarities to songs like “Needled 24/7”
or “Triplecorpse Hammerblow” from Deathroll.
So it's not the best Bodom album, though I'm sure there
would be a great debate as to which previous disc has that
distinction.
As good as Blooddrunk is, you sort of get that feeling
that you've been there and done that. One reason is Laiho's
vocals. While he is a great screamer, there is little if any
variation. This, combined with the ever-present keyboards,
cause a number of Bodom's songs to be almost interchangeable.
This also doesn't totally feel like a complete album. At nine
songs and 36 minutes, I can't help but wonder why the band
couldn't have come up with another couple of songs. These
are minor gripes and things that Bodom has to live with. The
band has become popular enough that expectations will be high
from here on out. Blooddrunk isn't a drastic
departure from anything they've done in the past. Children
of Bodom have a sound all their own. They are a successful
extreme metal band and have a good fanbase. Why fix something
that isn't broken? That being said, I think they'll need to
push the envelope and experiment with their next release if
they're to continue to be frontrunners in the genre. |
