Children of Bodom Album: “Hate Crew Deathroll [Bonus Tracks]”

Hate Crew pretty much follows the same style seen on previous albums: awe inspiring guitar work, semi black metal vocals, blazing speed and rhythem keyboards are all in abundance here. The differences between this and previous efforts is that this is more thrash than melodic death and it is much more venomous than before. COB have always been unique in the melodic death realm for the fact that they always wrote about themes of hatred and vengenance rather than the poetic lyrics usually found in the genre. Hate Crew sees them taking this further than they ever have in the past with such songs as "sixpounder" and "You're Better off Dead". The music is also darker than in the past and follows a more thrashy groove than previous efforts. Which is where my one problem, and reason for not giving this a 5, is. The keyboards don't fit their new darker sound as well. Many times they'll go into an evil sounding part only to have the keyboards come in and make the whole thing sound hilarious and cheesy. If they continue with the more evil sounding stuff it would definitly be a good idea to not rely on the keyboards so much in the future. I recommend In Flames, Death, Lord Belial, Kalmah, Norther, Leviathan, Emperor and Susperia in addition to this.

i will admit, these guys are definately my favorite band, but im not gonna be like most people with their favs and preach to you on how these guys are the best and no one competes, its all based on opinions, this album or follow the reaper would definately be the first album of CoB that u want to buy, lets call them starter albums, this album seems to have elements of many different types of metal, ex:thrash, melodic death metal,some black metal, and all that great stuff, now if uve heard that these guys are just completely black metal, cuz i know that a lot of ppl say that, well its not true, if u are heavily into black metal and no other genre, this album is prolly not for u, or any CoB for that matter, but of course i could be wrong, like i said, its all just up to YOUR opinion, but if u have only heard OF children of bodom, and havent actually heard them and your looking for a cd to start off with, this or follow the reaper would be your best bet

I bought this album a few months ago (actually half a year ago, or maybe even before that), and it really took a while to grow on me. I got into this band because I had been a huge In Flames fan for quite some time, and of course, Children of Bodom and In Flames, along with other contemporaries Dark Tranquility, are often compared to one another, so I samples some clips from this album online. I liked what I heard, though I didn't take the time to hear too much. So yes, I picked up this CD, listened to it, and basically thought "this isn't like In Flames at all."

Now my opinion has changed, and I do believe Children of Bodom sound like In Flames just in the dual guitars and the Gothenburg themes in the music, but other than that, they're pretty much complete opposites. In Flames often has acoustic passages (or at least used to), while COB are pretty much straight electric (at least on this album; I don't own any other releases). COB use heavy electronics, even keyboard solos, in just about every song, while the only In Flames song I can think of that uses keyboards as a major instrument is "Only for the Weak" off of Clayman. And finally, the vocals are completely different. When I first listening to this album, I thought Alex Laiho's voice was more black metal than melodic death, but that was just first impression. But I still see the major different in Alex and Anders' voices, and I prefer Anders', as Alex's can get a little too raspy at times.

But I'll stop the comparisons. This is a review for Children of Bodom, not In Flames. The guitar work on this album is nothing short of masterful-which took me a while to notice. I've listened to the CD many times, but only when I really pay attention to the music did I notice the brilliance of Alex's solos and riffs. Alex is an amazing guitarist is all I can say. He can play brutally and aggressively ("Needled 24/7"), beautifully ("Angel's Don't Kill"), or a mixture of both ("Bodom Beach Terror"). Any aspiring guitarist should check this CD out. I have a feeling Alex is gonna get a lot bigger because of his skill.

Alex is the highlight of the band, but that's not to say the musicians backing him up aren't noteworthy. COB's got a tight rhythm section Henkka Blacksmith (bass), Alexander Kuoppala (rhythm guitar) and Jaska Raatikainen (drums)...some big as names there. But yes, they are a great rhythm section in that they don't just repeat the same riff over and over while Alex shreds all over them, but change up the rhythm riffs often to make it just as interesting as the guitar solos that go over them. Alexander K. is a fine rhythm guitarist, and he is often forgotten in the shadow of Laiho, which is a shame, because as I said before, he's a damn fine guitarist. Blacksmith is a good bassist, though, like most metal bassists, he blends in more than he shines through, but his performance definitely gives the album more "oomph". Now Jaska is a solid drummer, not the best in the genre, but he doesn't try to overshadow anyone else, which is good. He just provides a foundation, throws in a couple of fills, and does his job. Certainly not an amateur, but not the best there is either. But he is a satisfactory drummer.

Another standout is the keyboardist. Unlike most metal keyboardists, he doesn't just make background noises, but he has quite a few solos, yes, keyboards SOLOS on the album, which is a COB trademark from what I hear from reviews of other albums. Sometimes he'll even solo along with Laiho, which makes a very beautiful, majestic sound. This can be heard best on "Angels Don't Kill", a simply beautiful, dark and amazing song, and one of my favorites.

I do have a complaint about the band, which is where the 4-stars instead of 5 come from. First, the lyrics...they're pretty bad a lot of the time. The lyrics on the title track are just stupid and corny, and there are a lot of other down-points throughout the album. Really it's nothing to bring the amazing musicianship down too terribly much-in fact, you don't even notice it if you're not reading the lyrics booklet (which, for some reason, only has the lyrics to 4 out of 9 of the songs anyway). What does confuse me is how the lyrics to the title track can be viewed in the booklet, yet the GOOD lyrics to the song "Angels Don't Kill" have to be found another way. I looked up the lyrics and was quite impressed. It made me appreciate the song a whole lot more than I did before. Anyway, another down-point is the occasional blandness. Tracks 7 and 8 in particular are bland, and really bring nothing new to the table that hasn't already been heard on earlier songs on the album. And one more thing is the vocals. While they're not unbearable, or really even annoying, they're just not as good as some other bands in the genres. But once again, the music makes up for this.

So that's my long overdo review of this beautiful, haunting and crushing album. This is definitely a release for any metal fan, or musician, to pick up.

This is heavy metal at its best. Throught out this record you will listen to the fastest and most amazing riffs as heard on the opener 'Needled 24/7', the most impressive solos ever since Steve Vai, the most driving bass lines in the genre and the most aggresive drumbeats ever like on 'Chokehold'... and all that just to set the stage for great keyboard melodies like the great 'Angels Don't Kill', and the most passionate vocals as on "Sixpounder".

Let alone the fact that the leader of this band is the best guitar player of our times. Alexi Laiho makes the most amazing riffs, "Sixpounder"s Chorus for example, marvelous sounds ("Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood"s guitars choruses), and majestic solos ever made in the heavy metal world. He doesn't show off but he produces such melodies that he is worth apprentices. At the same time, this are VERY hard to emulate, imitate, or even play at a slower speed.

With amazing vocal skills to add to the mix of his masterfull guitar playing, Alexi makes this record sound almost "black metal"ish. His scream/growl are all anger coming out of his throath, still he does make place for clean and melodic singing throughout the record, prove of his amazing versatility as a musician.

Not to be left behind, this awesome guitar hero is backed up by a great set of musicians, like a masterfull rhythm guitar player and a skilled bassist that can follow and put up with such amazing fretboard talent. To finish the line up, the drummer and keyboardist add the strenght and driving on the beats, just listen to "You're Better off Dead" for a sample of what he can do, and melody through the heavy sounds of COB, as the keys do on "Bodom Beach Terror" and the keyboard solo on "Lil' Bloodred Riddin hood".

On Top of that, the production of this album is far heavier, stronger and better than COB's previous albums, which makes it more metal, more angry, and needless to say more modern in some ways. The distortion in the guitars of this record is far more heavy and angry than the others, but it's still clear to listen as you can hear the marvelousness and skills note by note.

If this doesn't convince you to do yourself a favor and get the album... you are missing out on the best metal... This record leaves me only with one wish missing... that is not as lenghy as I wish it could be.

I have been a huge fan of Children of Bodom for about four years now. I have seen them live at Metal Fest, and even met them at an autograph signing at said Metal Fest. Something Wild, their first album, was a tremondous effort by this still young band. Alexi Laiho with blazing guitar work, and Janne, the keyboardist, with his equally fast keyboard melodies make this band what it is. Something Wild was fresh, raw, and one of the best sounding debut albums I have ever heard. Though the lyrics were somewhat cheesy, the music more the made up for it. Why pay attention to lyrics when the ripping guitars, catchy keyboards, booming bass, and thundering drums are making your ears bleed?

Since then Bodom has definately matured and developed as a band. Hatebreeder, their second album, was even better then Something Wild, sounding a lot more polished and tight.

Hate Crew Deathroll pretty much leaves off where Follow the Reaper did. To me, Hate Crew Deathroll sounds very similar to Follow the Reaper, though with not as much technical work on the guitars or keyboards which is a Bodom trademark. In that aspect, the album is somewhat lacking. The production is very good, and as i said, sounds like Follow the Reaper. Alexi still has amazing guitar riffs and solos in the songs, but they just don't seem to be as aggressive and mind blowing like their past few albums. Janne, for some reason, does not have as many keyboard leads either. Normally on past Bodom albums, Alexi and Janne will switch back and forth with their leads creating an amazing blend of musical styling. One would play a solo on one instrument, and then right after they other will take over and play a solo on theirs. On this album however, it is very lacking.

Now I am not saying this album is a bad effort, just the opposite, I like it, enough for four stars. However, as I mentioned above, there is just something......missing.

The album opens up aggresive enough with Needled 24/7, and Angels Don't Kill is a very cool song, sounding similar to Every Time I Die from Follow the Reaper, one of my favorite Bodom songs. The rest of the songs still sound good, though they don't seem to have as many catchy melodies as past Bodom works.

The song names are somewhat lame "sixpounder", "Triple Corpse Hammerblow", and "Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood" are pretty horrible names for songs which I can't help but laugh at when I read them. The lyrics are pretty much typical of Bodom, seeming like Alexi just wrote them as an after thought to the music. However, the music is what makes this band, not the lyrics. If it was that way then Bodom would not be the band they are and would be opening for Elton John or worse.

All in all, a good solid album from Children of Bodom, but seeming to have some lacking parts in the song writing such as the terrific blazing leads on guitar by Alexi, and the amazing keyboard leads by Janne Warmen. If you liked Follow the Reaper, you will like this. If you didn't like Follow the Reaper, don't even bother, you would be even more disappointed.

Memorable Songs: Needled 24/7, Sixpounder, Angels don't Kill, Hate Crew Deathroll, Silent Scream