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Blooddrunk

by

Children of Bodom

 
Blooddrunk
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A Finnish metal smorgasbord.

  • We Say...

    Even if the only Scandinavian word you know is “smorgasbord,” that’s all you need to get a grip on Blooddrunk, the sixth studio album by Finnish metal quintet Children of Bodom. There’s no denying that the group’s sound amounts to a pinch of this and a bit of that, but it all adds up to a satisfying meal — not just a bunch of quirky tastes pureed together.

    Founded in 1993 and named for an especially notorious case of multiple homicide, the Bodoms stormed to prominence with an epic fusion of power-metal guitar riffage and black-metal pomp, capped by the searing vocals of singer-guitarist Alexi “Wildchild” Laiho. The band also demonstrated a wicked sense of humor in settings so gleefully bloody, it was hard to tell whether the tongue in Laiho’s cheek was his or yours. Laiho & Co. simplified and hardened their sound on 2005’s Are You Dead Yet?, incorporating rowdy hardcore chug and machine-tooled grooves. The move appealed to new fans, but enraged the band’s old-school purists.

    Those are the “fans” who proclaimed Blooddrunk a disaster. Don’t believe it: From the fierce thrash that launches opening track “Hellhounds on My Trail,” the Bodoms seldom set a foot wrong. True, the title song’s herky-jerk riffs and spoken intro are pure Lamb of God — which makes the keyboards mint jelly, perhaps. But what other band could pull off the balance of symphonic keys, soaring guitars and Pantera-style gang chants found in “Lobodomy”? Answer: none.

  • They Say...

    Boy, whoever thought that technical metal was dead as a doornail during the mid- to late '90s has been proven dead wrong. Just a few years after this aforementioned era of "metal no man's land," technical metal has spread like a virus, via bands that share both an appreciation of the extreme aggression of Slayer and the technical proficiency of Iron Maiden. A fitting example of both of these metallic styles colliding as one is Finland's Children of Bodom, and especially their 2008 offering, Blooddrunk. All the ingredients from past Bodom releases are present once more -- Goth keyboards, guitar acrobatics, and vocals that sound straight out of the torture chamber. These lads sure can play their instruments, as evidenced by such intense metal blasts as the title track, "Smile Pretty for the Devil," and "Tie My Rope." But one thing that differentiates Children of Bodom from the host of other similarly styled bands is that they know the importance of succinct songwriting -- only one track here stretches past the five-minute mark. As a result, Blooddrunk showcases one of the few modern-day metal bands that manage to balance straight-to-the-point songwriting with their collective instrumental prowess.

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