CHILDREN OF BODOM – Hate Crew Deathroll

It’s a bit hard to give points to a release like this, at least for me. Fact is, I normally don’t embrace this kind of music, which is why you don’t read a lot about it on this site (e-mail Stig if you need to complain, ok?), but for some reason Children Of Bodom plays aggressive metal in a way I like. Yes, this is the first album by this Finnish band that I really took time to get into, but I do intend to go back and find out if I missed something or not. So a 7 to this band must stand as a huge compliment, firstly because 7 points at the Metal Express Radio IS a great compliment (it’s not if you read those German printed magazines), but secondly because it’s based on this reviewer’s taste…

The first song on Hate Crew Deathroll, “Needled 24/7”, is likely to be the most killer song I have heard so far in 2003. It has speed, aggression, great machine gun riffing and most importantly (at least for me), a cool melody. You just have to hear this to believe it and understand (as words can’t describe this monster number), and make sure you crank it up. (I don’t dare to say hi to my neighbors today). The lyrics, for some reason only four of them are printed in the booklet, at least my booklet, are full of guts and hatred, and I presume they serve as good (and who knows, maybe needed) therapy for the creators behind Children Of Bodom. Next up is “Sixpounder”, another cool song which (unfortunately) hasn’t the same speed and aggression. It’s when the Bodom boys play fast and aggressive that they do best (wouldn’t you know it? THAT coming from me!), while the Pantera-like crunchy riffing you can spot sometimes, aren’t among their best moments, I think.

There are no fillers on this record although I like the company of the opener and “Triple Corpse Hammerblow” best. Like you have guessed by now, these are the fast tracks that burn like napalm. “Angels Don’t Kill” is a good song in itself. A slower and more bombastic one, it has a good melody, too. “Chokehold (Cocked’n Loaded)” also stands out, another one of those full of guts.

The record sounds awesome, and the way the band mix keyboards with a slightly modern touch, the aggressive vocals and melodic guitar playing, gives Children Of Bodom a unique sound and makes it hard to “label” or “categorize” them, like lazy journalists like to do when they don’t feel like describing the music. In some ways, The Finns bring many different aspects into their music, which is both genius and risky at the same time. I didn’t fully adore this CD at its first spin, but if you (like me) spend some time with it – also if you don’t play this aggressive music every day – I am sure you will find elements you like. For some reason, I like mostly all of it.