Archive for the ‘Children of Bodom’ Category
The 2008 Gigantour Experience
As many of you know by now, probably from me blabbering on and on about it over the past couple of posts, that the event happened last Wednesday at Arrow Hall in Toronto and I would like to share with you my unique Gigantour experience. First of all, the venue was like a football field sized aircraft hanger. It was so big and dark that I lost my friend Roman as soon as we got there and I never found two buddies that I was suppose to meet there. The place is said to have a capacity of over 8,000 and frankly I’m really glad that the show didn’t get sold-out (I’ll explain why later).
Roman and I arrived at the show two hours late just in time for Children of Bodom to start. I made my way into the pit and slowly pushed my way into the front. I was at front and center for the rest of Children of Bodom and the first half of In Flames. If you ever played rugby before or know rugby terminology, the whole crowd at the front of the concert was in a continuous ruck. There were people pushing you in every direction and I was getting the living hell squeezed out of me. While there, I got elbowed in the eye, was disconnected from my shoe three times, and got kicked in the head several times by crowd surfers.
By the time In Flames came on, I was so tired and thirsty from all the pushing and shoving (yes there were pushing and shoving during the SET-UP!) that I decided it was best if I went to get a drink and take a break so I can come back for Megadeth all refreshed. Little did I know that the crowd at the front was so dense that the only way out was to crowd surf to the front where you can walk around to the back. For a good 10 minutes, I was stuck at the front, not being able to breath or move until the mosh behind us slowly engulfed some of the crowds at the front.
After In Flames had their gig, a lot of the crowd left (most of whom were 13 year-olds) and I was able to get back in front for Megadeth. Once they began playing though, the crowd became quite dense again and there were mosh pits forming and conjoining everywhere. Megadeth put on a really good show and overall, the concert was mind-blowing. I was able to find Roman at the end of the show, only to learn that he lost his glasses but found someone else’s which were all bent and scratched. While walking back through the parking lot, we learned that some guys got the gas siphoned out of their car and that two people got carried out in stretchers. LOL.
Children of Bodom: Blooddrunk Review
The first time Allan saw this album, he thought it was called “Blooddrink”. LOL
“Blooddrunk” is Children of Bodom‘s sixth album. This disk is really fast and aggressive, right from the beginning to the end. It is more technical than their previous releases, but other than that, there isn’t much deviance from their past stuff.
The album starts off quick and thrashy with “Hellbounds On My Trail”, which pretty much set the pace for the rest of the album. Two tracks that stands out for me right now are the title track, “Blooddrunk”, and “Tie My Rope”. “Blooddrunk” is the second song on the album and begins with the classic Bodom sounding gothic keyboard. “Tie My Rope” starts with some techno stuff which was catchy and I thought was a nice change.
The only thing I didn’t really dig about this album is that it is too complex and technical. It still got the same component, such as the thrashy riffs, the guitar shreddings, and the melodic hooks, but with a lot more complexities added into it. I figured out that a lot of great old Bodom songs have their main melodies right in the beginning and have simple/predictable song structures with the main riff repeating many times. The tracks on this album have a lot more intricate riffs and really good solos rather than sticking to a main riff. In general, I think it sounds a bit messy. On top of that, some of the melodies just aren’t as catchy.
Overall, “Blooddrunk” feels like a filler album to me. It’s got two or three songs that I really like but the rest are easily forgotten. Anyhow, I’ll be seeing these guys in two days and I’m hyped!
Buy this album at: Insound, cdUniverse, Amazon
In Flames’ A Sense Of Purpose Review and Gigantour 2008 Setlists
There have been a lot of mixed reactions to In Flames’ latest album, A Sense of Purpose. People either love it or hate it. The vocals have dramatically changed. It’s no longer growls and grunts, but singing. I find that the band has taken a turn for worse as it no longer holds the brutality and energy of the old classic In Flames records.
Although still melodic, the new guitar works and riffs don’t stand out as much and when heard, are easily forgotten. I find the experimental changes that the band has gone through have made their disk really progressive and metalcore-ish. Take a listen to The Chosen Pessimist. It’s so whiny and emo… I guess for a band formed in 1990, it’s just what some people call “natural progression”.
If this was a new band, I would have liked this CD much more. But for a band that was part of the Gothenburg metal scene and was a pioneer for the melodic death metal genre, I think there’s really no need for them to make such a change.
Buy This CD At: Insound, cdUniverse, Amazon
Anyways, here are the setlists for Gigantour 2008:
Megadeth:
01. Sleepwalker
02. Wake Up Dead
03. Take No Prisoners
04. Skin O’ My Teeth
05. Washington Is Next
06. Gears Of War
07. Kick The Chair
08. In My Darkest Hour
09. Hangar 18
10. Ashes In Your Mouth
11. Burnt Ice
12. Trust
13. Tornado Of Souls
14. Symphony Of Destruction
15. Peace Sells
16. Holy Wars
Children of Bodom:
01. Six Pounder
02. Living Dead Beat
03. In Your Face
04. Hate Me!
05. Hellhounds On My Trail
06. Angels Don’t Kill
07. Blooddrunk
08. Downfall
Sorry to disappoint, CoB fans…
In Flames:
01. Quiet Place
02. The Mirror’s Truth
03. Scorn
04. Take This Life
05. Bullet Ride
06. Graveland
07. Move Through Me
08. Cloud Connected
09. Leeches
10. Come Clarity
11. Sober And Irrelevant
12. My Sweet Shadow
Job For A Cowboy:
01. Coalescing
02. Embedded
03. Entities
04. Reduced
05. Entomb
06. Altered
07. Knee Deep
High On Fire:
01. Rumors of War
02. Turk
03. Death Is This Communion
04. Waste of Tiamat
05. Devolution
This was the setlist for the Denver show but I doubt it will change. I believe High On Fire will be opening.
Children of Bodom: Set to tour with Megadeth and In Flames on the Gigantour 2008
Children of Bodom is a power metal band from Espoo, Finland. Their music ranges from heavy metal to melodic death metal to power metal. I first discovered these guys while downloading a bunch of Iron Maiden stuff. Apparently they did a bunch of Iron Maiden covers and their versions are a lot faster and heavier.
The band got its name from the Lake Bodom murders and a lot of their music is about war, death, the grim reaper, personal struggles, and, of course, the Lake Bodom murders. Couple of my favorite songs from them are The Final Countdown and Lake Bodom. There’s quite a lot of nice guitar riffs in there. I also really like their version of Iron Maiden’s Powerslave and Aces High.
Children of Bodom are set to tour this summer with Megadeth, In Flames, Job For A Cowboy and High On Fire for the Gigantour 2008. The tour will run from April to May of this year. More information about this tour is expected to be released shortly. I haven’t heard of Job For A Cowboy and High On Fire before but Megadeth and In Flames should be pretty crazy. I’m looking forward to this tour, although I’m expecting the ticket prices to be $60 and up.
Children Of Bodom – Lake Bodom.mp3
Children Of Bodom – The Final Countdown.mp3
Children Of Bodom – Aces High.mp3
Check our these guys’ MySpace
Buy CoB’s Are You Dead Yet?
