| Children of Bodom �Something Wild� Nuclear Blast, 1998 Gloon: The infamous short, sharp debut from these Finnish melodic nutters is sometimes misplaced and cast in the melodic death category but please, this is about as menacing as a basket full of kittens. While having some close ties to some early In Flames and others this is essentially power/prog/classical influenced metal with extravagant flourishes of Nightwish-esque keyboards and some very slight blackmetal elements ala Old Mans Child. Genre mix ups aside this is still very much an enjoyable, harmonious romp with catchy songs, great fret work and heavy dose of atmospheric synths. Alexi �Wild Child� Laiho adds blackmetal rasps and enthusiastic growls to the mix while Janne Wirman's keyboards definitely fleshes out and to an extent helps personify the bands unique sound. While 7 years old this still sounds as fresh and fun as it did back in 90s and still stands as one of the band�s finer, stronger moments on disk. Well worth back tracking and checking out if you havent already done so, as for the rest of you dust it off and let it spin, its still the shit!!!!! Favourite Tracks � In the Shadows, Red Light In My Eyes Pt 1, Touch Like Angel of Death Rating � 8/10 Children Of Bodom 'Hatebreeder' Nuclear Blast, 1999 Lord Pale: The Finnish 'legends' return with another 38 minutes of technical happy melodic rock metal with abrasive vocals. COB play synth driven fast florid powermetal-esque gay prog and like other bands fitting a similar description like to show off their prowess with long strings of guitar and keyboard solos and trade offs. The bands vocal delivery comes in the form of an easy listening blackmetal snat, but with Hatebreeder some new ideas are introduced like chants and some cleaner moments not unakin to Pyogenesis. The songs for the majority are well written and structured with most containing choruses and interesting amounts of ideas and riffs. Where COB comes into sharp contrast is their image. Depicting a grimreaper looking over a lake may well fit the theme of their lyrics, but what about the gaiety of their music? Well no worries do the whole cover in bright green that'll solve the problem! Along with the antics of their artwork, they fall into an unfortunate habit of mentioning themselves in song titles like 'Silent Night, Bodom Night�, which only further serves to annihilate any credibility in metal that they may have been seeking. Despite all of this (and a lack of English literary skills 'Towards Dead End�?), COB just keep going with out caring and they are owed respect for this anyway, nice cheesy prog/black/rock. Favourite Tracks - Children Of Bodom, Warheart, Black Widow Mark - 7.5/10 |
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