Customer Reviews

Are You Dead Yet

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper instantly appealed to me with their pure neo-classical styles, and lightning quick guitar and synthesizer interplay. Within weeks of first hearing these albums, I checked out Something Wild and was equally impressed by the earlier effort's straightforwardness, coupled with the same COB speed.

Well, reviews stated that Are You Dead Yet? would be a return to the straightforward style, and I completely agree.

Unfortunately, this release, while good, does not match the intensity, creativity, or character of the COB classics.

Almost completely absent are the deliciously wicked synthesizer/guitar runs which conjure memories of a death/thrash version of Beethoven rocking out the mall keyboards in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Instead we are treated, and treated I will say because this album is good, to more generic melodeath/thrash. Don't get me wrong, the musicianship is still something to behold, and I doubt these guys will ever fail to impress in this department, but Something Wild, Hatebreeder, and Follow the Reaper had an undeniably unique Children of Bodom sound, while Are You Dead Yet? never really projects a distinguishable identity, just unparalleled instrumental ability.

A few tracks like the slower-paced "Punch Me I Bleed" stand strong as dynamic, well-composed tracks, but even the best songs on this album will have trouble inducing the same kind of epileptic fits that result from listening to vintage Bodom.

Still, most of these criticisms must be considered within the context of Bodom. The album, of course, is worthwhile because you will be hard-pressed to find a band playing this type of music with such proficiency. Long time fans of COB can expect to hear the standard mind-blowing solos, pile-driving drums, and incomprehensibly fast keyboard runs, but I believe most of these fans will also agree that the band does not succeed as well in creating cohesive masterpieces as it has before. I must quit now, because I feel I am being entirely too negative. This album is definitely worth your time and money. I mean, a four star score (80%) is really good, just not spectacular. And in a year of such magnificent metal, and when you are talking about a band with such a worthy catalogue, I hope most of you will consider this a review of a really good album, which simply does not measure up to its legendary predecessors.

I've been listening to COB for a few years now, and like many, feel they hit their stride with Follow the Reaper. The album had a really fresh sound, and showed what a truly talented and unique ensemble COB is. HateCrew Deathroll was a really solid heavy album that was satisfying, though definetely not their best. Are You Dead Yet sees Bodom drawing more of a "modern" influence, with more hardcore elements than before.

First and foremost, the keyboards are still there, and regardless of the rest of the band, will still leave each and every song feeling like a Bodom song. Older Bodom fans like myself will really love Bastards of Bodom, the one song on the album that feels just like the old days. The dueling keyboards and guitars thrive on the track, and will please all the old-school fans.

Though Bodom never really had the best lyrics, some of them are just laughable here (In Your Face in particular). But at the same time, I can't honestly say I ever listened to the band for their lyrics exactly...it was always more the music that drew me in. And while the music here is solid, it is unfulfilling at times. Alexi and the boys can and have produced better offerings.

So I would probably have gone with the 3 star route...until I heard the last track. The Ramones cover "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" is just great. The humor of the lyrics fits in PERFECT with the band, and they made a fantastic cover that both does justice to the Ramones and also gives it a Bodom flavor. This song on its own makes the album worth at least one listen.

Oh, no! Faceless foreign imitators are NOT doing metal the way it's supposed to be done. What EVER will we do? Fear not, fellow metalheads, for Children of Bodom are back, and they're stronger and more irresistable than ever. And guess what? They brought audible keyboards this time around! I, for one, after listening to this album, couldn't see "Are You Dead Yet?" being without the keyboard solos, some of which are just immaculate. I'm not saying that it's anything groundbreaking, but this album is pushing the limits of its particular sub-genre. Don't get me wrong now, it's still heavy, very heavy indeed, but it would be tough to clasify this disc as merely thrash or melodic-death. The band's lead vocalist/guitarist, Alexi Laiho, has a much bigger job this time around, for former lead guitarist, Alexander Kuoppala, is no longer with the band. However, as we've come to expect from him in the past, Alexi again delivers, helping Children of Bodom produce, yet again, a near-masterpiece. I will now highlight my favorites :

2. Are You Dead Yet - The title track is almost bass-driven, which is a positive for me. It is also chock-full of floor-rattling howls by Alexi.
3. If You Want Peace ... Prepare For War - Can you say solos? If you can't, this track sure can. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if there weren't vocals in this song.
5. In Your Face - Yes, I know, it may seem a little forced. I thought so too when I first listen to it, but it soon became my favorite on the record.
10. Somebody Put Something In My Drink - A remake of the Ramone's classic, this song is a great closer for me, actually, it'd fit just right anywhere in the album. Nice guitar solo mid-way, followed by a cool modulation.

Please, don't let the 3 1/2 star average rating monopolize your thoughts. Just listen to this CD, and headbang until you're reaching for that Advil. Thank you for your time.

Children of Bodom's fifth album, and their first without guitarist Alexander Kuoppala, is an attempt by the band to appeal to and increase their stateside fan base. I wish them luck, because they really do deserve it. "Are You Dead Yet?" is mainly full of fast (at times nearly blistering) guitar leads, chunky hooks, and hefty rhythms. The title track has a pounding beat, and "In Your Face" has almost machine gun riffs. And if you're looking for a good guitar solo, there are an abundance to be found on this record. Even though the title track has an infectious, winding guitar solo, and "We're Not Gonna Fall" has a classical-sounding solo, track three, the multi-parted "If You Want Peace...Prepare For War," has my vote for the best guitar solo on here. But since Children of Bodom also dabble in keyboards, orchestras, and somewhat tuneful vocals, this album has a melodic edge to it, and makes the band fall under the "melodic death metal" label. In fact, the first track, "Living Dead Beat," which has a new-wavy vibe with a keyboard solo, wouldn't be out of place on a Depeche Mode album. Some of the tracks aren't very remarkable (see "Punch Me I Bleed"), but all in all, if you're burnt out on melodic metal,"Are You Dead Yet?" serves up a recipe that should most definitely rekindle your interest.

I have to say that, all in all, this album will put a lot of other recent metal albums to shame. In spite of the clear changes in the total sound of the band, the whole disc seems to surpass the "national average" of metal. The music is slower as a lot of people have noticed. And it does lack some of the two guitar runs of previous albums. I have to attribute that to the guitarist change up. I don't care how good 2 guitarists are, they have to aclimate to each other's styles to really get into tune.

As a CoB release, it's only a B. As a metal disc held against all others of the last few years, its certainly A+ meterial. The bands effective use of keyboards versus and in concert with the guitars makes for a Dream Theater meets Cannibal Corpse experience. They don't use a rediculous amount of layers and the overall sound isn't confusing or overwhelming like many bands trying to mix guitar and keyboard solos in equal parts. As for this being a "sell out" album, I can't agree. I can only say that the album reflects the changing enviroment of the band. Precious few bands remain the same forever. Some changes are for the better. Some are for the worse. I guess we'll have to see what happens for CoB to really decide if this album is a turning point or simply a necessary evil of meeting contract requirements or allowing for the adjustment of old to new.

I can't tell you to buy this album or not. Even my friend who I share 99% of my likes and dislakes with will disagree with my tastes on something that seems to be just what he likes. I dont' know you. Take my review and the reviews of others together with a grain of salt and remember that you're the only one that knows what you like.

Hmm...This is not the typcial CoB we are used to by far. In fact, the only reason I have the album is because I needed to buy it in order to get a signature during a signing session the band did in my town. I'll admit, it was pretty sweet to meet the band, but sometimes I question if it was worth buying the album. I can't lie, it has it's highlights, but not enough. Living Dead Beat, Are You Dead Yet, and If you Want Peace...Prepare For War are the tracks that stand out the most to me. Most of the guitar riffs are to chug chug and lame. The Janne's keyboards and Alexi's fast ripping solos are the only things keeping this album under the name Children of Bodom. I must also say that Alexi's vocals have improved very much. It's just too bad the album is musically worse than previous Bodom efforts. Are You Dead Yet? is very hardcore, metalcore, nu metal inspired. None of those genres appeal to me. However, it doesn't surprise me it appeals to the band. Some of Alexi's favorite bands include Slipknot, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and crap like that. But it's just too bad we dont get any taste of power metal or neo-classical influence on this like we did for Something Wild, Hatebreeder, and Follow the Reaper. So power and neo-classical fans, this is not for you. Hardcore metal and nu metal fans, this is for you.

I have been listening to this band on and off since about 2001. I liked them because they actually had the spark of something that most label-metal (you know what I mean, metal that has as much time spent figuring out what sub genre it is as listening to the actual music itself) didn't have. They were talented yet fun.

I picked this up, because I desperately needed some new metal and saw this on the shelf. I figured what the heck; it can't be worse than the Killswitch (so boring) album I bought a few months back. And it isn't! Everyone is dead on right. It is way more thrash and less theatrical than their past releases, but it is still great.

I personally think that all these people that yell sellout are complete idiots. When one of you guys actually plays in a band for 5 or more years and releases a couple of albums, get back to me. Until that point you are just an arm chair rockstar that has no clue what it is like to write and play music and what can happen over the years. Here you have one slamming metal album and all you can talk about is how it is no longer "melodic death metal" but now "thrash metal with an industrial sound." Get bent! Here is a clue, if you are worried about style over substance then you don't really like any of this music anyway more than likely. You like the clique it associates with you. That makes you a fool and not a real music fan.

Sorry about the rant, I am just sick of people who DON'T PLAY, at least seriously, trying to tell PEOPLE WHO DO what it is like and what is best. Critics are simply those who couldn't actually do it for real anyway. Back to my review.

This album is great if you just like well played metal. Regardless of what genre you like, there is some of it here for you. There are elements of neo-classical playing, good solos on keyboard and guitar, good production, well crafted songs, and the occasional monster groove. I especially enjoy how well a job they did with having some truly awesome solo moments that still seem to make since in the song. So often in these more extreme metal bands it is as if they made the song by grocery list:

Double Bass - check
Screaming vocals - check
Deep evil vocals - check
Crazy guitar solo - check
Clean intro and/or bridge section - check
Mention of death, demons, and/or hopelessness - check

and so on.

Well, this album doesn't do that. Every element makes sense in the context of the song. There is no "we put this here because in European-death-Jell-O-half-gainer-metal you always have to put the crazy guitar dive bomb at 25 seconds into the first solo." Overall it achieves something that darker music so rarely does; it is brooding, malevolent, and heavy but still a blast to listen to.

So, if you would like to hear some good straight ahead METAL, pick this one up. You will definitely get a lot of spins out of it. If you are a genre obsessed troglodyte who is itching to cry sellout the moment a group changes at all, how about you quit buying music in general, please.

Quite simply, this is the worst album from Children Of Bodom. I absolutely adore this band with Alexi Laiho's insanely fast sweep picking, clear rhythm guitar, double bass drumming, majestic keyboards and bass work.

This though is simply a watered down version of the grand achievements of the band. They seem to be trying to make this CD heavier which does not work, especially with the keyboards. It's like the song gets really loud and heavy and the keyboards come in and makes the whole thing cheesy. The thrash sound came in Hate Crew Deathroll but actually sounded GOOD. The thrash sound in this sounds terrible. It's like they've crudely cut and pasted two songs together. Alexi Laiho must have sadly gotten influence from awful bands lke Slipknot and Trivium, because he actually likes those bands.

Alexi Laiho's notorious high-pitched growl is now a strangled shriek. The lyrics are awful. Look at "In Your Face" for example. The album does not contain lyrics in the booklet, because Alexi was fed up of people critising his lyrics. Not surprising really. "If you want peace" wouldn't sound out of place on a Slipknot album. "Punch Me I Bleed" is a shoddy attempt of the band slowing down. In other words it sound awful and Alexi's drawn out scream is painful to the ears. They have slowed down before (like "Everytime" I die in the Follow the Reaper album, and "Angels don't kill" in Hate Crew Deathroll) and they actually sounded GOOD.

Perhaps the only good song is "Trashed, Strungout and Lost", which sounds like a true Bodom song. A lot of the songs have potential to sound good like "Bastards Of Bodom" but something seems to spoil it, like Alexi's vocals or the bad transition of power and thrash. I mean Opeth can mix acoustics with Death metal (the biggest oxymoron ever!) so why can't they mix thrash and power well? They did it fine in Hate Crew Deathroll.

Buy the first four albums before this.

Weeks before this was released, a friend of mine downloaded a few songs off this album and sent them to me. After hearing the first single "In Your Face", I was expecting an album at the very least on par with Hatecrew Deathroll, but not near Hatebreeder or Follow the Reaper. Those two albums are two of the best albums of all time. Now where this new effort fails is the overall song structure, lack of original sounding riffs, and the brakes that have been put on Alexi and Janne's soloing. After first hearing the begining to "Bastards of Bodom" I got a sick feeling in my stomach and instantly knew there might not ever be a return to the fantastic styles of albums past. Don't get me wrong, there are glimmers of hope. "We're Not Gunna Fall" and "Trashed Lost, and Strungout" are the shining stars of this album. That does not mean I am satisfied. Alexi needs to seriously reconsider the style of music that they are playing, because this is simply not the Bodom that I, and many hardcore fans love.

Children of Bodom will never make another Hatebreeder. Once we get that through our heads, their newer stuff becomes much more pleasing to the ear.

On Are You Dead Yet they show a more refined sound (sound quality not talent). The riffs are crunchy, Alexi's wicked solos are still entwined, and the vocals have the classic Alexi growl sound. Again, this is no Hatebreeder, but nothing ever will be. The classic Bodom sound is still there, but on Are You Dead Yet Alexi's melodic support solos are replaced by more balls our riffing. This is good and bad. The guitar crunch is more defined and pleasing, but I, of course, miss the melodicness. Don't get me wrong, it is still very melodic, just not in a wicked quick pace like on Hatebreeder or Follow The Reaper. Nonetheless, I give this a 4.5 out of 5 (I wish you could give half star ratings above, which is why I gave it a 5).

Although Hatebreeder and Follow The Reaper will go down in history as two of the greatest pieces of melodic metal, this one still stands its own. I urge you to give it a shot, you won't be sorry (I mean come on, its BODOM)!