Customer Reviews

Hate Crew Deathroll

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Children Of Bodom have become one of the leading band in the genre which is being defined as Melodic Death Metal in only 3 years after the release of their amazing album "Follow The Repear" in 2000.

After gaining International recognition and praise with "Follow The Repear", the band sacrifice themselves and managed to keep up their high standards by releasing yet another masterpiece. "Hate Crew Deathroll" is an album that parts from their earlier release showing us a more brutal side yet keeping the melodies and amazing guitar work.

Before I go ahead and review each song I must comment on their talent as musicians because few bands from Europe and hardly any from America can compare to them. I have been a fan ever since "Hatebreeder" (Their Second full length album) was released, so I am not a punk who just brought this release and have no clue what I'm talking about.

Needled 24/7 - Amazing opener. A song that reminds us of their earlier release. A powerful song with all the melody that Children Of Bodom is known for. One of my favourite riffs ever is present here after the second chorus. 10/10

Sixpounder - Children Of Bodom have never sounded louder. The brutality and rawness of this song is something we were not exposed to from their earlier releases. The riffs are plain, and directly stimulate your brain into doing something crazy. "WAR- I REFUSE TO BE BROUGHT DOWN BY YOU". 10/10

Chokehold (Cocked N' Loaded)- A song that took some time to finally dig in my soul and cause another addiction to this cd. Amazing chorus and of course guitar work. 8/10

Bodom Beach Terror - By this time the person who is listening to this for the first time would have already agreed that we are dealing with one of the world's most amazing bands. The addiction to this style of music will only get stronger from here on. Amazing Song. Powerful as hell. 9/10

Angels Don't Kill - One of my two favourite songs in this immortal album. A masterpiece of melodies, power, and musicianship. The rythm is slower than what we have heard so far on this release, yet it is probably the most powerful. Amazing. We can now upgrade their status, from world's best band to just simply Godly. - 10/10

Triple Corpse Hammerblow - The first song I heard from this album, and that was good enough to convince me that these guys were still on top. 8/10

You're Better Off Dead - This song was released as a single. Beautiful tune with what might be the catchiest chorus in this album. Beautiful riffs with a great deal of power. 9/10

Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood - My other favourite song. Probably the best song in this timeless release in my opinion. We have riffs that bring out power, riffs that bring out melody, and riffs that bring out madness in me when I hear it. It's excellence is otherwise undescribable to one who has not heard this band. 10/10

Hate Crew Deathroll - The title track might seem at first like a weaker song, yet for after subjecting yourself to it for a while I realised that we are talking about one of the stronger tracks here. I don't expect people to understand the brilliance of this song, but it is an amazing piece of music up there with my 2 favourite songs in this album. - 10/10

Silent Scream - The bonus track is a cover of one of the most known Slayer songs from their album "South Of Heaven". Children Of Bodom do a good job mixing their unmistakable sound to this song. However I do prefer all the other tracks to this. 7/10

This album is a masterpiece of epic proportions. I urge you all to buy it as soon as you can, or forever die.

Only a small amount of words can explain what this cd contains. It is definetly one of the best albums I have ever heard. Each song is powerful and explosive, yet there are those occasional breaks for some beautiful synth moments. Speaking of the synthisizer, it's sound fits in perfectly with the heaviness of the songs. These songs put off the vibe that they're really pissed off, but also having a great time as well. That's just cool.

From the first time I heard Sixpounder, I knew I had to get this cd. From Needled 24/7 to the title track, it will have your head banging non-stop. That's how powerful this album is. The before-mentioned Needled 24/7 is a powerful, catchy start to the album with some intense lyrics. Sixpounder is a track that just screams hatred and has a great sound to it. Chokehold (Cocked N' Loaded) is another powerful blast of talent on this cd of greatness. Listen for the nice keyboarding towards the middle. Bodom Beach Terror is an awesome, explosively fun track that has some sweet guitar work scattered about, especially the solo near the middle. Angels Don't Kill is the slow song of the album, but that doesn't mean anything. It is very powerful and has both a feeling of sorrow and hatred to it. Triple Corpse Hammerblow is my personal favorite, with a sweet show of the synth's power and the vocalist's anger. The song ends with a great vocal effect that sounds very demonic with the lead singer's voice. You're Better Off Dead is an on-the-edge-of-sanity song that you have to love. This may very well be the most powerful track on here. Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood is a deathly powerful track that you will not want to pass up. This and the previous song are great being next to each other on the cd. Hate Crew Deathroll has a peaceful begining that explodes into a song with great drumming and guitar work. It is definitely a sweet way to end the cd.

So I highly recommend this cd to all of you who are even thinking of getting it. I also recommend Dimmu Borgir (duh) and Liquid Tension Experiment Vol. 2. LTE is very similar to Children of Bodom, only not nearly as destuctive.

Hate Crew pretty much follows the same style seen on previous albums: awe inspiring guitar work, semi black metal vocals, blazing speed and rhythem keyboards are all in abundance here. The differences between this and previous efforts is that this is more thrash than melodic death and it is much more venomous than before. COB have always been unique in the melodic death realm for the fact that they always wrote about themes of hatred and vengenance rather than the poetic lyrics usually found in the genre. Hate Crew sees them taking this further than they ever have in the past with such songs as "sixpounder" and "You're Better off Dead". The music is also darker than in the past and follows a more thrashy groove than previous efforts. Which is where my one problem, and reason for not giving this a 5, is. The keyboards don't fit their new darker sound as well. Many times they'll go into an evil sounding part only to have the keyboards come in and make the whole thing sound hilarious and cheesy. If they continue with the more evil sounding stuff it would definitly be a good idea to not rely on the keyboards so much in the future. I recommend In Flames, Death, Lord Belial, Kalmah, Norther, Leviathan, Emperor and Susperia in addition to this.

i will admit, these guys are definately my favorite band, but im not gonna be like most people with their favs and preach to you on how these guys are the best and no one competes, its all based on opinions, this album or follow the reaper would definately be the first album of CoB that u want to buy, lets call them starter albums, this album seems to have elements of many different types of metal, ex:thrash, melodic death metal,some black metal, and all that great stuff, now if uve heard that these guys are just completely black metal, cuz i know that a lot of ppl say that, well its not true, if u are heavily into black metal and no other genre, this album is prolly not for u, or any CoB for that matter, but of course i could be wrong, like i said, its all just up to YOUR opinion, but if u have only heard OF children of bodom, and havent actually heard them and your looking for a cd to start off with, this or follow the reaper would be your best bet

Reading the previous comments about this CD it seems that people are trying to make it out to be a disappointment. I have been listening to Children of Bodom since 'Something Wild' came out, and I wasn't at all disappointed by this CD. OK... it would take something miraculous to top 'Hatebreeder', which is by far their best album to date, but why should the fans pin COB into a corner?

In this album it is obvious that COB have decided to make a record that breaks the mould... if they were to bring out another formulaic album, almost exactly the same as the last, it wouldn't have done well in the ratings would it?

There are some fantastic new sides to COB shown in this album. Yes there are fewer solos, but this CD is far more diverse than any previous album and every single track on this CD has something special/unexpected to look forward to... (and there ARE still lots of solos in the CD, just not as many as before!)

Basically there are two reactions to this CD.

If you are looking for more of the same, or a rehash of their previous albums, with hard-hitting songs coupled to lots of searing solos, then this CD will only be a four star record for you, and some parts of it you may even dislike.

However, if you are more open minded and willing to embrace COB's creative development... (it takes a lot of balls to play around with a winning formula) then you will realise that this CD has so much experimentation and interest that you don't need so many solos, and you will enjoy it immensely.

I bought this album a few months ago (actually half a year ago, or maybe even before that), and it really took a while to grow on me. I got into this band because I had been a huge In Flames fan for quite some time, and of course, Children of Bodom and In Flames, along with other contemporaries Dark Tranquility, are often compared to one another, so I samples some clips from this album online. I liked what I heard, though I didn't take the time to hear too much. So yes, I picked up this CD, listened to it, and basically thought "this isn't like In Flames at all."

Now my opinion has changed, and I do believe Children of Bodom sound like In Flames just in the dual guitars and the Gothenburg themes in the music, but other than that, they're pretty much complete opposites. In Flames often has acoustic passages (or at least used to), while COB are pretty much straight electric (at least on this album; I don't own any other releases). COB use heavy electronics, even keyboard solos, in just about every song, while the only In Flames song I can think of that uses keyboards as a major instrument is "Only for the Weak" off of Clayman. And finally, the vocals are completely different. When I first listening to this album, I thought Alex Laiho's voice was more black metal than melodic death, but that was just first impression. But I still see the major different in Alex and Anders' voices, and I prefer Anders', as Alex's can get a little too raspy at times.

But I'll stop the comparisons. This is a review for Children of Bodom, not In Flames. The guitar work on this album is nothing short of masterful-which took me a while to notice. I've listened to the CD many times, but only when I really pay attention to the music did I notice the brilliance of Alex's solos and riffs. Alex is an amazing guitarist is all I can say. He can play brutally and aggressively ("Needled 24/7"), beautifully ("Angel's Don't Kill"), or a mixture of both ("Bodom Beach Terror"). Any aspiring guitarist should check this CD out. I have a feeling Alex is gonna get a lot bigger because of his skill.

Alex is the highlight of the band, but that's not to say the musicians backing him up aren't noteworthy. COB's got a tight rhythm section Henkka Blacksmith (bass), Alexander Kuoppala (rhythm guitar) and Jaska Raatikainen (drums)...some big as names there. But yes, they are a great rhythm section in that they don't just repeat the same riff over and over while Alex shreds all over them, but change up the rhythm riffs often to make it just as interesting as the guitar solos that go over them. Alexander K. is a fine rhythm guitarist, and he is often forgotten in the shadow of Laiho, which is a shame, because as I said before, he's a damn fine guitarist. Blacksmith is a good bassist, though, like most metal bassists, he blends in more than he shines through, but his performance definitely gives the album more "oomph". Now Jaska is a solid drummer, not the best in the genre, but he doesn't try to overshadow anyone else, which is good. He just provides a foundation, throws in a couple of fills, and does his job. Certainly not an amateur, but not the best there is either. But he is a satisfactory drummer.

Another standout is the keyboardist. Unlike most metal keyboardists, he doesn't just make background noises, but he has quite a few solos, yes, keyboards SOLOS on the album, which is a COB trademark from what I hear from reviews of other albums. Sometimes he'll even solo along with Laiho, which makes a very beautiful, majestic sound. This can be heard best on "Angels Don't Kill", a simply beautiful, dark and amazing song, and one of my favorites.

I do have a complaint about the band, which is where the 4-stars instead of 5 come from. First, the lyrics...they're pretty bad a lot of the time. The lyrics on the title track are just stupid and corny, and there are a lot of other down-points throughout the album. Really it's nothing to bring the amazing musicianship down too terribly much-in fact, you don't even notice it if you're not reading the lyrics booklet (which, for some reason, only has the lyrics to 4 out of 9 of the songs anyway). What does confuse me is how the lyrics to the title track can be viewed in the booklet, yet the GOOD lyrics to the song "Angels Don't Kill" have to be found another way. I looked up the lyrics and was quite impressed. It made me appreciate the song a whole lot more than I did before. Anyway, another down-point is the occasional blandness. Tracks 7 and 8 in particular are bland, and really bring nothing new to the table that hasn't already been heard on earlier songs on the album. And one more thing is the vocals. While they're not unbearable, or really even annoying, they're just not as good as some other bands in the genres. But once again, the music makes up for this.

So that's my long overdo review of this beautiful, haunting and crushing album. This is definitely a release for any metal fan, or musician, to pick up.

To everyone who I know that likes metal, I recommend Children of Bodom to. Yeah I know the name of the band sounds a little iffy, it kind of reminds me of cradle of filth, and that's why I didn't listen to them right away. But it isn't like cradle of filth or any other new, talentless band. Children of bodom is a VERY talented band that has is very fast a pretty heavy. The uniqueness that this band brings to the metal stage is the introduction of the electric piano. It is used for background melodies and solos. The solos are awsome, sometimes I can't tell if it is the guitar or piano soloing. But yes COB is real awsome metal band containing all the great classic ways of solos in every song and thoughout the song changing melodies and keeping you on your feet, so maybe if you dont like a melody that begins the song, dont give up becuase a lot of the songs have many riffs. Oh and one more thing about the soloing is that COB has some of the greatest solos I've ever heard. I have heard all the greats like slayer metallica megadeth sepultura death etc, and COB stands tall with its amazing solos. The riffs are also unique and when you hear them you'll probably find yourself standing up and playing the air guitar too, and maybe then looking around after the song and people staring at you like "what a freak," but oh well.

Anyway, on to this album, Hate crew Deathroll and why I say for everyone gettting into COB to get this one first. I only give 5 stars to the best album that the band has out, and this is it. Throughout the CD there is one song that you would skip over, which is bad, but the the unbelievable skill, complexity, solos, and riffs that the other songs by far makes up for the one handicapped song. I'll go over each song for you.

1. Needled 24/7- Holy Jesus. This song is amazing. It really starts the cd off with a good bang. This is the kind of song that you wil play over and over and over, going nuts to it every time. But try not to do that, try to listen to the rest of the album before you get hooked on this song, and don't listen to this one TOO much or else it might get spoiled. It plays a changing riff and an awssome solo at the same time. SOmething not usually dont, but they master it.

2. Sixpounder - This song has a slower riff starting off, which changes throughout the song from fast to slow. The solo, though, is frickin amazing. It is really fast and will catch your attention. It's the one of the best solos on the CD.

3. Chokehold- Very awsome riffs, again changing lots so you have to pay attention. But the thing I want to tell you about is the solo on this song. It is the best on the album and one of the best solos I've ever heard in my career of listening to metal music. Its so god dam amazing, it'll blow anyone away listening to it. Even your mom wil probably say, "hmm that's pretty good" hehe.

4. Bodom Beach Terror - the riffs in this song really pull it through, and the chorus is really awsome. Those little tiny solos between the choruses are also really cool in this one.

5. Angels Dont Kill - this is the one slower song on the cd, and sadly yes this is the song that isn't very good. It has a prettyy good riff, but about halfway through the song i kinda get bored of it. Oh well, it is a good song, but just can't keep up with the rest of them on this cd.

6. Triple Corpse Hammerblow - right after the let down song, BOOM this song is unbelievable. the riff that starts it out and comes on throughout the song is crazily awsome. the solos in this are also very good.

7. You're Better off Dead - awsome song. Throughout the song is the chorus which the whole band sings a word and it is the highlight of the song. There are also a bunch of good, long solos throughout the song, spliting up the singing.

8. Lil bloodred riding hood - the riffs in this are fast and no worse than the others, but of course have their own uniqueness. The solos in this are some of the best solos on the album. Also it sounds really good when they sing and solo at the same time in this song.

9. Hate Crew Death Roll - And the album closes with another bang. the riffs are really good and I like the lyrics. But the cool thing aboiut this song is that there is one chorus and then there is a a whole nother chorus and both are great.

Well there it is, I recomend this album to anybody who likes metal like slayer, arch enemy, death, sepultura, megadeth, old metallica, dimmu borgir, death angel, kreator, anthrax, judas preiest, iced earth, etc. basically all REAL METAL. I dunno about new metal people. And this is the album to get if you're wondering about COB. The strong points of COB are their unique riffs, melodies, and solos that change throughout the songs creating complexity, but their weakness is the lyrics. The lyircs dont really difer from other bands.

This is heavy metal at its best. Throught out this record you will listen to the fastest and most amazing riffs as heard on the opener 'Needled 24/7', the most impressive solos ever since Steve Vai, the most driving bass lines in the genre and the most aggresive drumbeats ever like on 'Chokehold'... and all that just to set the stage for great keyboard melodies like the great 'Angels Don't Kill', and the most passionate vocals as on "Sixpounder".

Let alone the fact that the leader of this band is the best guitar player of our times. Alexi Laiho makes the most amazing riffs, "Sixpounder"s Chorus for example, marvelous sounds ("Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood"s guitars choruses), and majestic solos ever made in the heavy metal world. He doesn't show off but he produces such melodies that he is worth apprentices. At the same time, this are VERY hard to emulate, imitate, or even play at a slower speed.

With amazing vocal skills to add to the mix of his masterfull guitar playing, Alexi makes this record sound almost "black metal"ish. His scream/growl are all anger coming out of his throath, still he does make place for clean and melodic singing throughout the record, prove of his amazing versatility as a musician.

Not to be left behind, this awesome guitar hero is backed up by a great set of musicians, like a masterfull rhythm guitar player and a skilled bassist that can follow and put up with such amazing fretboard talent. To finish the line up, the drummer and keyboardist add the strenght and driving on the beats, just listen to "You're Better off Dead" for a sample of what he can do, and melody through the heavy sounds of COB, as the keys do on "Bodom Beach Terror" and the keyboard solo on "Lil' Bloodred Riddin hood".

On Top of that, the production of this album is far heavier, stronger and better than COB's previous albums, which makes it more metal, more angry, and needless to say more modern in some ways. The distortion in the guitars of this record is far more heavy and angry than the others, but it's still clear to listen as you can hear the marvelousness and skills note by note.

If this doesn't convince you to do yourself a favor and get the album... you are missing out on the best metal... This record leaves me only with one wish missing... that is not as lenghy as I wish it could be.

This cd is awesome, my favorite tracks are "Needled 24/7", "Hate Crew Deathroll", and "Lil' Blood Red Riding Hood", if you want a great cd from a great metal band check this cd out. Also see "DIMMU BORGIR-DEATH CULT ARMAGGEDON" & "3 INCHES OF BLOOD-ADVANCE & VANQUIS"

I have been a huge fan of Children of Bodom for about four years now. I have seen them live at Metal Fest, and even met them at an autograph signing at said Metal Fest. Something Wild, their first album, was a tremondous effort by this still young band. Alexi Laiho with blazing guitar work, and Janne, the keyboardist, with his equally fast keyboard melodies make this band what it is. Something Wild was fresh, raw, and one of the best sounding debut albums I have ever heard. Though the lyrics were somewhat cheesy, the music more the made up for it. Why pay attention to lyrics when the ripping guitars, catchy keyboards, booming bass, and thundering drums are making your ears bleed?
Since then Bodom has definately matured and developed as a band. Hatebreeder, their second album, was even better then Something Wild, sounding a lot more polished and tight.
Hate Crew Deathroll pretty much leaves off where Follow the Reaper did. To me, Hate Crew Deathroll sounds very similar to Follow the Reaper, though with not as much technical work on the guitars or keyboards which is a Bodom trademark. In that aspect, the album is somewhat lacking. The production is very good, and as i said, sounds like Follow the Reaper. Alexi still has amazing guitar riffs and solos in the songs, but they just don't seem to be as aggressive and mind blowing like their past few albums. Janne, for some reason, does not have as many keyboard leads either. Normally on past Bodom albums, Alexi and Janne will switch back and forth with their leads creating an amazing blend of musical styling. One would play a solo on one instrument, and then right after they other will take over and play a solo on theirs. On this album however, it is very lacking.
Now I am not saying this album is a bad effort, just the opposite, I like it, enough for four stars. However, as I mentioned above, there is just something......missing.
The album opens up aggresive enough with Needled 24/7, and Angels Don't Kill is a very cool song, sounding similar to Every Time I Die from Follow the Reaper, one of my favorite Bodom songs. The rest of the songs still sound good, though they don't seem to have as many catchy melodies as past Bodom works.
The song names are somewhat lame "sixpounder", "Triple Corpse Hammerblow", and "Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood" are pretty horrible names for songs which I can't help but laugh at when I read them. The lyrics are pretty much typical of Bodom, seeming like Alexi just wrote them as an after thought to the music. However, the music is what makes this band, not the lyrics. If it was that way then Bodom would not be the band they are and would be opening for Elton John or worse.
All in all, a good solid album from Children of Bodom, but seeming to have some lacking parts in the song writing such as the terrific blazing leads on guitar by Alexi, and the amazing keyboard leads by Janne Warmen. If you liked Follow the Reaper, you will like this. If you didn't like Follow the Reaper, don't even bother, you would be even more disappointed.
Memorable Songs: Needled 24/7, Sixpounder, Angels don't Kill, Hate Crew Deathroll, Silent Scream