NEW LOOK REVIEW – Children of Bodom: Follow the Reaper (2000)

Following some initial feedback, I’ve decided to change the structure of my reviews from here on, starting with one of my favourite albums of all time, Children of Bodom’s Follow the Reaper.

www.myspace.com/childrenofbodom

www.cobhc.com

Genre: Melodic Death/Power Metal

Track List

Follow the Reaper (3:47)

Bodom After Midnight (3:44)

Children of Decadance (5:34)

Everytime I Die (4:03)

Mask of Sanity (3:58)

Taste of my Scythe (3:57)

Hate Me! (4:44)

Northern Comfort (3:47)

Kissing the Shadows (4:39)

Overview

Sequel to Children of Bodom’s Hatebreeder, one that remains ever popular amongst the fanbase, Follow the Reaper provides us with the classic sound that will always be associated with CoB. The boistrous vocals are there alongside the blistering solo duels of Laiho and Wirman (on guitar and keyboard respectively). Kuoppala features on rhythm guitar, often playing chords in rhythmic succession to create a heavy feel contrasted with Laiho’s power metal style fret blitzing. At this time we had a band who were still growing and the new ideas they brought to the metal scene would change the way most people thought about Scandinavian metal – at the time firmly associated with the gothenburg riffs of the period.

Highlights

First mention has to go to the song Mask of Sanity, possibly my favourite ever song. The pounding drums and rhythm guitar are accompanied by Wirman’s atmospheric keyboard. Laiho is quite subdued until the slowdown mid song, which is followed by a fantastic solo on the part of Laiho and then Wirman. A song that is a classic mix of the upper and lower frets.

We also get to see this in the song Kissing the Shadows, which is in similar style but with Laiho’s lead guitar featuring much more prominently throughout. This song however is all about the solo – the solo that is a full minute and a half long, comprising most of the second half. In my opinion, it is simply the best solo ever, I really can’t think of anything that comes close.

Other mention have to go to Hate Me!, Northern Comfort and Bodom After Midnight. Hate Me! because of the fastastic tempo and construction of the song, where the keyboard and rhythm guitar are the stars. Northern Comfort and Bodom After Midnight because for their aggressive styles. The drumming in Nothern Comfort adds real drive and direction to the song and Bodom After Midnight’s non vocal sections will really stay in your mind.

Lowlights

The songs Follow the Reaper, Children of Decadence and Taste of my Scythe are all good, but quite clearly the weaker tracks on the album. The first two feature in common a strong focus on the use of Laiho’s lower frets, which is not for everyone and more likely to appeal to the power metal fans out there. When I say strong I should say strong for this album, as every track has a lot of it in. I’ll also mention Everytime I Die – the sole video single from this album. It features some of the heaviest riffing on the album and is also one of the most slow paced. I’m putting it in here becuase it was an odd choice for the video single when there were stronger songs (although I will point out Hate Me! was actually the first single).

Conclusion

A sensational album with Mask of Sanity, Hate Me! and Kissing the Shadows all being stunning songs. Throughout the album Laiho’s ability with the guitar is shown to an extent I don’t think any CoB album has demonstrated before or after and was also to prove Kuoppala’s masterpiece as he was to leave the band after one more album. Wirman’s keyboard is also prominant and a key part of the line up. The weaker tracks are still really good and suffer merely from how good the others are. If you want the pinnacle of instrumental ability, this album is really for you, especially if you like power metal mixed in with your death metal. However, if heavy riffs alone is what you want, then it might not be your thing.

Rating: 10/10

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~ by chrisaxe on December 21, 2009.