Children of Bodom

[stratzrus]

I'm going to see Children of Bodom tomorrow night...any other fans here? What other bands are similar?

[stratzrus]

Well I went and they totally slayed.

The thing I like about Bodom is that they are (at least to me) a band that draws upon many of the classic tenents of hard rock; the swagger, the attitude, the solos that sound impressive but aren't really that deep, everyone in the band clearly into it 100%...no jaded multi-band tour professionals here, and they draw upon several genres from thrash to punk to Finnish folk music. You can see a real connection between Alexi and the keyboard player as well; they're not just some guys on stage crankng it out.

I'm sure the lyrics are obnoxious, but I wouldn't know...I make no attempt to understand what they or any of the other cookie monster vocalists are singing about...I just like the sound of it when it's done right.

Just some neurotic Nordic kids playing their hearts out.

Great fun for an "oldhead" like myself.

[pluto]

I like them a lot but I find Alexi Laiho's vocals just barely tolerable. One thing I really like about them is that Laiho doesn't solo just to show off. His solos fit the songs well, he can play really well yet he definitely doesn't over indulge in endless wankery.

[YoungMansBlues]

I really enjoy Bodom, and they are way off from what I'm normally into. I agree with pluto, Alexi plays enough to fit the song, not just to be all "pay attention to me." I really think as a whole there aren't many bands out now that are that single-minded and united: they don't strike me as a group of 5 guys, they are a band, on and off the stage, and that is impressive. I saw them last year at Mr. Smalls in Pitt. and they tore it up. The sound was a little lacking, but every bit of the musicianship was there. If you like what you've heard, you should really pick up the DVD they put out after Are You Dead Yet called Chaos Ridden Years. It looks and sounds better than almost any other music DVD I've ever seen.

[stratzrus]

His solos fit the songs well, he can play really well yet he definitely doesn't over indulge in endless wankery.
I agree with pluto, Alexi plays enough to fit the song, not just to be all "pay attention to me."

If you like what you've heard, you should really pick up the DVD they put out after Are You Dead Yet called Chaos Ridden Years. It looks and sounds better than almost any other music DVD I've ever seen.Agreed on all counts.

Watching Chaos Ridden Years is what got me interested in them. It's a spectacular live DVD, but I suspect that some of the parts were re-recorded in post...it almost sounds too good to have been done on the fly.

And the fact that they function as a band is really apparent and all too rare these days...that's part of what I like about them; for better or worse, to me that's what rock is all about...buds playing together and lovin' it!

[Voiceofasoul]

Saw them a couple of years ago on the Unholy Alliance tour. Very, very talented band. It was entertaining as hell watching Alexi and the keyboard player trading solos while downing beers. Good stuff!

[Scott K]

I was a fan when Something Wild came out and continued to Hatebreeder. After that, I wasn't into it at all! I can't listen to anything later.

[stratzrus]

I just picked up the new Metallica Album and also the new offerings by Testament and Trivium.

Of the three I like Shogun by Trivium the best, but Blooddrunk by COB has more memorable hooks and has been getting a little more play during my "wake up by any means necessary" morning parties M-F.

What do the COB fans here think of Trivium?

[Thwap]

What do the COB fans here think of Trivium?

MMMMM...they're okay, can't see myself really buying one of their CD's.

Given a choice, I'd tend more towards Arch Enemy, Everygrey, Soilwork, or In Flames.

[madaxeman]

My kid would always get me to listen to Alexi's solos. I checked out their dvd They all all killer musicians but the vocals are hard to listen to.

[stratzrus]

I'd tend more towards Arch Enemy, Everygrey, Soilwork, or In Flames.Thanks for the tip...I'll have to check them out.

[pluto]

I just picked up the new Metallica Album and also the new offerings by Testament and Trivium.

Of the three I like Shogun by Trivium the best, but Blooddrunk by COB has more memorable hooks and has been getting a little more play during my "wake up by any means necessary" morning parties M-F.

What do the COB fans here think of Trivium?

I love Trivium although I think Shogun was a bit disappointing compared to their last CD (can't remember the title off-hand). Trivium reminds me a lot of Metallica, but with much better guitar solos, and unfortunately less memorable songs.

[pnorman]

Hey all

I'm not at all for metal, but being a finn myself and seeing how hard it has been to get any band recognized in Europe, not to mention worldwide...Children of Bodom, job well done!

This genre is really big thing in here...keeping in mind that population of Finland is 5.3 Million only.

I'll enclose a couple of links, hope you find them useful.

http://www.metalfromfinland.com/bands/

http://www.finnish-metal.net/

[pluto]

Hey all

I'm not at all for metal, but being a finn myself and seeing how hard it has been to get any band recognized in Europe, not to mention worldwide...Children of Bodom, job well done!

This genre is really big thing in here...keeping in mind that population of Finland is 5.3 Million only.

I'll enclose a couple of links, hope you find them useful.

http://www.metalfromfinland.com/bands/

http://www.finnish-metal.net/

Hey pnorman, totally off-topic here, but since you brought up finnish metal, what do you think of Matias Kupiainen? I'm a big fan of Timmo Tolkki, but it's actually kind of exciting to see what Kupiainen can do for Stratovarius.

[pnorman]

I think he is incredible player. Someone might say he is more versatile as a player compared to Timo Tolkki. But it'd be really hard to tell whether he is better player for Stratovarius.

There are truckloads of world class players in here....I do not know why. Maybe it has to do with extremes of climate we face here - cold/hot and dark/light season. People lock themselves in and practise guitar. Also music education is really good....There's local guitar hero in just about every small village, no one has ever heard about them, but when they show up at nearest music shop to buy a pack of strings they just kill everyone when trying out a new guitar....then no one hears about them, until they show up at the local music shop again...

[stratzrus]

This genre is really big thing in here...keeping in mind that population of Finland is 5.3 Million only. I'll enclose a couple of links, hope you find them useful.

http://www.metalfromfinland.com/bands/
I noticed that there are a lot of videos on this site. Can you recommend a few bands with exceptional guitar playing?

[Caretaker]

Check put Sinergy. It`s Alexi`s other band with his wife on vocals. Killer stuff and you can understand everything. 3 albums released with a 4th done but unreleased for whatever reason.

[ghost]

Saw them live by accident last year, and was amazed by the precision and musicianship of the lead guy, but I have to be honest, I thought the vocals really detracted a lot, just make you want to giggle...that said, I am open to giving this genre more of a chance in the future...maybe I'll pick up a disk, which is thier best?

[shane88]

i'm not into modern metal either but COB are cool

[pnorman]

I noticed that there are a lot of videos on this site. Can you recommend a few bands with exceptional guitar playing?

I hate to tell you this, but as I'm not for this type of music I did not check too many of those.....I'm more of a Freddie King type of guy...:knitting

[stratzrus]

Saw them live by accident last year, and was amazed by the precision and musicianship of the lead guy, but I have to be honest, I thought the vocals really detracted a lot, just make you want to giggle...that said, I am open to giving this genre more of a chance in the future...maybe I'll pick up a disk, which is thier best?Nothing beats the Chaos Ridden Years DVD.

[stratzrus]

Check put Sinergy. It`s Alexi`s other band with his wife on vocals. Killer stuff and you can understand everything. 3 albums released with a 4th done but unreleased for whatever reason.Thanks for the tip. I actually prefer Alexi's vocals, but the playing on Midnight Madness was killer.

[7StringJazz]

Big COB fan! :dude

Mahavishnu orchestra meets Metallica!

[xntrick]

never heard of them till i read an article in GW where the guitar player was putting down dream theater so i found some of their music to d/l..i was very unimpressed to say the least...