Children of Bodom // Review
Venue: Astoria, London, UK Support from: Moonsorrow + Kiuas Date: 08 March 2008 |
Spinefarm are the top alternative record company in Finland, backing big names such as Nightwish, Sonata Arctica and Tarot in their homeland. After eighteen years of success, what with more and more Finnish bands becoming household names worldwide, it was time to expand further afield. And where better to start than the home of heavy metal – the UK.
Last weekend was the official launch of the new Spinefarm brand. Apparently it wasn’t just me who was excited to see this prodigious line up of remorseless Finnish metal, because the London Astoria has never looked so packed. Crammed from the barrier to the bar with young and old, men and women alike - though, naturally, the majority were made up of long-haired, beer-drinking metal-heads who couldn’t have chosen a better Saturday night out – the atmosphere was electric. Finally, there would be complete support for Finnish bands in the UK.
And finally a chance to see Children of Bodom live. I've attempted to see them for many years but Alexi’s habit of breaking bones and my never-ending battle with Finnish airlines has limited the chances of seeing them play. So to say I was looking forward to this gig was an understatement.
But before Bodom could take to the stage, there were the preliminaries. Sadly, I missed Helsinki metal warriors Kiuas because the queue was so long but managed to get inside just in time for second support Moonsorrow. Previous encounters with the pagan metal band hadn’t exactly been mind-blowing but with the help of an incredibly fervent crowd, they managed to pull it off. Forty five minutes of solid battle metal, with rarely a moment to breathe, left this already enthused crowd just about bursting at the seams with anticipation for a band that has gone from strength to strength since securing a fan base in the typically-difficult to break USA.
There is a reason why Children of Bodom have gone where few European metal bands go, and why it has worked so splendidly for them. Their talent surpasses most bands of their genre; their charisma is in perfect ratio to their talent, which in turn gives that extra assault on the listener. They’re enticing and cutthroat and aggressive and raw – everything a metal band should be – but not generic or false. Especially not live.
Opening with hard-hitting Sixpounder, the crowd couldn’t have asked for a more menacing start. Continuing into In Your Face, and proceeding to dominate Astoria with relentless shredding and enraged vocals, the pace rarely slowed as a catalogue of songs – new and old – were showcased to the blood-baying mob. The biggest growls and cheers came from ever-popular Needled 24/7, Everytime I Die and savage Hate Me. But there were softer moments – as soft as this boisterous bunch gets, anyway - in ‘ballad’ Angel’s Don’t Kill and also times for their Nordic humour to shine. Keyboardist Janne Wirman is indeed a joker, taking every chance possible to steal the limelight from front man Alexi Laiho with his tongue-in-cheek attempts to add some comedic sing-a-longs to the set. Nightwish’s Amaranth and The Village People’s YMCA didn’t exactly work, but a few bars of Cutting Crew’s I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight were welcomed.
New album“Blooddrunk, out next month, was also featured; with the title-track just as brutal as their previous work, if not fiercer. If that and other taster Tie My Rope are anything like the rest of the album, we are definitely all in for a treat.
From Children of Decadence to Mask of Sanity (now an awesome remix with Deadnight Warrior) to finale Downfall, the rage and gusto never ceased. And that’s the thing about Bodom – no matter what success they may receive, their dedication to creating that merciless sound would never desist.
For a country so small in population, Finland has a knack for producing incredible musicians. Let’s hope this latest Spinefarm development allows them to be showcased in areas outside Scandinavia. Let’s get Finland on the map.
Review by Kate Stulberg
Set List
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Photos From the Show
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