Open up your ears as wide as you can and hail to the gods! What I’m holding here in my hands is the brand new CHILDREN OF BODOM album. Well, as a fan from the very first moment I must confess: what our Finish neighbors deliver is the crème de la crème of Metal music. The five guys hailing from the land of the thousand lakes know how to captivate the willing listener with tunes I can hardly put into words. Actually I did not expect that it is possible to top the last effort Follow The Reaper. But as it happens so often in my life I was completely wrong.
Hate Crew Deathroll is the most sophisticated album this band has released so far. The absolutely fat guitar work by Alexi and Alexander does not only drive earwax out of my aural canals, but also gives me goose-flesh all over my back. Melodies over melodies get stronger and stronger from song to song. Drums and bass do their best, too, not to let your heart and pulse rest for 40 minutes. The aggressive vocals of Alexi make me want to unload all my hate on this fucking world. But luckily (or not) we have really restrictive weapon laws in Germany. Otherwise I probably would kill every second wanker while roaming the streets. Ok, enough of my psyche and back to the music.
I almost forgot one person – Janne on keys. As often as I have seen CHILDREN OF BODOM live, he is the one who impressed me like no one else. This guy looks so totally bored behind his keyboards – but this is just the first impression! Because when he is playing his hands are flitting so fast that you don’t have a chance to see his fingers. Man or machine? Who knows?
Anyway, I was sitting in my chamber for many hours and was listening to this masterpiece again and again. But I could not point out any favorite track. Every song is perfect! There is absolutely no flaw on this album.
The sound is just great as usual for Spinefarm releases. Even the cover artwork is fitting very well to the whole conception. Once again it shows us the reaper, this time swinging his beloved scythe. This time in an aggressive red color again.
I can still remember darkly the rumors when the first album Something Wild got released… For those of you who only just discovered this exceptional band, here is a short synopsis: As far as I can remember the band was blamed for not having recorded the first album by themselves because the mates were then in the age of 17 to 19. But fortunately these rumors became obsolete when the band was touring Europe for the fist time and later when the next album Hatebreeder was released. However, it did not make a difference to me then. What really matters in the end is just the music. And especially with this band you don’t need many words to praise or damn their music. In my opinion all releases of them are true masterpieces and those who like Melodic Death Metal a la In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Ebony Tears, Gandalf or the first Skymnig should own them all. To listen to them again and again makes me cry with joy. And those who want to cry with me should get in touch. Maybe we can go out hunting the streets … !

Children Of Bodom