COBIt’s uncanny. There seems to be SO many people who when asked about Children Of Bodom admit to liking their first 3, maybe they might include “Hate Crew Deathroll” too, but just about everyone I speak to in the Metal World (over the age of 25) seem to have just…well, got a bit bored with Children Of Bodom. Therefore am I any different?

Actually…No.

There is no denying the musical talent in the band, immediately evident on “Something Wild” which was a good debut, “Hatebreeder” built on it and “Follow The Reaper” was one of the best in it’s genre. “Hate Crew Deathroll” started to show signs of trend following and a tendency to take the more basic song-writing option. This seemed to grow with each subsequent release. OK, a band of Bodom’s quality will always have the odd moment of greatness on any album, but I just felt they were being spread thinner and thinner as they seemed to aim their CDs at a growingly younger, fad-driven audience. 2013 sees them returning home to Nuclear Blast – scene of their 1st three aforementioned successes – so has this indeed rejuvenated the band as the press surrounding the album’s release seems to suggest?

Well, ‘Waste Of Skin’ is a great track that could have been straight off “Follow The Reaper” – with a slightly more up to date production. A seriously good opener that filled me with hope…that didn’t last long. The second and third tracks have a more “Are You Dead Yet” or “Blooddrunk” feel and the rather annoying ‘Transference’ with it’s simplistic out-of-tune-nursery-rhyme style main riff just doesn’t do it for me at all. But that’s fine if there is better to come. ‘Bodom Blue Moon’ drags things back a little with an unmistakeably Bodom keyboard riff and arrangement, and the slower, grooving ‘Dead Man’s Hand On You’ is another side of Bodom that I would certainly like to hear more of. “All Twisted” has a nice classic Bodom feel to it, with the usual lyrical style, but I have to ask – is it just me or nowadays when Alexi Laiho goes off on one of his rant-fests, does anyone else just think he sounds like a petulant teenager chucking a strop? It doesn’t happen on every track, only the more intense ones, but when it does I think of his Mum saying “Less of the potty-mouth young man or you’re grounded”…or something…

All of which makes that first track a bit of an anomaly. As if the band are saying that they know what a lot of people out there want, but they have come too far to go back on themselves now. “We CAN do it…we just choose not to!” So do we admire their scruples, or do we think they are taking the piss? Not my place to decide – listen to this album yourself and you decide. I would just like to add that personally I think this is Bodom’s most varied and interesting release since “Hate Crew…” and thankfully, once more has many tracks that have much more depth than a first listen offers – something rather lacking in their recent releases. Definitely a step in the right direction.

(6.5/10  Andy Barker)