7th Jan - Children of Bodom's Hate Crew Deathroll

Artist – Album: Children of Bodom – Hate Crew Deathroll

Released:  7^th January 2003

Sounds Like: A mistake

I have to be honest here – not every single day has given birth to a great album. Some barely manage a good one. And for every May 16^th – when both Pet Sounds and Blonde On Blonde were released - there’s a January 7^th, when this was the best I could come up with.

Heavy metal is not my least favourite genre – I harbour a deep hatred for drum and bass that inexplicably seems to have evaded my peers, and then there’s that worst kind of pop crap; plucked from some fleeting poser’s excrement and lapped up by the general public like those expensive coffee beans found in Asian rodent shit. Still it’s hard to listen to most metal music and not bring to mind either Spinal Tap (at best) or suicide (at worst).

Children of Bodom are actually, in my amateur opinion, pretty good at what they do. The album was better than I expected, and, according to Wikipedia, they’re huge in their native Finland. On the one hand, I hated the indecipherable vocals (I like to sing along people!), and I’d select Angel’s Don’t Kill as the top track simply because it’s got a silly title. But on the other, some of the fretwork was genuinely exhilarating, they have no problem incorporating melody into their music and I didn’t feel the urge to skip any of the tracks. However, as Hate Crew Deathroll has been dismissed by some sections of their fanbase as their sell out album, maybe that just proves how much I don’t get it...

Albumaday... rating:   4/10

1.       Needled 24/7 – 4:08

2.       Sixpounder – 3:24

3.       Chokehold (Cocked ‘n’ Loaded) – 4:12

4.       Bodom Beach Terror – 4:35

5.       Angels Don’t Kill – 5:13

6.       Triple Corpse Hammerblow – 4:06

7.       You’re Better Off Dead – 4:11

8.       Lil’ Bloodred Ridin’ Hood – 3:24

9.       Hate Crew Deathroll – 3:38

Listen to ‘Angels Don’t Kill’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_10zZ1XpmU0