Children Of Bodom are I would say a very iconic band, at least for my generation. Hate Crew Deathroll is certainly an album that I would cite as a bridge between softer Metal and more Extreme music. To me it represents a cut off point for young budding Metal fans of my era., as in it’s a record that either sees you go full Metal nerd or give up and become some sort of poser. It’s also an album that I would call one of the most essential Melodic Death Metal albums of all time (you can dispute this, but you can’t dispute its popularity, the people have spoken!). Although I’m putting a lot of emphasis on this record and indeed their other earlier work is great, Are You Dead Yet? and Follow The Reaper are also awesome. What I’m trying to say though is Bodom haven’t been great for a long time.
On that note just look at albums like Relentless Reckless Forever or I Worship Chaos, pretty forgettable. Indeed, I would sadly say that of late Bodom really fell into the bracket of having a ‘classic’ period. Following the band dissolving a new Bodom arose from the ashes Bodom After Midnight, headed by none other than Alexi Lahio. I just want to take this moment to say that his legacy has had an impact on my music tastes over the years, he will be missed and this review is by no means a bashing of him or his character, I’m purely looking at the music. So how are the three tracks he recorded with this new project? This EP Paint The Sky With Blood is no doubt the end of an era, but is it a means of going out with glory?
Opening the EP is the title track. If you know Bodom then you’ll know what to expect. Extreme Metal guitars laced with melodious flourishes and then the hook inducing keyboards, not to mention the iconic vocals of Alexi. Although it has to be said that much like a lot of later era Bodom it doesn’t exactly inspire, it’s pretty standard and basically sounds like a filler track from any Bodom record. Payback’s A Bitch follows suit, it’s more of the same fare really and I can’t say that it really drags me into the short EP, good but not incredible is the phrase for this I think. The final track Where Dead Angels Lie is a Dissection cover, and also probably the best song on the release. Bodom have a long history of covers but this one is a real good one. None the less I’m unlikely to listen to this version over Dissection, so really much like most covers, what’s the point?
I can’t say that this EP is bad, and I really respect the bands decision to release this and call it quits. It does sadly have a very unfinished quality to it, which on reflection is rather sad when you consider Alexi’s tragic passing. The classic days of Bodom may be long gone but I think as a performer he still had so much to give. It’s a real shame that we’ve been robbed of those future live shows with Alexi in his older years smashing out the Bodom classics for all generations. However, what we’re left with is some fantastic music, if this EP does nothing else it’ll make you reach for those early Bodom records again.
(6/10 George Caley)
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