An open letter to Bodom

[shredtastical]

The letter seems to me written by a slave (in love) without criticism. Simply CoB isn't playing the music i like anymore, and not just this. The new stuff, compared to the old ones is simpler, easier to listen (compare the structure, the riffs...), for emo fanboys.
You can like the new stuff better than the old, but don't say it is better music, an improvement in the band: to me it's an involution.

for emo fanboys.
You can like the new stuff better than the old, but don't say it is better music, an improvement in the band: to me it's an involution.

don't say it is better music, an improvement in the band: to me it's an involution.

to me it's an involution.

involution.

involution.

involution.

.

 

[deeptallica]

^Why the hell do we have to bring the same stupid thing over and over everytime someone talks about Bodom music??

Face it people: NEOCLASSICAL INFLUENCES IN ALEXI ARE DEAD! They're not coming back! That being said, tell me what from what can be found in HCD, AYDY or BD can be found in other bands. Tell me other bands that do that kind of music please.

I'm ok with people not liking them, but I hate when everybody goes ''oh noes Bodom are not Bodom anymore, they were better before'' when that's not true. Ok, neoclassical was cool and there were loads of cool harmonies and stuff, but it's not like they now stick to LOGish or Slayerish kind of riffs 24/7 lacking harmonies, melodies and cool solos. I challenge you to play Tie My Rope dual melody before the solos or Roope's melody in Smile Pretty For The Devil or Thrashed Lost And Strungout melodies or Chockehold or YBOD while singing it like Alexi used to.

Don't take it as a personal attack to anyone because it's not, but I'm fed up of people complaining about something as a band not wanting to repeat themselves and changing their style. Don't like them? Don't listen to them, but don't bitch about them not releasing a Hatebreeder II.

Now you'll all tell me that you have your rights to complain and that I'm dumb if I can't see that Hatebreeder pwns Blooddrunk, well I'm sorry but I disagree. They're quite different, but any of it is better than the others and besides, I've already said it, but I wouldn't like a band to copy themselves and keep releasing copies of their top album. And for the AYDY haters, I challenge you to look for a band that can compose an album like that in 2 months and when their main songwriter had had a serious injury before the songwriting/recording process.

We've discussed the change of style a thousand times and I think it's pretty clear that there'll always be the neoclassical lover side that will always remember the old days and the people that likes all the stuff, and noone will convice the others, so I find useless flooding all threads with it. The guy came here to write a letter to Bodom. Useless or not we don't know, but I'm sure as hell that the point of this thread was not to reopen the same old discussion which BTW won't have an ending.

One word: Amen.

 

[Alachi]

...and that gives me the right to say that their new stuff is worse, not different, just plainly worse than the stuff they used to do, and to call it worse music. Great dude, you're the king!!!

i said so because i respect your tastes, of course to me it is worse.
Why? to quote Carcass

"Round and round we go,
Like a merry-go-round out of control
The same old tune, same old song
Again, again, and again

Round and round we go,
When will it stop, nobody knows
The same old chords, the same old words
It all sounds familiar, all starts to sound the same"

and because it is easier to write such heavy-trash riffs than some good and not silly melody.
and because now they play something that is similar to hundreds bands outta here!
they started>they got thousands of bands that stealed their sound>now they're stealing it back, but worse!
take the song Children of Bodom, it was their manifesto: punk rock + black metal + melody licks + neoclassical + death metal. Where is all of this stuff now?
and because when you're 18 and writes some angry-hateboy lyrics (with some poetry inside, really) it is good. Now 10 years later you're singing the same angryboy shit without the poetry


@shredtastical:

 

[Spikes Red]

Growth and Change.

I know I don't do the same things I did 15 years ago.
We are born to progress, to change, to learn.

If Cob were playing the exact same style that they were 10 years ago, some people would be whingeing about that too.

If you like the older style, listen to it, and not the new.
But why do people have a problem with progression?
They have grown.........as a band, as individuals.
Time changes, so do the people in it. Do you really think that life doesn't affect you as you grow?
The people, places, events, and emotions in our lives, will have an affect on what we do.

I fully embrace every piece of work that Children Of Bodom have released.
There are some songs I don't particuarly like, some I love too much, and play them over and over!!!
But they are all from different albums.
I listen to whatever I feel is going to suit the mood I am in.
Therein lies the beauty...............of a band who has changed.
You will always have something to listen to, no matter what frame of mind you are in.
To me, that is talent.
A band that sounds exactly the same, every album, every song, every decade, is going to get boring and predictable.

/rant.

 

[(__Joonas__)]

^I think the problem with a lot of people is COB are not exploiting their full potential by just doing easy chord stuff. But that's not the entire truth. Take for example Hellhounds On My Trail which seems like a regular heavy metal song when you first hear it, but when you have more listens you start to understand it has a lot of geniousity going on. But then again when I think of a song like Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood, I think it's a combination of the old and the new style.

 

[Fetzer]

Lil' Bloodred Ridin' Hood

Probably my favorite song. No but seriously, that keyboard solo is just so fucking awesome.

 

[Alachi]

@Spikes Red: i don't want the band to sound the same every album. In the first 3 albums every song was different from the other.
The point is: do you feel this change (wich is a good thing, to change) as an improvement or not?

 

[OvSeth]

Who cares!?

The dude made this thread to say how he appreciated Bodom, and as always, this turned into a discussion about how they suck/how they've changed.

Sheesh!

 

[Mapexdrums]

At Delanoir : That was indeed a really cool letter. I mostly agree on everthing you wrote there ! I just find it really cool that someone finally had the guts to write about how they really feel about the band instead of just watching everything they say on this forum in order to not piss off the regulars. I'm also pretty sure a lot of other board members feel the same way as you (just like me) so I think the time you spent writing this was worth it !

BTW I think it can be a proven fact that the chords they use nowadays are NOT as simple as some may think ! Instead of using the same degrees of the scale to make the chords, they use like the flat 2nd chord and the tritone chord very often. I personnally think the songwriting in BD is a lot better than in HB. I think the rythm guitar part has highly evolved over the years. Not only are they STILL making amazing guitar/keys duals but they added to that and improved rythm guitar part. On AYDY and BD it has nothing to do with just playing plain powerchords under uber-fast melodies like I THINK it was on HB.

Comments appreciated ! thx !

 

[children of COB]

^Agreed, but prepare to be flamed to death.

i said so because i respect your tastes, of course to me it is worse.
Why? to quote Carcass

"Round and round we go,
Like a merry-go-round out of control
The same old tune, same old song
Again, again, and again

Round and round we go,
When will it stop, nobody knows
The same old chords, the same old words
It all sounds familiar, all starts to sound the same"

and because it is easier to write such heavy-trash riffs than some good and not silly melody.
and because now they play something that is similar to hundreds bands outta here!
they started>they got thousands of bands that stealed their sound>now they're stealing it back, but worse!
take the song Children of Bodom, it was their manifesto: punk rock + black metal + melody licks + neoclassical + death metal. Where is all of this stuff now?
and because when you're 18 and writes some angry-hateboy lyrics (with some poetry inside, really) it is good. Now 10 years later you're singing the same angryboy shit without the poetry


@shredtastical:

Not to offend Carcass, but when a band keeps repeating the same stuff forever for me it gets really boring. With each album I want to hear new stuff, not the same over and over. F.e. I am in love with some Vader songs, but I will never be a die hard Vader fan because they keep always doing exactly the same and it gets boring for me. I like some songs on each album, but I don't like 100% of each album like I do with Bodom.

And about the lyrics, I don't find Downfall lyrics better than Tie My Rope lyrics. Ok, f.e. You're Better Off Dead or In Your Face are a bit too ''OMG I'M MAD AT THE WORLD'', but still Alexi has never been that much of a poet.

@Spikes Red: i don't want the band to sound the same every album. In the first 3 albums every song was different from the other.
The point is: do you feel this change (wich is a good thing, to change) as an improvement or not?

I can't say that the change is good or bad because I like the newer stuff as much as the older and I don't consider the music they make nowadays any worse than what they did when the neoclassical thing was going on. There are still cool harmonies and leads and the riffs aren't exactly what you see every day in other bands. But I do appreciate the fact that they're not stuck with the same forever and ever, and I love AYDY as much as I love SW, and same goes to all the albums.

 

[Fetzer]

ITT: New members finally expressing their rages against the regulars.

 

[shredtastical]

At Delanoir : That was indeed a really cool letter. I mostly agree on everthing you wrote there ! I just find it really cool that someone finally had the guts to write about how they really feel about the band instead of just watching everything they say on this forum in order to not piss off the regulars. I'm also pretty sure a lot of other board members feel the same way as you (just like me) so I think the time you spent writing this was worth it !

BTW I think it can be a proven fact that the chords they use nowadays are NOT as simple as some may think ! Instead of using the same degrees of the scale to make the chords, they use like the flat 2nd chord and the tritone chord very often. I personnally think the songwriting in BD is a lot better than in HB. I think the rythm guitar part has highly evolved over the years. Not only are they STILL making amazing guitar/keys duals but they added to that and improved rythm guitar part. On AYDY and BD it has nothing to do with just playing plain powerchords under uber-fast melodies like I THINK it was on HB.

Comments appreciated ! thx !

protip: it's called diminished.

 

[Spikes Red]

@Spikes Red: i don't want the band to sound the same every album. In the first 3 albums every song was different from the other.
The point is: do you feel this change (wich is a good thing, to change) as an improvement or not?

Improvement on what? What do they actually need to "improve"?

I don't like comparing one album to another. I think it is a pointless thing to do. I love each album, for what it brings.

I love the deeper and darker lyrics in BD, it has a darker sound musically too.
But then I love AYDY and HCD.
I have to admit to liking the darker stuff on all their albums, and by that I mean lyrically and musically. I really like the "chuggier" sound. I love and listen to their earlier albums too, as I said, it depends on what mood I am in.

I don't think Metal should be all about how fast and technical you can play, unless of course you are a full on fan of speed metal, that I understand.
But I listen to a lot of older music too, some of it has the simplest riffs ever, and yet they are gold, and are still being listened to by younger people today.

Music for me, is all about the mood I am in, and whether I am moved by something, or it makes me want to "move"!

but all in all i feel a sad side that the "old bodom' is gone yet i always get a burst of cold down my back when i listen to bodom for someod reason,its likei can and have listened to tonnes of bands on my ipod then maybe after a few hours a bodom song comes on be it BD,or FTR i get that uplifted snese of happiness and that tingle down my back haha strange XDD

See? Its how they make you feel, that matters!!!! Thats what being a fan is all about. Whether it is your favourite song or not, they still make you feel that way!!!!




If you prefer Cob's earlier work, excellent, there isn't a problem there.

But if you come in here, and lay shit on their latter work, and the best reason you can give is, "its not the same as their previous albums", then expect people to get angry.
Its that simple.



Some questions I would have for some people are:
Do you listen to a new album once or twice, and then make up your mind?
Do you read reviews and such, and let them influence you before you listen to something?

Some albums need to "grow" on you, you might think they are one thing, but then after many listens, you can find things that you missed the first few times round.
Never pass judgement, until you have the full story.

 

[chb]

Well spoken Spikes, in both posts. Exactly like I would have said too

 

[Spikes Red]

^Thank you kindly.


It is a brilliant thing for all to speak their mind, as long as people keep it mature, and play nice!

At the end of the day, we are all here because we appreciate the work of a fantastic band.

@Delanoir, I think the time you put into that letter was completely warranted, and I admire your honesty!!! Well done.

 

[Mystique1721]

. I really like the "chuggier" sound.

.
uke: are you seroius? but whateves., it's your opinion.

and whether I am moved by something,

yes! exaclty.

See? Its how they make you feel, that matters!!!! Thats what being a fan is all about. Whether it is your favourite song or not, they still make you feel that way!!!!

yup. it's all about that feeling.

and I admire your honesty!!! Well done.

it wan't ALL honest.

 

[Mapexdrums]

At Shredtastical : Well in fact there's 2 things that can be diminished : a scale and a chord. The diminished chord is when you have 4 notes with a minor 3rd between each of them. And btw what did you called diminished ? the tritone sub chord or the thing I called flattened 2nd chord ? I'm not sure

 

[children of COB]

ITT: New members finally expressing their rages against the regulars.

Wat?

 

[shredtastical]

At Shredtastical : Well in fact there's 2 things that can be diminished : a scale and a chord. The diminished chord is when you have 4 notes with a minor 3rd between each of them. And btw what did you called diminished ? the tritone sub chord or the thing I called flattened 2nd chord ? I'm not sure

hey dipshit, if you call it a tritone CHORD (i even bolded it in the quote for you, in case you were too downy to understand ), then you're basically trying to say diminished chord. a tritone is an interval (three whole steps, hence the name; A4/D5, aka the devil's interval), it's not a chord, but a diminished triad/chord does contain the tritone interval in it. and dude, wtf, a diminished triad consists of 3 notes, each with a minor third between them (1 b3 b5). if you want to start getting into sevenths and adding the fourth note, a half diminished adds the minor seven and the fully diminished adds the diminished seven. the half diminished fits diatonically into the major scale and the melodic minor scale, whereas the fully diminished appears in the harmonic minor scale, as well as the diminished scale. and there are more than two things that can be diminished . What would you call the interval of A - Eb? a diminished fifth . and do you even know wtf a sub chord is?

tl;dr: noob has no idea what he's talking about

 

[children of COB]

^My head's about to explode