Ok guys. Finally ready to write down my feelings. I have just finished listening to it for the 5th time (skipped the UGAC and PABW after the 1st full listening).
I am really in awe. This album is the master piece I was waiting for. I realize that most of my expectations from the Track-by-track were spot-on, but there was a few surprises. For example, I expected
Platitudes And Barren Words to be one of their strongest track and I expected to dislike
Kick In The Spleen. But at the end of the day, the former is just ok and the latter is one of my favorite.
I'll just focus on the songs that are new today.
- Glass Houses: The intro, the verse, the refrain, etc. Love it all. The way the first solo enters progressively on the intro melody is just splendid. I love the overall atmosphere of the song. The refrain is catchy yet not too simple.
- Hecate's Nightmare: Same as for Glass houses, strong intro, strong verse. I love those heave guitars Laiho mentioned. I struggled a bit with the refrain during the first listening, but it really quickly grew on me and now I'm loving it. It really is an amazing song. On the side note, there is a part of the song that I can't help but feel like it would belong in an Anime's opening song XD.
- Kick In The Spleen: Biggest surprise of the album. I usually do not like too fast, too 'loud' music, but here it works. Especially thanks to this interlude at the middle of the song and those absolutely fantastic solos. I don't think Laiho has been that good for a really long time. These solos rocked and I couldn't be more pleased as a guitarist.
-Hexed: Another big surprise here. Thought I would adore the song, and boy, did I adore it! The intro riff is heavy as heck, the neo-classical part just won't ever get old. I could literally put it on loop for hours and still enjoy this. The surprise came at the end with that superb outro. It strongly reminded me of the way I felt listening to Windir's
Likbør for the first time (though
Hexed's outro could never match the outro of
Likbør.
(if you guys don't know it, go give it a try). Loved hearing Henkka for once, and that bass 'solo' was really enjoyable. About the solos, Laiho is being brilliant again on this song. Loved every bit of it.
- Relapse (The Nature Of My Crime): I am a bit more confused about this song. Do I love it or do I just like it? Can't tell. The riff at 00:50 is just amazing and carries the song. But I feel like this song has a bit less feels to it that the other ones. I'm also struggling with the dissonances of the refrain. I love dissonances when they make sense, but they do feel a bit off here.
- Say Never Look Back: Thought this one would be my favorite and........ It isn't
But it is a close second! This is a true wonder. Haven't liked a song so much for a very long time. It's really high in my top of Bodom's songs. Some of the best Bodom's riffs are to be found on this song. The intro is spectacular, the verse is heavy as fuck, the refrain just rocks (I was skeptical about drop B tuning, but it sounds amazing), the drum solo is just phenomenal (I'm no drummer, so I judge with my amateur ears).
- Soon Departed: This would be my favorite on this album. It is so intense. As Laiho said in the track-by-track "whoever came up with that wasn't in a good place at the time" or as someone on the forum put it, you can really feel the anger in this song. It is just so raw. It might be slow, but it has the potential of becoming the new
Everytime I die in term of status among fan. The solo is a bit too simplistic in my opinion, but the part following the solo is one of my absolute favorite Bodom riff EVER (3:55-4:12). I would have made it last at least twice that time.
- Knuckleduster: I knew this song, like most of us, and wasn't moved by this updated version. The original is better, I will agree on that, but this one isn't bad either (in the meaning that I could have preferred this version if it came out first)
Overall a fantastic album that both surprises with it's freshness but also pleases the expectations I had as a fan. It builds on Bodom's strongest foundations to bring something new to the Bodomverse while staying true to their roots. I've said it once already, but I really couldn't be more pleased. This album has so much dark/violent energy, exactly what I needed. Hexed makes me feel like I can now breathe again, at least for a while.