Metal-archives review:
Bodom's Most Melodic Album - 85%
Dragonchaser, March 27th, 2019
Children Of Bodom have fallen a long way since their glory days, producing uneven albums that, while always enjoyable, are more frustrating than anything else. I’ve been a die hard Bodom fan since my teen years, and it was great to see them get so much recognition when ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ dropped in 2003, but like many bands I treasured (Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Edguy), the new millennium and its pressure to be heavy enough to appeal to the youth of the day turned this band into something I didn’t like. True, I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve put out to a certain degree, but I’ve yearned for them to return to the ‘Follow The Reaper’ sound, and I thought we were almost there with 2013’s killer comeback ‘Halo Of Blood’. Then they put out just another muddy Bodom album with ‘I Worship Chaos’, still hitting that ‘Blooddrunk’ vein with no fucks given. So I approached this one with trepidation. Thankfully, I was rewarded in spades, as this is the best album this band have recorded since 2003.
I think this record could be taken in one of two ways. Either people will think it insipid and lazy, or they’ll appreciate its considerate melodic direction. I hope it’s the latter for most people, because this is a pretty remarkable album. With a crystal clear production job, ‘Hexed’ is a smooth, crystalline attempt to recapture this band’s more intricate, melodic side that was present on ‘Hatebreeder’ and ‘Follow The Reaper’, only it’s played with the conviction and anger of ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’. While it certainly feels like their old stuff, this is still very much a modern Bodom album, only they’ve ditched the dirty, abrasive groove riffing and replaced it with catchy melodies, subtle arrangements, and a touch of their old neo-classical flair. The album opens with ‘This Road’, a pretty typical modern Bodom tune that isn’t particularly noteworthy; it’s a cool song, but not representative of the album as a whole. Things pick up with my favourite cut on the album, the melodic, hair-raising ‘Platitudes And Barren Words’, and it never lets up from there. This run from ‘Platitudes’ to ‘Knuckleduster’ is crazy good. The title track is an epic monolith that references all of Bodom’s past, from its tinkling harpsichord refrain to its jagged power metal riffing, this is a classic in the making. The backing vocals are so infectious, you’re forced to join in. It’s not optional. Then the zesty riff of ‘Relapse (The Nature Of My Crime)’ kicks in and you’re fucking owned by a spicy banger that could’ve easily been on ‘Follow The Reaper’. ‘Say Never Look Back’ is a somber melodic piece, and we end with the sucker punch that is their reimagining of former b-side ‘Knuckleduster’, which finishes the album off in style. That main riff is a bone breaker.
I understand your skepticism regarding Bodom’s return to form, because this isn’t a straight up tribute to the past. It’s a new age Bodom album, much more considered in terms of melodic composition, with well structured songs full of atonal key changes, sweeping displays of guitar/keyboard interplay, and of course, Alexi’s hostile bark, which is as innocuous as ever. It’s not as in your face as many of their past efforts. I’d go as far to say this is actually Bodom’s most melodic album to date. It has low points; ‘Hecate’s Nightmare’ is a drag, and the first half of the record is not as inventive as the second, but that run mid-album is just heavenly, and such a shot in the arm for a band like Children Of Bodom, who prove with ‘Hexed’ that they are still a vital band.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Children_of_Bodom/Hexed/747990/Dragonchaser/117580