The thing is it's not just the actual solo, it's what's around it. The old COB had solos integrated more naturally into the songs, on the new Bodom they're more separated into a section of their own, like they could almost change the places of different solos on different songs, to the ear of the listener. Of course you can take the best song off RRF and compare it to the worst song on an old COB album and make me seem like I have no point. This kind of pointless arguing in uninteresting. I'd just say a "show-off" solo (on Alexi's terms) like on Hatebreeder would please most listeners more than an extremely technical but boring solo. Is it right to always push the boundaries of your technical skills, couldn't that also be labeled show-off? And that's not just the solo but the entire music.
Of course in theory you could say COB would in fact sell out if they made another HB/FTR, as they would make something that's below their skills just cos most people want it... but nobody's asking them to get inexperienced again. Alexi has got better from his downers and doesn't dwell in the pits of his mind like in past years, and that is reflected in the new music. I know I look like an old school COB freak and a new COB hater but that's not the case, there's a lot of stuff on RRF that I love and is better than some stuff on the old ones. How can one expect another to make an album that's exactly what he likes? These days I've listened mostly to Cradle Of Filth's album Dusk and Her Embrace cos it has depth. On moments when I wanna hear more superficial heavy metal with catchy melodies I listen to RRF for example.
And this discussion was about atmosphere in music. Maybe I was wrong saying the actual solos on RRF from composing aspect are more boring, it's probably the sound world and how the solos do or do not feel part of the song itself.
FTR is still best tho.
I am not taking the worst song of the old material and putting it against the best from RRF, I'm comparing in general. You get in a good direction with the "well they can't make the perfect album for everybody line", but I still can't think why you feel it lacks so much atmosphere, I mean, sure, it's not as full as the first 3 ones, but it definitely has A LOT more keys and atmosphere and I honestly think the songs work as songs much better than before. What you say about being able to take chunks of songs and placing them somewhere else I used to feel like that about HB and FTR, but to me this time around the songs feel much more together. Dunno, each to their own I guess.
The solos in the new album really feel like they've been putd there just for the sake of it. We can talk about FTR whole day long and so on, it's getting old, but we have to remember what the band used to be like and what it turned to nowdays. I'm not surprised tho, cause most of the bands go through the same road. The tracks in the old albums used to have this epic feeling in them, there was atmosphere. It's not about making another FTR album, that would be stupid, it's about putting some more emotion/feeling in the new stuff. RRF is more of a technical album, than an album full of epicness. I don't know what was driving Alexi back in the days to create all those songs, but it seems the magic is gone. Hell, for me AYDY was really epic album even tho most of the people hated it and I can clearly say that BD or RRF can't get close to it, because it has more feeling to it (but that's just my opinion so...
).
If you're serious about that then I must conclude that you've not given even 1 spin to the album.
I'll let you all in on a little secret about all the "epicness" that is lacking now. IMO the "epicness" left when Alexander left the band...simple as that. Not that Roope is bad, as I love the post Alexander material better than the pre Alexander material, but once Roope joined they started heading in the thrash direction. Is that because of Rooope? Who knows, as everyone says Alexi writes all the material.I just feel that what a lot of people are wanting from Bodom will never be heard again, and that is due in part to the line up change. I wonder what would happen with Bodom if say Janne left the band for good and they got a replacement keytarist?
No, no and again fucking no! Stop looking for retarded reasons! Ale had nothing to do with the sound at all. Janne does tho, and if Janne left, unlike with Ale, the band would be over. If you wanna argue intelligently do so, but stop saying that the band has changed because Ale left or because Alexi stopped dying his hair or because Janne doesn't have short hair anymore or crap of that sort please, it's very annoying.
Even if Alexander didn't, and Roope doesn't write much material, the loss of "epicness" still might have something to do with the change of guitarist. Old COB songs had very simple rhythm guitars and IMO, simplicity makes the stuff a lot more interesting, atmospheric and epic than constant riffing-storm. Since Roope is so talented guitarist, maybe Alexi feels he has to make all the riffs complex so Roope's talent wouldn't be "wasted".
See? This I can discuss. I don't agree about the Alexander effect but your point is indeed one to be considered. Although, even though thinking that Roope's abilities free up Alexi to give him anything to play (like he has said in some interviews), you have to take into account also that they played together in Sinergy too and that was not at all like new Bodom. So I guess the only reason is just that Alexi got kind of tired of the power metal side of it and started becoming fond of thrash metal and bang, new Bodom. I mean, if you look at it the rest is there: the solos, the keys, the somehow death/bm-ish styile and touches is still there, but before all that used to be paired up with power metal and a bit harsher (read, at least to me, less worked on) vocals and now is paired with thrash and what may be a bit softer vocals but I think more focused and more musically fitting. I don't know, your point is indeed good and the increase of the abilities of the rythm guitar player sure must have had some effect, but I hardly doubt it has had anything to do in the change of style itself, and I think the Sinergy analogy and the fact that that band is not together anymore nor does Alexi show much interest in it (yes, there's also the Kim side of it and all, but I think it's also because Alexi got tired of that style) kind of shows it.
