Artist: Children of Bodom
Album: Follow the Reaper
Follow the Reaper is the third installment of Children of Bodom's melodic legacy. And it's definitely no disappointment to hardcore Children of Bodom fans around the world, every single track on this album from "Hate Me" to "Hellion" reeks of perfection. Combining the true death metal voice of singer Alexi "WildChild" Laiho with insanely fast guitar parts, tight drumming and melodious keyboard tunes, This has to be one of the best melodic death metal albums to date.
The Single "Hate Me" stayed at number one on the European Metal Charts for 8 weeks, and every since metal fans worldwide have been smashing their heads to the heavy yet beautiful sounds of this highly talented and addictive band. Although some tracks on the album are slightly slower than the normal high speed Children of Bodom pace shown in the previous album "HateBreeder", they have done nothing but improved. Slower tracks such as "Everytime I Die" and "Children of Decandence" are masterpiece in their own right. But Bodom still stays true to there high speed style with songs like Follow the Reaper, sporting a very orchestral epic sounding type intro. Combining this with extremely addictive guitar and keyboard solos rival the speed of difficulty of the guitar solos which could be likened to the speed of the world's greatest guitarist, Steve Vai.
So to sum things up while I'm sitting here listening to "Hate Me", this alum is a must have for all hardcore metal lovers and guitarists who wish to aspire to such great heights of heavy metal excellence. This band is truly talented in both musical and lyrical aspects and this album showcases their talents perfectly. Your metal collection will never be complete without this album.
-WarHeart
Rating: 9.5 / 10